Latin America and the Caribbean

1. Latin America and the Caribbean Regions & Landscapes and a brief History of the region

2. Atlantic Ocean X Gulf of Mexico X Bahamas Baja California Volcanoes! Yucatan Peninsula Sierra Madre Occidential Sierra Madre Oriental Lesser Antilles Puerto Rico Cuba Jamaica Hispanola Isthmus of Tehuntapec Greater Antilles Pacific Ocean X Caribbean Sea X Central America Panama Canal

4. Caribbean Sea X Angel Falls Lake Maracaibo Atlantic Ocean X Guiana Highlands Galapagos Islands Amazon River Basin Andes Mountains Pacific Ocean X Lake Titicaca

5. Lake Titicaca Atacama Desert Gran Chaco Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Pampas Andes Mountains Patagonia Falkland Islands South Georgia Islands Tierra del Fuego Strait of Magellan X Drake Passage

6. Geography Issues Ring of Fire Mexico, Central America, west coast of South America Volcanoes and earthquakes Chile earthquake in Feb, 2010 (8.8) Landslides from earthquakes Hurricanes (Caribbean and Central America) Caribbean Islands are all volcanoes on edge of a plate Some volcanoes still active Haiti earthquake in Jan, 2010 (7.0; 200,000+ dead) Put this at the end of the last page Put this at the end of the last page

7. Landslide from 2001 earthquake in El Salvador

8. Atacama Desert: Driest place on earth Rainfall = <1mm/year 50x more arid than Death Valley 100 miles x 600 miles

10. Angel Falls 3,212 ft tall 2,663 ft water drop Niagara = 167 feet

12. Falkland Islands Currently owned by UK (claimed by Argentina) 1982: Argentina invaded to regain control 2 month war – Argentina lost Residents are UK citizens Reject Argentina’s claim

13. Three Regions Gran Chaco Last ‘frontier’ of South America Dry, largely uninhabited Pampas Very fertile, big for farming Patagonia Southern end of Andes mountains and large flat plains Colder climate than rest of South America Especially in higher altitudes Mining, whaling, sheep and wheat farming, tourism Cougars, penguins, flamingos, parakeets, Orca, elephant seals

17. Isthmus of Tehuantepec 120 Miles across

18. Amazon River • Largest river in the world (water volume) • 2nd longest in world: 4,000 miles • 1,000 tributaries • 7 tributaries are 1,000+ miles long; 1 = 2,000 mi. • 1/5 of all flowing water on Earth • Largest drainage basin: 2,669,000 mi2 • Discharges 6,180,000 ft3 of water per second • 10x more than the Mississippi, 56x more than the Nile • Room = 7308 ft3…Amazon = 845.6 rooms! • Mixes with ocean water 100 miles out • Through most of Brazil, depth = 150+ feet

20. History Areas first populated by Indians ~6000 BC • Olmec: E. Mexico  1200 – 400 BC • Maya: S. Mexico and Central America 250 – 900 AD • First full Pre-Columbian writing system • Pioneers in math and astronomy • Aztecs: Central Mexico  1248 – 1521 • Capital = Tenochtitlan (built on an island in Lake Texcoco) • Pyramids, monuments • Incas: Andes  1200s – mid-1500s • Roads, farmers, terraces, monuments

23. Tenochtitlan’s Temple District

24. Maya Temple

25. Machu Picchu, PeruLostInca settlement

28. Columbus • 1492 • Italian; sailed & claimed for Spain • Landed in Bahamas = Indians! • “West Indies” • After Columbus= Spain and Portugal • Came for mining, farming and gold • Pope draws Line of Demarcation = cuts area in 2: • Portugal gets land east of Line (Brazil), Spain gets west (everywhere else) • Explore Caribbean, Mexico and Florida area • St. Augustine, FL = oldest continuous European settlement; 1565 Europeans!

29. Santa Maria (replica)

30. Columbus' First Voyage Oct 1492

31. Columbus' Second Voyage 1493-94

32. Columbus' Third Voyage 1498

33. Columbus' Fourth Voyage 1502 – 1504

35. Notable Spanish and Portuguese explorers: • Amerigo Vespucci (Italian, working for Portugal): Explored east coast of S. America (1500); namesake of “America” • Ponce de León: Florida (1513); Fountain of Youth? • Vasco de Balboa: First to cross Isthmus of Panama and first European to see the Pacific Ocean (1513) • Ferdinand Magellan: Sailed through Strait of Magellan, named Pacific Ocean (1520) • Hernán Cortés: Mexico, wiped out Aztec Empire (1521) • Francisco Pizzaro: Conquered Inca Empire (1533); established Lima • Hernando de Soto: SE US; discovered Miss. River (1541)

36. Spanish conquistadors • Introduces guns, horses, disease (smallpox) • Hernán Cortéz wipes out Aztecs in 1521 • Claimed Mexico for Spain • Begins construction of Mexico City • Francisco Pizarro conquers Inca in 1533 • Indians relocated and used as slaves • Haciendas = Spanish plantations, ranches • By 1650, native population fell by ~80% • Mid 1600s = French, British, Dutch come • Stick mostly to Caribbean Islands and South American coastal areas • Big crop: Indigo

37. New land used for different reasons: • Trading Post – Control area for trade benefit • Dependency – Establish new area of home country, small group of settlers control natives • Plantations – Large scale farms, large group of 3rd party slaves • Slaves from Africa brought in by several European nations • Earliest were in early- to mid-1500s (Portuguese) • Created new ‘races’: • Mestizos = European and Indian mix • Mulattos = European and African mix

39. Netherlands France Portugal Spain Great Britain 1674

41. Independence • Began in early 1800s • Haiti was first nation to revolt (1804) • Led by slaves • Mexico = 1821 • Military and rich take over; poor suffer • Today: Most countries are free • Some islands still parts of European countries • Constant takeovers and problems • People are mix of Europeans and Africans • Language of European colonizers dominates

43. Bermuda UK US UK UK France Neth.