Latin America
Landforms
Landforms
•Andes
Mountains
• Andes Mountains
–Many
active
volcanoes
–Many active volcanoes
–Barrier
to
movement
to
the
–Barrier to movement to the
interior
interior
–Inca
of
Peru
–Inca of Peru
Landforms
• Plains for grain and livestock
• Llanos of Colombia and
Venezuela
–Plains of the Amazon River
Basin
–Pampas of Argentina and
Uruguay
Landforms
Landforms
•Orinoco River
• Orinoco River
•Amazon
River
• Amazon River
–Carries
more
water
to
–Carries more water to ocean
ocean
than
anyriver
other river
than any
other
River
••Parana
Parana River
Landforms
Landforms
••Caribbean
Caribbean Islands
Islands
–Bahamas
–Bahamas
–Greater Antilles
–Greater Antilles
–Lesser Antilles
–Lesser Antilles
• Greater Antilles
–Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola,
Puerto Rico
• Lesser Antilles
–Windward Islands and
Leeward Islands
Resources of Latin America
• Mineral resources
–Gold, silver, iron , copper, tin,
lead, nickel
–Gems, titanium, tungsten
• Energy resources
–Oil, coal, natural gas, uranium,
hydroelectric power
Human-Environment Interaction
• Agriculture
–Slash-and-Burn: cut trees,
brush and grass and burn
the debris to clear the field
Human-Environment Interaction
–Terraced Farming: ancient
technique for growing
crops on hillsides or
mountainous areas
Human-Environment Interaction
• Urbanization
–Argentina, Chile, Uruguay
are most highly urbanized
countries in South
America
Human-Environment Interaction
• Tourism
–Positive:
•Bring jobs and money to the
region
–Negative:
•Congestion, pollution, gvt
debt, gap between rich and
poor
Today’s Issues
In
Latin America
Rainforest
Resources
Rain Forest Resources
•Biodiversity:
wide
range
of
• Biodiversity: wide range of
plant
andand
animal
species
plant
animal
species
ththcentury,
•By
the
end
of
the
20
• By the end of the 20 century,
nearly
5050
million
acres
of of
rain
nearly
millions
acres
forests
worldwide
had been
rain forests
worldwide
had
destroyed
been destroyed
Rainforest
Rain
Forest Resources
•Deforestation:
• Deforestation:cutting
cuttingdown
downand
clearing
away of
treesof trees
and clearing
away
•Rainforests
help
regulate
thethe
• Rain forests
help
regulate
earth’s
climate
earth’s
climate
•Home
• Hometotoabout
about50%
50%ofofworld’s
world’s
plant
and
animal
species
plant
and
animal
species
Rainforest Resources
• Debt-for-nature swap:
environmental organization
agrees to pay off a certain
amount of gvt debt and in
return, the gvt agrees to protect
a certain portion of the rain
forest
Giving Citizens a Voice
• Historically, Latin
American countries have
been oligarchies
–A gvt run by a few people
or small group
Giving Citizens a Voice
• These oligarchies:
–Censored the press
–Limited free speech
–Punished dissent
Giving Citizens a Voice
• Sometimes the military would
rule in a junta which is run by
generals
• During the 20th century, many
countries were run by a
caudillo, a military dictator
Establishing Stable Democracies
• Goals of reform:
–Establish constitutional
government
–Have a freely elected
government
–Participation of citizens
Mexico
• Native Peoples
–Teotohuacan, Toltecs,
Maya, Aztecs
• Spanish
Conquest
–1519, Cortes
landed
•Conquered
the Aztecs
• Mexico gained independence in
1821
• Institutional Revolutionary
Party (PRI)
–Est. 1929
–Introduced democracy and
political stability
Central America
• Cultural Hearth: place from
which important ideas spread
–Mayan Influence
•Guatemala
• United Provinces of Central
America
–Declared independence from
Mexico in 1823
–Split into separate countries
in 1830s
• Culture is a blend of Native
American influence and
Spanish influence
–Language and religion
•Spanish
•Catholic
•Protestant
South America
• Inca
–Andes Mountains
–Empire ran 2500 miles along
west coast
• Spanish conquered Incas in
1500s
–Forced religion and
language on Natives
• Independence Movements
–Inspired by American and French
Revolutions
–Simon Bolivar
•Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador,
Bolivia
–Jose de San Martin
•Argentina, Chile, Peru
Brazil
• Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
–Portuguese gained control
of modern day Brazil
• Gained independence in
1822
• Natural Resources have
made Brazil an industrial
power
• Many rivers—power plants