Landforms and Resources of Latin America

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Landforms and Resources of Latin America
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Regions of Latin America

• Mexico
• Central America
• Caribbean
• South America
• Brazil

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Mountains and Highlands

• The Andes Mountains-
• The Andes are a part of the mountain range that
  runs through a portion of North, Central and
  South America.
• United States- The Rocky Mountains
• Central America- The Sierra Madres
• South America- the Andes
• There are many volcanic peaks throughout the
  Andes.

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Andes Characteristics

• Many volcanoes
• The longest mountain range in the world, nearly
  5,000 mile long.
• Creates a barrier between the coastal cities on
  the west coast and the interior of the continent.

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Highlands

• The other mountainous regions in Latin America
  include the following
• The Guiana Highlands
• The Brazilian Highlands

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The Plains of Latin America

• There are vast plains regions in Latin America
  well suited for agriculture
• Llanos
• Colombia and Venezuela
• Pampas
• Argentina and Uruguay
• Amazon River Basin
• Brazil

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The Pampas Argentina
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The Amazon River and Other Major River Systems

• South America has three major River Systems
• Amazon River
• Brazil
• Orinoco River
• Venezuela and Colombia
• Paraná River
• Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina

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The Mighty Amazon

• Amazon Flows 4,000 from west to east and
  empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Source is the
  Andes Mountains close to the Pacific Ocean.

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The Orinoco River

• The Orinoco River flows mainly through Venezuela
  and Colombia. It creates part of the border
  between the two countries.

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The Paraná River

• The Paraná river begins in the Brazilian
  Highlands and flows southward through Paraguay
  and Argentina. It meets with several other
  rivers to create the Rio de la Plata a very
  important estuary in South America.

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Islands of the Caribbean

• Three Main Island Groups make up the West Indies
• The Bahamas
• The Greater Antilles
• The Lesser Antilles

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The Bahamas

• The Bahamas are made up of hundreds of islands
  off of the southern tip of Florida. Nassau is
  the capital and largest city in the Bahamas.

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The Greater Antilles

• The Greater Antilles is made up of the largest
  islands in the Caribbean including Cuba, Jamaica,
  Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic), and
  Puerto Rico.

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The Lesser Antilles

• The Lesser Antilles includes the smaller islands
  in the region southeast of Puerto Rico. They are
  divided into two groups- the Leeward island and
  the Windward islands.

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Resources

• Gold
• Silver
• Oil
• Natural gas
• Hydroelectric power
• Copper
• Timber
• Agricultural Products

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Climate and Vegetation

• Tropical Wet
• Rain forest
• (Brazil)
• Tropical Wet and Dry
• Llanos and Pampas
• (Venezuela and Argentina)
• Semiarid
• Patagonia- Argentina
• Desert
• Atacama Desert-Chile

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Mid-Latitude Climates

• Humid Subtropical
• Paraguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil,
• Bolivia, and Argentina
• Mediterranean
• West coast of Chile
• Marine West Coast
• Southern Chile, eastern Argentina
• Highlands

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Vertical Climate Zones

• About 15,000 ft Terra Helada (Mountain Tundra)
  
• Tree Line
• 10,000-12,000 ft Tierra Fria (Cloud Forest)
• 6,000 -6,500 ft Tierra Templada (Wet forest)
• 2,500- 3,000 ft Tierra Caliente (Dry Forest
  and swamp)

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Human-Environment Interaction

• Agriculture
• Slash-and-burn technique used to clear the land
  for farmland in the Amazon River basin.

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Human-Environment Interaction

• Agriculture Terraced Farming is an ancient
  technique introduced by the Inca for growing
  crops on the side of a mountain. This reduces
  soil erosion.

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Urbanization

• Push and Pull factors People in Latin America
  are moving from rural areas into urban areas in
  search of better opportunities. This has created
  many problems such as the development of slums in
  the big cities.

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Push Factors

• Push factors reasons why people feel forced to
  move away from rural areas examples Poverty,
  poor medical care, poor educational
  opportunities, low-paying jobs

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Pull Factors

• Pull factors reasons why people are drawn to
  live in the cities. Examples Possibilities for
  work, education, medical care.

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Rapidly Growing Cities

• City Population (2000)
• Mexico City, Mexico 99,639,000
• Buenos Aires, Argentina 37,048,000
• Lima, Peru 27,136,000
• Sao Paulo, Brazil 16,800,000
• Santiago, Chile 15,211,000
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 11,029,300

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Urban Sprawl

• Unemployment
• Crime
• Illegal Drug trafficking
• Slums
• Pollution
• Sanitation
• Shortages of clean drinking water and housing

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Tourism

• Advantages
• Creation of new jobs
• Reduction of the income gap between rich and poor

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Tourism

• Disadvantages
• Congestion
• Pollution
• Strain on local resources
• Resentment and hostility
• Large public debt due to building tourist
  facilities

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The End