Latin America

Latin AmericaPhysical Geography

**Our Test is on Monday 4/29, this is different than what the Geographer says**

The Landscape Defining the realm

Latin America: Includes Middle and South

America. Mexico:

The most substantial landmass.

Central America: Narrowing strip of land to 40

miles wide in Panama. Caribbean islands.

Major geographic qualities of Middle America Fragmented - physically and

politically. Culturally diverse :

Less Latin (European) than South America.

Importance of pre-Columbian and African cultures.

North AmericaCentral AmericaCaribbeanSouth America

Regions of Middle America

Mexico

Central America

Greater AntillesLesser Antilles

PanamaCosta Rica

Nicaragua

HondurasGuatemala

El Salvador

Belize

CubaHaiti Dominican Republic

Jamaica

Puerto Rico

Caribbean Sea

Atlantic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Major Physical Features Land bridge

Isthmus of Panama A link (isthmus) between

two major continental masses.

A shortcut between two major oceans.

Archipelago About 7000 islands.

Greater Antilles: The four large islands; Cuba,

Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. Lesser Antilles:

Numerous small islands; Bahamas, Martinique, etc.

Natural hazards Earthquakes. Volcanoes. Hurricanes.

Natural Bad Times Hurricanes

Violent tropical storms. Form during the summer and

early fall. About 96 tropical cyclones are

reported annually. Spiral shape and curved paths:

Formed 5 degrees north and south of the equator.

In the north, storms follow clockwise paths.

In the south, storms follow a counterclockwise path.

Heat is the critical factor in the formation of tropical storms

World Hurricane Tracks

Volcanoes In Mexico

Paricutin Began in 1943, only volcano

observed at creation Montserrat:

Major volcanic eruption in 1995; ongoing to 2010.

Evacuation of 7,000 out of the 10,500 population.

More than half the island now inhabitable

Parícutin 1943

Tectonic Plates in Middle America

Cocos Plate

Caribbean Plate

North American Plate

Pacific Plate

Regions of Mexico

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Mexico City

Merida

Dallas

Houston

El Paso

Phoenix

Guatemala

Monterrey

Chihuahua

San Diego

Tegucigalpa

Guadalajara

New Orleans

San Antonio

Tepic

Mobile

Oaxaca

JalapaColima

Austin

La Paz

Atlanta

MoreliaPachuca

Tampico

Jackson

Durango

Chetumal

La Ceiba

Campeche

Veracruz

Acapulco

Saltillo

Mazatlan

Culiacan

Mexicali

CholutecaSanta AnaEscuintla

Queretaro

Galveston

Zacatecas

Montgomery

San Miguel

Cuernavaca

Hermosillo

Tallahassee

Baton Rouge

Villahermosa

Quezaltenango

San Pedro Sula

Aguascalientes

Ciudad Victoria

Tuxtla GutierrezChilpancingo De Los Bravo

Mexamerica

New Spain

Metromex

Club Mex

Club Mex

SouthMexico

The Regions of Mexico Mexamerica

Extends north of the Rio Grande into Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

Northern half of Mexico. The most integrated with

the US economically and culturally.

Source of most migration to the US.

Largely a dry land of great ranches.

The Regions of Mexico New Spain

Mexico's breadbasket and its historic colonial hearth.

Region of old cities and tradition. Most conservative and traditionally

Catholic region. Metromex

Mexico City and its surrounding area. One of the world's largest city (25

million). A quarter of the national population. Growing at the estimated rate of

500,000 per year through both natural increase and immigration.

Dominates the national economy, the national political life, and its modern cultural life.

Significant environmental problems.

The Regions of Mexico South Mexico

Major areas of continued habitation by large indigenous populations: The states of Chiapas,

Oaxaca, and of the Yucatán Peninsula.

20% of the Mexican population of Amerindian origin.

Many unassimilated groups, particularly in highland areas.

The poorest region of the country.

Least affected by development.

Chiapas rebellion of 1994: Revolt against landowners.

The Regions of Mexico Club Mex

Capture the essential international flavor of Mexico's areas of concentrated resort tourism development.

Tourism as economic development: Pursued by the government. Mostly in areas of relatively limited

industrial development. Created the necessary

infrastructure (particularly airports).

Allow foreign investors to have access to rather remote regions (note Cancún, Ixtapa, Puerto Escondido).

Construction of hotels, restaurants, and entertainment facilities.

Club Mex is much less Mexican than other parts of the country.

South America Physiography

Dominated by the Andes mountains and the Amazon basin.

Population Concentrated along the

eastern coast. Cultural diversity

Exists in most countries and is expressed regionally.

A mix of pre-Columbian, African and European cultures.

Regional economic interaction Been minimal in the past. Attributed to colonialism.

Amazonian Basin

Andes

Pampas

BrazilianHighlands

Tropical plantationResembles Middle America’s Rimland.Locations, soils, & tropical climates favor plantation crops, especially sugar.Initially relied on African slave labor.European commercialThe most “Latin” part of South America.Population of European descent.Includes the Pampas - temperate grasslands.Economically most advanced.Good transportation networks and quality of life.Amerind subsistenceCorrelates with the former Inca Empire.Feudal socioeconomic structure persists.Includes some of South America’s poorest areas.Subsistence agriculture must contend with difficult environmental challenges (high altitude).Mestizo-transitionalSurrounds the Amerindian-subsistence region.A zone of mixture, culturally & agriculturally.Transitional economic connotations.UndifferentiatedSparsely populated.Isolation and lack of change.Development of Amazonia may prompt significant changes.

Regional Divisions Guyanas

Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana.

Borders the Caribbean Sea.

Limited population (less than one million each) and development.

Poor agricultural land. French Guyana

Controlled by France serves as a launching

pad for the Ariane rockets

Part of Eurozone

Regional Divisions Andean group

Including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Bolivia.

Andes Highest mountain range in the

Western Hemisphere Many peaks reaching over

20,000 feet in elevation. Mainly native population with

some European and Asian influence.

Vast array of mineral resources. Large oil reserves:

Venezuela (world’s 7th largest), Columbia and Ecuador.

Income used to fund socialist policies.

Regional Divisions Semi-arid coastal plain

Cities located next to rivers.

Fisheries very important due to maritime currents.

Altiplano region aka Andean Plateau Long corridor linking Peru

and Bolivia. Plateaus bordered by

mountain chains. Average 4,000 meters of

altitude. Highest inhabited region

of the world. Several minerals.

Regional Divisions Southern Cone countries

Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Agriculture

Important cattle producers and agricultural exports.

Pampas zone for grazing; fertile plains in southeast

Region of rich soils and produces vast amounts of wheat and other grains, corn, alfalfa, beef, wool, and hides.

One of the major areas of surplus agriculture in the world.

Opposite seasons are a significant advantage to export food to the northern hemisphere.

95% of the population of white background. The most European part of Latin America

(Buenos Aires and Montevideo).

Physical Features

Amazon Basin River system drains about

40% of S.A. Largest tropical rainforest,

2 million square miles (half the size of the US)

Vast biodiversity 14,ooo mammals, 15oo

birds, 1000 reptiles, 22oo fish, and 1 square mile of the rainforest has 50,000 species of insects

Extensive deforestation

Other Physical Features Patagonia*

Southern end of Andes mountains and large flat plains rising in terraces to the Andes Hollowed out lakes

Colder climate than rest of South America Especially in higher altitudes Ice fields and glaciers

Llanos Tropical grassland plain in Venezuela and

Colombia Extremes: floods during wet season

Atacama Desert Plateau in Andes (on the bend of SA) Made of salt lakes, lava flows, and sand Driest place on earth

Interesting… The name Patagonia comes

from the word patagón used by Magellan in 1520 to describe the native people that his expedition thought to be giants. It is now believed the Patagons were actually Tehuelches with an average height of 180 cm (~5′11″) compared to the 155 cm (~5′1″) average for Europeans of the time

(This is directly copied from Wikipedia)

Brazil: The South American Giant Context

Sub-continent, the fifth largest territorial state on Earth.

50% of the South American territory.

Large agricultural producer.

The sixth most populous country (175 million).

physical and cultural diversity

Brazil: Agriculture World's largest exporter of beef, chickens, orange juice, sugar, coffee and tobacco.

Large amounts of cheap land.

Well-drained tropical savanna (cerrado): Traditionally considered

as low fertility. Application of small

quantities of fertilizers increase significantly productivity.

Growing exports to China.

Brazil: Population People

Considered by some to be the most diverse population on Earth.

Relative harmony, though with vast inequalities. Indigenous groups:

Many of whom are still unassimilated. Primarily in Amazonia, many who earlier were

incorporated into various mixed races through intermarriage with other groups.

Africans: Slaves in the mid-16th century to work on the sugar

plantations in the Northeast. Many aspects of African culture have been preserved:

Brazilian music, food, and religion. Europeans:

Mostly from Portugal during the colonial period. Between 1822 and World War II, Italy (34%), Portugal

(30%), Spain (12%), and Germany (3%) were the primary sources.

Japanese: Brazil also counts more than 750,000 Japanese, most

of whom are Brazilian born.

Brazil: Culture Carnival! Football

2014 World Cup Olympics

The stadium’s power will come from a ring of solar PV panels on the roof, which will also have a “photocatalytic membrane.” That membrane is able to capture air pollution, break down the chemicals and remove them them from the atmosphere

Brasilia Capital of Brazil;

population close to 2 million.

Constructed between 1956 and 1960.

A symbol of Brazil’s development.

Located in the interior. Moving

development away from the coast.

Part of a national plan to stimulate the development of the interior.

Brazil: Disparity Inequalities

Brazil is the least equal society on Earth.

The poorest distribution of wealth. Yields a society of extreme

contrasts: fabulous wealth, grinding poverty.

Contains the potential for instability. GNP per capita-$7,300; Largest

income gap in the realm Wealthiest 10% of the population:

Own 2/3 of the land. Control over 50% of the country’s

wealth. Poverty has increased by 50% since

1980