Central America Geography
What is Latin America?
It is NOT a continent
It is NOT a country
It IS a cultural region
2 Subregions
Middle America
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Mexico
Central America
island nations in Caribbean
South America
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12 Countries
2 foreign ruled territories
Different Features
•Physical features of the region include volcanic highlands and
coastal plains.
•The climate and vegetation of the region include forested
highlands, tropical forests, and humid lowlands.
•Key natural resources in the region include rich soils for
agriculture, a few minerals, and beautiful beaches.
Central America
Isthmus - narrow strip of
land, has water on both
sides, and connects two
larger bodies of water
Central America
•No wider than 125 miles
between Pacific Ocean and
Caribbean Sea
•Chain of mountains and
volcanoes divides Caribbean
and Pacific coastal plains
•No good water route, so
difficult to travel (one
exception)
Guatemala
Belize
Honduras
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
People of Central America
Indians (Why?)
● Mayan empire spread throughout this area
● Largest number live in Guatemala
Europeans and Mestizos
● Largest European settlement today is in Costa Rica
● Mestizos mostly live in El Salvador and Nicaragua
African Descent
● Came over to work on the banana plantations and build
the Panama Canal
People and Languages
•Mestizos - people of mixed European and Indian ancestry
•Descendents of ancient Maya live in Guatemalan Highlands
and other places.
•People of African ancestry live mostly along the Caribbean
coast.
•People speak mostly Spanish, but also native Indian
languages and English.
Religion, Festivals, and Food
•Most people are Roman Catholic.
•Indian traditions influenced
Catholicism.
•Celebrations are tied to religion:
special saints’ feast days and Easter.
•Traditional foods are corn, tomatoes,
hot peppers, and cacao.
Guatemala
•More than 14
million people
•Most mestizos;
almost half Indian
•Live mostly in small
villages in highlands
•1960-1996:
Fighting killed
200,000 people.
•Crops: coffee and
cardamom
Belize
•Smallest population
in Central America
•Not much land for
agriculture
•Ecotourism, the
practice of using an
area’s natural
environment to
attract tourists
Honduras
•Mountainous
country
•Transportation
difficult because of
rugged land
•Little land for
farming
•Exports: citrus fruits
and bananas
El Salvador
•Land owned by a few rich people
Costa Rica
•History of peace and stable,
democratic government
•1980s-1992: Civil war, a conflict between
two or more groups within a country
•Progress toward reducing poverty
•Fertile soil to grow coffee and sugarcane •Crops: coffee and bananas
•Tourism to rain forests
Nicaragua
Panama
•1979: Dictator overthrown by Sandinistas
•Narrow, southernmost country
•1979-1990: Civil war
•Canal links Caribbean Sea and Pacific and
Atlantic Oceans
•Rebels aided by the U.S.
•Panama Canal fees and industry make this region
prosperous.
•1990: Democratic elections pushed
Sandinistas out of power.
•1914-1999:Canal controlled by U.S.
The Caribbean
People of the Caribbean
•Colonialism
–Europeans came to profit from the sugar trade
–They brought Africans to be slaves
•Mixture of races
–Natives
–Africans
–Europeans (French, British, Danish and Dutch) Why them?
–Mestizos
People of the Caribbean
•Most islanders are descended from Europeans,
Africans, or both.
•Some Asians, who came to work on plantations
after slavery ended, live on the island.
The Caribbean Islands
•An archipelago, a large group of islands
•Greater Antilles: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico
•Lesser Antilles: Small islands from Virgin Islands to
Trinidad to Tobago
•Bahamas: 700 islands
•Formed from tops of underwater mountains or volcanoes and
coral reefs pushed up by colliding tectonic plates
Language
•People speak Spanish, English, French,
and mixtures of African and European
languages.
•Haitians speak French Creole, which is a
dialect, or a regional variety of a
language.
Religion
•Former colonies are mostly Roman
Catholic.
•People also blend Catholicism and
traditional African religions.
WHY???????
Festivals
•Islanders celebrate a variety of holidays.
•The most widespread is Carnival, before
Lent, when people celebrate with big
parades, fancy costumes, and music.
Puerto Rico
Haiti
•U.S. commonwealth, or a •Mountainous western third
self-governing territory
of Hispaniola
associated with another
•Small farms, but exports
country
coffee and sugarcane
•People are U.S. citizens
•Poorest country due to
with no voting rights.
corruption
•More developed than other Many become refugees, or
Caribbean countries due to people fleeing to another
U.S. aid and investment
country for political or
economic reasons
Dominican Republic
•Eastern part of Hispaniola
•More developed than Haiti
but not rich
•Capital Santo Domingo is
the first permanent
European settlement in
Western Hemisphere.
•Economy: agriculture and
growing tourism
Cuba
•Largest and most populous island with Havana as capital
•Since 1959: Run by a Communist government headed by
Fidel Castro
•Communists took over U.S. owned businesses, so U.S.
banned trade.
•Farms are cooperatives, or organizations owned by its
members and operated for mutual benefit.
•Government controls the media.
South America
People of the South America
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Ameridians
Mestizos
Mullato - mixture of European and African ancestory
Whites, blacks, Spanish
People of the South America
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Native people of South America - make up a large part of the Andean
population of South America especially in the regions of Bolivia, Ecuador,
Peru and Paraguay
The rest of the places in South America consist of the Mestizo, though Chile,
Argentina, Uruguay, and south Brazil contain Europeans
People of African descent make up northeast Brazil, French Guiana,
Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela and Colombia.
Physical Characteristics
● divided into three physical regions
● mountains and highlands
○ the Andes, Brazilian Highlands, Guiana Highlands
● river basins
○ Amazon River Basin, Orinoco River basin, Paraguay
River basin
● coastal plains
○ western coastal plains
Languages
•People speak Spanish, English, French,
Portuguese, Dutch, and mixtures of African
and European languages
Religions
•All countries are predominantly Roman
Catholic (usually in high 80%-mid 90%)
WHY???????
Festivals
● New Year’s Eve
● Inti Raymi (Ecuador and Peru) - summer
solstice
● Festival of the Virgen de la Candelaria
(Bolivia) - combines traditions of Roman
Catholicism and ancient native traditions
Economics
● slow to start -> recently undergone rapid development
● agriculture is huge in South American economy
● biggest economies
○ Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Chile
■ Why Columbia?
■ Pablo Escobar $20 billion per year… Bill Gates
worth $70 billion
● trade is important part of the economy… why?
○ Why would Bolivia be the poorest country in South
America?