Latin America
Four Distinct Areas
Mexico
Central America
South America
Islands of the Caribbean
Geography – Diverse Landscape
7,000 miles from Mexico to the tip of South America
Physical Barriers – hinders unity, trade, and contact
Regionalism – loyal to specific locale and geographic area
Guiana Highlands – 1,200 miles from Venezuela to Brazil.
Largest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls at 3,212 feet
Andes Mountains – 4,500 miles in length and the source
of most river systems
Geography – 3 Large River Systems
Amazon River
4,000 miles
Vital transportation link
Rio De La Plata
3rd largest commercial
waterway
Orinoco River
The Casiquiare, a natural
canal, joins the Orinoco
and the Amazon
Geography – Climate
Near or South of the Equator
Tropical Rain Forests
Deforestation – Cutting trees down in the Amazon Rain
Forest. Rain forests produce much of the Earth’s oxygen
75% of Latin America is in tropical zone.
Tropical Savannas – Found in northern and central
portions of South America
Caribbean Islands – Both wet and dry seasons
Arid Lands – Atacama Desert is the largest desert in South
America and the driest desert in the world.
Geography – Natural Resources
Agriculture – topography makes farming difficult
Half of the world’s coffee and bananas
1/3rd of world’s sugar and cocoa
Bolivia: 2nd largest producer of tin in world
Chile is the world’s largest exporter of copper
Mexico contains large deposits of silver
Mineral Resources – oil in Mexico, Venezuela, and Columbia
Vulnerable to poor weather conditions and price fluctuations
Geography – Deforestation
Geography – Deforestation
Geography – Deforestation