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Latin America

Latin America. Physical Geography 8.1. Physical Geography. 8 mil sq. miles (~equal to N.A.) Made up of Middle America and South America Caribbean sometimes debated as part of MA. Yellow- Caribbean Green- Central America Red- Middle America Purple- South America

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Latin America

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  1. Latin America Physical Geography 8.1

  2. Physical Geography 8 mil sq. miles (~equal to N.A.) • Made up of Middle America and South America • Caribbean sometimes debated as part of MA

  3. Yellow- Caribbean Green- Central America Red- Middle America Purple- South America All together is LATIN AMERICA

  4. Physical Geography • Caribbean aka West Indies • 3 parts: Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, & Bahamas • Brazil is largest and most pop. of SA’s 13 countries

  5. Highlands • Begins in Pac. Ranges/ Rockies Mexico’s Sierra Madre CA’s Central Highlands SA’s Andes • map pg 195 • Crust collision, sits on Ring of Fire

  6. Highlands • Mexico’s Sierra Madre • Sierra Madre Oriental (eastern) & Sierra Madre Occidental (western) meet at Sierra Madre del Sur • Surrounds Mxn Plateau • Mild climate, volcanic soil in South= settlement

  7. Highlands • Most Caribbean islands part of Central Highlands (range goes across sea) • Volcanic islands • Some still active

  8. Highlands • Andes Mtns • 4500 miles long, world’s longest • Cordilleras- several ranges running parallel • Encircle high plains (altiplano) in Peru & Bolivia

  9. Atacama Desert • Driest place on Earth! • Some areas have never received rainfall since recordkeeping began • More than a million ppl live here • Live near coast, oases, or farm with drip-irrigation • Fog Catching Net: • Fog rolls in condenses on net drips to pipes water crops

  10. Highlands • Mato Grosso Plateau- from eastern Peru & Bolivia to most of Brazil • Low pop. • Brazilian Highlands- from MGP to eastern Brazil, ends in escarpment (cliff)

  11. Lowlands • Coastal plains along Brazil’s coast • Next to escarpment • Prime area for settlement/tourism • Llanos (Colombia & Venezuela) & Pampas (Argentina & Uruguay) • Grazing plains, pampas= breadbasket • Cowboys= llaneros or gauchos

  12. WATER • MA’s rivers are small, but SA’s are HUGE! • Rio Grande (Rio Bravo del Norte) is major one, though, outside SA • Amazon- 4000 miles (NYC to Rome, Italy) • 20% of Earth’s freshwater, 10X the volume of the Mississippi • Hundreds of sm. rivers join it Amazon Basin (creates a valuable functional region)  40% of SA • Only navigable for 2300 miles from Atlantic

  13. WATER • Parana, Paraguay, & Uruguay next lrgst water system • Commercial highway, hydroelectricity • Flow into estuary (Rio de la Plata) before Atlantic

  14. Notice the intense terracing!! • Lake Titicaca- world’s highest (elev.) navigable lake (Andes- Peru & Bolivia) • 12,500 ft above sea level • Center for Incas

  15. WATER • Lake Titicaca is fed by rivers, melting glaciers, & rainfall • Losing water with shorter rain seasons & less glaciers (lowest since 1949)

  16. Caribbean Sea • Lake Maracaibo- SA’s largest (Venezuela) • Caribbean inlet • Rich oil fields

  17. Lake Nicaragua- CA’s largest lake (b/w Nicaragua & Costa Rica) • Smaller than Titicaca • Has small volcanic islands w/in • Known for Caribbean pirates!

  18. Resources • Oil: Gulf of MX and southern Caribbean MX and Venezuela are leaders in world (OPEC) • Leaders in gold, silver, emeralds, copper (ancient civs. prospered with them) • Problems: geography, lack of $, social/political unrest  prevent development of resources

  19. 5 Min Video • Physical geography video

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