physiographic regions. physiographic regions of south america
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Physiographic Regions
Physiographic Regions ofSouth America
EASTERNHIGHLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
WESTERNALPINE SYSTEM
CENTRAL LOWLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Eastern Highlands(cores of Gondwana shield)
• Brazilian Highlands
• Guiana Highlands
• Patagonian Highlands
Striking similarity to geology and fauna in shields in Africa, Australia,India
340-280 mya: ice sheet S. America,Africa, Madagascar
Divisions of Brazilian Highlands:uplands (2000-3000 ft)
1.Brazilian Highlands
2.Sertão– Paraná Plateau
3.Mato Grosso plateau– Pantanál
4.Serro do Mar (Great Escarpment)
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
WESTERNALPINE SYSTEM
CENTRAL LOWLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
SERRO DO MAR
SERTÃO
MATOGROSSO PLATEAU
PARANÁPLATEAU
Brazilian Highlands
Mineral resources: iron ore, diamonds, gold, manganese, tungsten
Sertão
• semiarid
• eroded
Paraná Plateaulava plateau; more humid
Iguaçu River flows over edge of plateau
capivara
Mato Grosso Plateau
• Upland, rolling hills, mountains, plateaus
• Tributaries of Amazon
• Industrial ores
• Western frontier (Brasilia)
Brasilia
Pantanálwithin more humid part of Mato Grosso
region; wetlands
Pantanál
Serro do MarGreat Escarpment (up to 9000 ft)
Cities on narrow coastal plain
EASTERNHIGHLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
WESTERNALPINE SYSTEM
CENTRAL LOWLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Guiana Highlands
Guiana Highlands
• Mining
• Agriculture along northern coastal plain
• Some erosional remnants remain– Tepuis: flat-topped mountains
• Average elevation: 4500 ft.
• Some is inaccessible and rugged– Angel Falls (3200 ft. over edge of tepuy)
• World’s highest waterfall
Angel Falls
Guianan Cock-of-the-Rock
EASTERNHIGHLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
WESTERNALPINE SYSTEM
CENTRAL LOWLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Patagonian Plateau
Patagonian Plateau
• Semiarid
• Series of plateaus that get progressively higher (reaching 5000 ft. until Patagonian Andes)
Patagonia
Lake Argentino
EASTERNHIGHLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
WESTERNALPINE SYSTEM
CENTRAL LOWLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Central Lowlands
Underlain by marine deposits; from a time when shallow seas extended between Guiana and Brazilian Highlands, before Andes emerged
–Much of the lowland region is flooded during rainy season
EASTERNHIGHLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
WESTERNALPINE SYSTEM
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Llanos
Amazon basin
Pampas
Gran Chaco
Llanos• Northern Llanos: flat plains of the Orinoco River• High Llanos: east of Andean foothills
– Good soils, agriculture
• Low Llanos: savannas; cowboys & cowgirls
Orinoco River
Gran Chaco
• Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil
• Lowland alluvial plain• Arid• Cattle ranching• Cotton, peanuts,
meat, hides
Pampas• Temperate grassland
plain• From southernmost
Brazil, across Uruguay, to Colorado River in Argentina
• Fertile soils• cattle, sheep (gauchos)• Grain, flax, soy,
sunflowers, vegetables
Part of La Plata – Parana Basin
Ombu
Amazon basin(wetlands and Amazon floodplain)
Amazon
• ¾ size US• Greatest reserve of
biodiversity• 170 Indian cultural groups• Largest continuous
stretch of tropical rain forest
• Greatest carbon sink on earth
• 20% world’s available fresh water
EASTERNHIGHLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
WESTERNALPINE SYSTEM
CENTRAL LOWLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
EASTERNHIGHLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
CENTRAL LOWLANDS
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
Andes
Altiplano
Atacama Desert
CentralValley of Chile
Andes
subduction
Central Range Andes, Colombia
Andes in Patagonia
Andes
Altiplano
• Intermontane plateau between eastern and western ranges of Andes
• In Bolivia and Peru
• averages 12000 ft.
• Lake Titicaca is northern limit
• La Paz
• salares
llareta
Atacama Desert
• 2000 miles long
• Driest place on earth– Rains once every ten years
• Collect water from fog
Fog collectors
Central Valley, Chile
• Highly urbanized
• Rich in nitrates and copper
• Irrigated commercial agriculture– For Northern markets
Physiographic Regions ofMexico, Central America and
Caribbean
Neovolcanic Range
Southern Highlands
Eastern Sierra Madre
Western Sierra MadreMesa del Norte
Mesa Central
Neovolcanic Axis
• In Mexico• Series of volcanoes• Subduction of Cocos
plate beneath North American
Neovolcanic Axis
• In Mexico• Series of volcanoes• Subduction of Cocos
plate beneath North American
Central American volcanic axis
• parallels Pacific coast from Panama to Chiapas
• Cocos plate subducts beneath Caribbean plate
Central American volcanic axis
• parallels Pacific coast from Panama to Chiapas
• Cocos plate subducts beneath Caribbean plate
• Volcanoes (7000 – 12000 ft)
Interior highland region of Central America consists of ash-filled valleys.
Caribbean
• Summits of a submerged mountain chain, continued in mountains of Honduras
2 volcanic arcs
Lesser Antilles
• Two volcanic arcs :1. Outer Arc (older):
• Anguilla• St. Martin• St. Barthélemy• Barbuda• Antigua• Marie Galante• Eastern Guadelope• Barbados (part) Arid; mineral poor;Not volcanically active
Lesser Antilles
• Two volcanic arcs :2. Inner Arc
(younger):• All the rest!
Volcanically active; fertile soil; abundant rainfall
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