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Splash Screen. Chapter Introduction Section 1: Physical Features Section 2: Climate Regions Summary. Chapter Menu.

lillian-cole
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  1. Splash Screen

  2. Chapter Introduction Section 1:Physical Features Section 2:Climate Regions Summary Chapter Menu

  3. MovementLatin America stretches from Mexico in North America to the southernmost tip of South America. The region has a great variety of physical contrasts. Steamy tropical forests, thundering waterfalls, cold mountain peaks, and peaceful island beaches make up Latin America. How might a wide variety of physical features affect transportation and communications within a region? Chapter Intro 1

  4. Section 1: Physical Features Geographic factors influence where people settle.In Latin America, vast river systems provide transportation and support fishing. The region’s rugged mountains and thick forests, however, have been obstacles to transportation and trade. Chapter Intro 2

  5. Section 2: Climate Regions The physical environment affects how people live. Latin America’s vast expanse of rain forest is the largest in the world and contains valuable resources. In mountainous areas, climate and vegetation are affected more by altitude than by latitude. Chapter Intro 2

  6. Chapter Intro-End

  7. Geographic factors influence where people settle. Section 1-Main Idea

  8. Content Vocabulary • subregion • isthmus • archipelago • escarpment • Llanos • Pampas • tributary • estuary • gasohol Section 1-Key Terms

  9. Academic Vocabulary • transport • reside Section 1-Key Terms

  10. A B Does your town you live in have many mountains? A. Yes B. No Section 1-Polling Question

  11. Before the construction of the Panama Canal, a ship sailing from New York City to San Francisco had to go around South America—a trip of 13,165 miles (21,187 km). The Canal route is 5,300 miles (8,529 km)—a shortcut of 7,865 miles (12,657 km). Section 1

  12. Landforms Mountains are prominent features in many parts of Latin America. Section 1

  13. Landforms (cont.) • Geographers divide the region of Latin America into three subregions: Middle America, the Caribbean, and South America. • Middle America is made up of Mexico and Central America. Central America is an isthmus, or a narrow piece of land that links North America and South America. Section 1

  14. Landforms (cont.) • Mountain ranges run along Mexico’s eastern and western coasts with a high plateau between. • Central America has mountains and lowlands along its coasts. • Thick forests, rugged mountains, and coastal marshes make it difficult to transport goods in that country. Section 1

  15. Landforms (cont.) • The islands of the Caribbean Sea, also known as the West Indies, are divided into the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas. • The Greater Antilles include the largest islands—Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. Section 1

  16. Landforms (cont.) • The Lesser Antilles is an archipelago, or group of islands, curving from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad. • The third group is the Bahamas, another archipelago. Section 1

  17. Landforms (cont.) • Cuba has about half of the Caribbean’s land area. • Some islands are low-lying, but others, formed by volcanoes, have rugged mountains. • Some volcanoes are still active and can be damaging, but the fertile volcanic soil is good for growing sugarcane and tobacco. Section 1

  18. Landforms (cont.) • The Andes mountain ranges and the vast Amazon Basin are South America’s major landforms. • The Andes, the world’s longest mountain system, are a cordillera and stretch along the Pacific coast of South America for about 5,500 miles (8,851 km). • Between the mountain chains lie plateaus and valleys, where most people live and farm. Section 1

  19. Landforms (cont.) • The Amazon Basin is a low-lying area formed the Amazon River and covering 2.7 million square miles (7.0 million sq. km). • Highlands to the north and south border the basin. • The Brazilian Highlands end in an escarpment, a series of steep cliffs that drop down to the Atlantic coastal plain. Section 1

  20. Landforms (cont.) • Tropical grasslands known as the Llanos stretch through eastern Colombia and Venezuela. • Another well-known plain, the Pampas, covers much of Argentina and Uruguay and provides grazing land for beef cattle and fertile soil for growing grains. Section 1

  21. A B C D How many tectonic plates do Mexico and Central America lie on? A.2 B.3 C.4 D.5 Section 1

  22. Waterways Latin America’s waterways provide important transportation routes. Section 1

  23. Waterways (cont.) • The Amazon, Latin America’s longest river, starts in the Andes and flows east about 4,000 miles (6,437 km) to the Atlantic Ocean. • Heavy rains and many tributaries, or small rivers that flow into a larger river, feed the Amazon. Section 1

  24. Waterways (cont.) • Three other rivers—the Paraná, Paraguay, and Uruguay—form Latin America’s second-largest river system. • These rivers flow into the Rio de la Plata—a broad estuary, or area where river currents and ocean tides meet—which meets the Atlantic Ocean. Section 1

  25. Waterways (cont.) • The Orinoco River flows through Venezuela to the Caribbean Sea, carrying fertile soil into the Llanos region. • Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo is South America’s largest lake and contains some of Venezuela’s oil fields. Section 1

  26. Waterways (cont.) • Lake Titicaca lies between Bolivia and Peru. • About 12,500 feet above sea level, it is the world’s highest lake that can be used by large ships. Section 1

  27. Waterways (cont.) • The Panama Canal, a human-made waterway, stretches across the narrow Isthmus of Panama. • Ships use the canal to shorten travel time between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Section 1

  28. A B C D What is Latin America’s longest river? A.Amazon B.Paraná C.Paraguay D.Uruguay Section 1

  29. A Wealth of Natural Resources Latin America has vast natural resources, but political and economic troubles have kept some countries from fully using them. Section 1

  30. A Wealth of Natural Resources (cont.) • Latin America’s largest country, Brazil, is more than 55 percent forest, including a large area of tropical rain forests. • The rain forests provide timber, rubber, palm oil, and Brazil nuts. Section 1

  31. A Wealth of Natural Resources (cont.) • Brazil has large amounts of bauxite, gold, and tin but limited oil and natural gas reserves. • Its deposits of iron ore and manganese help support one of the world’s largest iron and steel industries. • To reduce its dependence on oil imports, Brazil uses alcohol produced from sugarcane and gasoline to produce a fuel for cars called gasohol. Section 1

  32. A Wealth of Natural Resources (cont.) • Venezuela has the region’s largest oil and natural gas reserves, and Mexico has large amounts of oil and natural gas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. • Both countries use the supplies for their own energy needs as well as for exports. • Bolivia and Ecuador also have valuable oil and natural gas deposits. Section 1

  33. A Wealth of Natural Resources (cont.) • Silver is mined in Mexico and Peru, and Venezuela has rich iron ore deposits. • Colombian mines produce the world’s finest emeralds, while Chile is the world’s largest exporter of copper. Section 1

  34. A Wealth of Natural Resources (cont.) • The Caribbean islands generally have relatively few mineral resources, although Jamaica has large deposits of bauxite. • Cuba mines nickel, and the Dominican Republic mines gold and silver. • The Central American countries of Nicaragua and Guatemala have rich gold deposits, but political conflicts and transportation problems make mining these deposits difficult. Section 1

  35. A B C D What is combined with gasoline to produce gasohol? A.Iron ore B.Alcohol from sugarcane C.Bauxite D.Alcohol from palm oil Section 1

  36. Section 1-End

  37. The physical environment affects how people live. Section 2-Main Idea

  38. Content Vocabulary • Tropics • rain forest • canopy • altitude Academic Vocabulary • facilitate • considerable Section 2-Key Terms

  39. A B Do you know what the El Niño effect is? A. Yes B. No Section 2-Polling Question

  40. Two of Latin America’s concerns about climate change are related to agriculture and health. Because bananas must have temperatures around 80ºF (27ºC) and plenty of rainfall, a climate change could destroy this crop. And a warming climate change could increase the area of the hot, moist environment of the Anopheles mosquito—the carrier of the deadly disease malaria. Section 2

  41. Hot to Mild Climates Much of Latin America is located in the Tropics and has year-round high temperatures and heavy rainfall. Section 2

  42. Hot to Mild Climates (cont.) • Most of Latin America lies within the Tropics—the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. • This area has generally warm temperatures because it receives the direct rays of the sun for much of the year. • However, mountain ranges and wind patterns create a variety of climates in the region. Latin America: Climate Zones Section 2

  43. Hot to Mild Climates (cont.) • A tropical wet climate is found in some Caribbean islands and much of Central America and South America. • This climate is marked by year-round hot temperatures and heavy rainfall. • Vast areas of rain forest cover much of this climate zone. Latin America: Climate Zones Section 2

  44. Hot to Mild Climates (cont.) • A rain forest is a dense stand of trees and other plants that receives high amounts of precipitation. • Warm temperatures and heavy rains facilitate the growth of rain forests. Latin America: Climate Zones Section 2

  45. Hot to Mild Climates (cont.) • South America’s Amazon Basin is home to the world’s largest rain forest with more species of plants and animals per square mile than anywhere else on Earth. • Trees there grow so close together that their tops form a dense canopy, an umbrella-like covering of leaves. Section 2

  46. Hot to Mild Climates (cont.) • From June to November, hurricanes often strike the Caribbean islands. • The heavy winds and rain of these storms can cause considerable damage. • Still, many Caribbean islands have used their warm climate and beautiful beaches to build a strong tourist industry. Section 2

  47. Hot to Mild Climates (cont.) • Temperate climates are found in the parts of South America that lie south of the Tropic of Capricorn. • A humid subtropical climate dominates much of southeastern South America, from southern Brazil to the Pampas of Argentina and Uruguay. • This means that winters are short and mild, and summers are long, hot, and humid. Section 2

  48. Hot to Mild Climates (cont.) • Central Chile has a Mediterranean climate that features dry summers and rainy winters. • Farther south is a marine coastal climate zone. • In this area, rainfall is heavier and falls throughout the year. Section 2

  49. Hot to Mild Climates (cont.) • Along the Pacific coast of northern Chile and in the rain shadow of the Andes lies the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth. • Winds from the Atlantic Ocean bring rain to the regions east of the Andes, but they carry no moisture past them. Section 2

  50. Hot to Mild Climates (cont.) • The cold Peru Current in the Pacific Ocean does not evaporate as much moisture as a warm current does. • As a result, only dry air hits the coasts. Section 2

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