CHAPTER 9LATIN

AMERICA

ANDES MOUNTAINS

1. THE LARGEST UNBROKEN CHAIN OF MOUNTAINS IN

THE WORLD

2. LOCATED IN WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA

HIGHLANDS

BRAZILIAN HIGHLANDS

GUIANA HIGHLANDS

THE PLAINS OF LATIN AMERICA

LLANOS-Venezuela

PAMPAS-Argentina

GRAN CHACO-Brazil

Life Among the Gauchos of Argentina

LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING VIDEO CLIP FOR THESE TERMS:

BOLAS

VAQUEROS

PAMPAS

WHAT IS ARGENTINA’S MOST IMPORTANT EXPORT?

RIVERS OF LATIN AMERICA

AMAZON- world’s largest river

ORINOCO-northern South America, home to Angel Falls, the world’s tallest waterfall (see page 200)

PARANA-in Paraguay and Argentina is the source of the Rio de la Plata, a large estuary on the Atlantic Ocean

ISLANDS OF THE CARIBBEAN

1. GREATER ANTILLESCUBA

JAMAICAHISPANIOLA

PUERTO RICO

WHAT 2 COUNTRIES MAKE UP HISPANIOLA?

THE BAHAMAS

HUNDREDS OF ISLANDS OFF THE COASTS OF CUBA AND FLORIDA

SETTLED AND CONTROLLED BY THE

BRITISH

LESSER ANTILLES

DIVIDED INTO THE WINDWARD AND LEEWARD

ISLANDS

MANY OF THE THESE ISLANDS ARE VOLCANIC

In 1997, Monserrat was nearly destroyed by volcanic ash.

RESOURCES OF LATIN AMERICA

MINERAL RESOURCES

Mexico is a major oil producer. Many wells are located offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.Bolivia has great supplies of zinc and tin.Central American countries- insufficient resources. Tierra del Fuego, at the tip of the continent, has rich oil and gas supplies.

ENERGY RESOURCES

OIL RESOURCES

Mexico, Venezuela

HYDROELECTRIC POWER

Brazil

NATURAL GAS

Trinidad

Latin America Climate and Vegetation

TROPICAL WET

What are the characteristics of the Tropical Wet Climate?

Daily rain, hot & humid temperatures

Rain forests contain many different species.

Most of the rain forest in Latin America is located in Brazil

Tropical Wet and DryHow does this climate zone differ from

Tropical Wet?

Seasonal rains, warm

TemperaturesThese areas make up the

savannas like the Llanos grasslands of northern South America and the

Gran Chaco

of Argentina.

Semiarid

Found in Mexico and some areas of South America.

No Central American or Caribbean country has a dry

or semiarid climate.

Mid-Latitude Climates

Humid Subtropical- Paraguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil,

southern Bolivia

Mediterranean- part of Chile

Marine West Coast- southern

Chile and Argentina

Highlands- mountains of Mexico and South America

DesertAtacama Desert

Where is this desert located?

Western Chile

How do the Andes Mountains contribute to the formation of this desert?

Rain shadow of the Andes and no rainfall from the southern ocean

Patagonia

Where is this dry plateau? Southern Argentina

HighlandMountains of Mexico

and South America

Vertical Climate Zones

VERTICAL CLIMATE ZONES