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Latin America. Unit 3. The Ring of Fire. Fact!. The west coasts of Mexico, Central America, and South America are part of a geologically active rim called the Ring of Fire .
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Latin America Unit 3
The Ring of Fire Fact! • The west coasts of Mexico, Central America, and South America are part of a geologically active rim called the Ring of Fire. • Great plates of the earth’s crust move against each other along Latin America’s western coasts, causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Coffee, Columbia • Rich volcanic soil and mild climate conditions ideal for coffee trees • more than 300,000 small family farms • World famous quality and flavor • Important source of export income
Llaneros, Venezuela • Vaqueros - Hardworking cowhands • Llanos - vast grasslands that stretch across Colombia and Venezuela
The Llanos(Spanish for The Plains) - a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia & Venezuela, in NW South America. - a region of flooded grasslands & savannas
Oil Rigs in Lake Maracaibo,Venezuela • the black lifeblood of the economy • the price of oil plunged in 1986 and again in 1990, the country suffered serious financial setbacks
Andes Mountains • world’s longest mountain chain above sea level • collision of two tectonic plates forming mountains 180 million years ago • Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, mudslides, glaciers and avalanches constantly change the face of the Andes.
Market in Huanca, Peru • vendors sell time-honored medicines - folk cures for hexes, fevers, & other ailments • women peddle whatever goods they can • these highland people are Quechua-speaking descendants of the Inca
Machu Picchu, Peru • Ancient city built by Incas • 8,000 feet high • May have been a spiritual or trading site or royal estate of an Inca emperor • Abandoned in 1534 at the fall of the Inca Empire
Incan Wall • Master stone makers • Still a mystery as to how the Inca made such perfect stones
Road Building, Bolivia • trading work for food, Indian women lay a road stone by stone • most Bolivians are Aymara and Quechua Indians -or mestizos • Most are extremely poor - landlocked Bolivia is in a chronic state of poverty
Hydroelectric dam on the Río Negro, near Argentina. The torrential rains that follow the region's long dry season make flood-control works critical.
Brazil • Soccer is Brazil’s national sport. So passionate are Brazilians about it that they closed businesses and schools during the Soccer World Cup or national competitions.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil • the former capital of Brazil • boasts a lively night clubs and the world famous Carnival • 1960 the capital moved 600 miles inland to Brasilia • part of its effort to develop the interior of the country • Brazilians—a mixture of Europeans, Africans, Indians, and Asians—live within 200 miles of the Atlantic.
Amazon Delta, Peru • delta 200 miles wide • begins in the Peruvian Andes • Empties into the Atlantic Ocean
Amazon River Facts! South America’s mighty Amazon River begins high in the Andes, less than 100 miles from the Pacific Ocean. • The river flows nearly 4,000 miles to empty into the Atlantic Ocean. • Its length is about equal to the distance from New York City to Rome, Italy!
Amazon River Facts! This immense river carries a huge amount of water. • Some scientists estimate that the Amazon River alone funnels about 20% of all the freshwater that flows over the earth. • The Amazon discharges so much freshwater at its mouth that it reduces the salt content of Atlantic Ocean water for up to 100 miles off shore!
Settlers in the Rainforest, Brazil • a couple constructs a simple house • Settlers clear plots by burning off vegetation • great swaths have been destroyed to make room for farmers, ranchers and miners
Cotopaxi,Equador World’s highest continually active volcano
Easter Island • Archaeological evidence indicates discovery of the island by Polynesians at about 400 AD . • Upon their arrival, an impressive and enigmatic culture began to develop. • In addition to the statues, the islanders possessed the Rongorongo script; the only written language in Oceania.
Easter Island has become a metaphor for ecological disaster.
The population of Easter Island reached its peak at perhaps more than 10,000, far exceeding the capabilities of the small island's ecosystem. • Resources became scarce, and the once lush palm forests were destroyed - cleared for agriculture and moving the massive stones. • Thereafter, a thriving and advanced social order began to decline into bloody civil war and, evidently, cannibalism! • Eventually, all of the statues standing along the coast were torn down by the islanders themselves. • All of the statues now erected around the island are the result of recent archaeological efforts.
Atacama Desert, Chile • open pit copper mining • The driest place on earth • mineral rich—copper, silver, gold and sodium nitrate
Strait of Magellan, Chile • winds through Chile - the world’s longest and skinniest country • connecting the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans • Indians share the land w/ sheep, which outnumber the people by 50 to 1
Buenos Aires, Argentina • captial of Argentiana • 11 million people • 1/3 of the country’s pop. • 95% of the Argentinians are descendents of Europeans -mostly Spanish and Italian
Military in Argentina • Presidential Guardwaits while the president attends the Independence Day mass • heavy hand of the military has been influential in gov’t affairs • Military Junta(a gov’t led by a committee of military leaders) ruled from 1976 to 1983 earned a reputation for violence & ruthlessness--more than 10,000 people disappeared and were feared dead • 1983 election broke the hold of the military
