Unit 4 Vocabulary Terms

1. Unit 4 Vocabulary Terms

2. Andes Mountains – chain of mountain ranges that run thru the w. portion of N, C, and S Am • Llanos – vast plains that are grassy , treeless areas used for livestock grazing and farming • Cerrado – savannas with flat terrain & moderate rainfall that make them good for farming • Pampas – areas of grasslands and rich soil found in northern Argentina & Uruguay • Orinoco river – winds thru northern part of South Am, mainly in Venezuela • Amazon river – flows about 4,000 miles from west to east, empting into the Atlantic Ocean • Parana river – originated in the highlands of southern Brazil. Travels 3,000 miles south and west thru Paraguay and Argentina • Slash and burn – cut trees, brush and grasses and burn the debris to clear the field • Terraced farming – ancient technique for growing crops on hillsides or mountain slopes • Push factors – factors that “push” people to leave rural areas

3. Pull factors – factors that “pull” people toward cities • Infrastructure – facilities such as sewers, transportation, electricity and housing • Spanish conquest – the conquering of the Native American by the Spanish • Tenochtitlan – the ancient Aztec capital, site of Mexico city today • Institutional revolutionary party – helped introduce democracy & maintain political stability for much of the 20th century in Mexico • Mestizo – people of mixed Spanish and Native American heritage • Maquiladoras – factories in Mexico that assemble imported materials into finished products that are then exported, mostly to the US • NAFTA – North American Free Trade Agreement: Mexico, US & Canada • Cultural hearth – place from which important ideas spread • United Provinces of Central America – the name of Central America after the region declared independence from Mexico in 1823

4. Panama Canal - cuts thru the land bridge and connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans • Calypso – music started in Trinidad, combines musical elements from Africa, Spain and the Caribbean • Reggae – developed in Jamaica combines African, Caribbean and American music. • Informal economy – takes place outside officials channels, without benefits or protection for workers. Ex: street vendors • Inca – descendants of people who came across a land bridge from Siberia to Alaska and eventually crossed the Isthmus of Panama into S. Am • Quechua – language of the Inca • Treaty of Tordesillas – Portugal gained control over the land that became present-day Brazil • Carnival – the most colorful feast day in Brazil • Samba – Brazilian dance with African influences. • Capoeira – martial art and dance that developed in Brazil from African origins.

5. Biodiversity – wide range of plant and animal species • Deforestation – cutting down and clearing away of tree in the rain forest • Global warming – the build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, preventing heat from escaping into s[pace and causing temperatures and shifting weather patterns. • Debt for nature swap – a debt reducing deal wherein an organization agrees to pay off a certain amount of government debt in return for govt. protection of a certain portion of rain forest. • Oligarchy – a govt. run by a few persons or a small group • Junta – a govt. run by generals after a military takeover • Caudillo – military dictator or political boss • Land reform – process of breaking up large landholding to attain a more balanced land distribution among farmers • Rain forest – dense forests made up of different species of trees which form a unique ecosystem