1. South America

4. South America
 4th largest continent in the world
 Most of the continent is in the “tropics”
 Coastline along the Atlantic, Pacific and
Caribbean Sea
 Is it South of America?

6. Physical Features
Three Physical Regions
Andes Mountains
Plains
Lowlands and Plateaus of Brazil

7. Andes Mountains
From Tierra del Fuego to Venezuela
4,500 miles long
Inhabitants are mostly native;
isolated villages

10.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0xsccVQO7U

11. Plains
 Foothills of the Andes to
the Atlantic Ocean
 Argentina & Paraguay
 Rich loess soil covers the
ground
 Among the best farmland
in the world

13. Lowlands & Plateaus of Brazil
 Amazon River flows
through this huge
area of mostly flat
land.
 Wide coastal plain to
the Atlantic
 Site of Colonial
European Sugar
Plantations

15. Indigenous Persons
-In the Pre-Columbian age, continent dominated by
native people
- Inca Empire: Andes region from 1438-1533
 9-14 million people
 Highly developed and distinct
 Cities, road systems, terrace farming

16. European Colonization
 1494: Spain and Portugal agree
to divide the continent
 By mid 1500s, European colonies
established
 What were the goals of these
early colonists?
 Spanish and Portuguese settlers
intermarried with natives, forming
a Mestizo class
 European settlers brought disease
and forced labor to SA
 By mid-1800s, most of South
America had won independence

18. Government
 South America a battlefield
during the Cold War
 Today, most governments lean
left
 Socialist leaders in:
Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentin
a, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, P
eru, and Venezuela
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwNmYaaindU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDaSJ23DRjs

21. Religion
 Roman Catholic dominates region
 Other Religions
 Protestant: French Guiana
 Christianity, Hinduism, Islam: Guyana & Suriname
 Animism and Shamanism exist in the Andes

22. Languages
 Spanish &
Portuguese
dominate
 Other
languages:
English, Hindi,
Dutch, French,
Italian &
German
 Native
languages also
exist

23. Economy
of South
America

24. Venezuela
 Dependent on oil production
 75% exports are oil, most to the US and Canada
 Member of OPEC
 10% of workforce farmers (bananas, coffee, corn,
oranges, rice, livestock

26. Colombia
 Relies on agricultural products
 Number one export: Coffee
 Cotton, sugar, livestock
 Cocaine
 80% of the world’s supply
 Employs about 200,000 people
with annual revenues of $2.2
billion

27. Peru
 Rugged land has led to a
struggling economy
 1/3 of population farming
 Leading producer of
asparagus
 Copper, lead, silver from
the mountains

28. Bolivia
 Leading export: natural gas
 ½ of population farming
 Producer of quinoa, a week that produces a small,
edible grain
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7uvygMiwfo
 http://www.channelone.com/video/the-year-of-quinoa/#ooid=xdHVnODraD2EoGjlDZc9GHfAa8q7TVk

29. Ecuador
 Major export:
petroleum
 World’s largest
supplier of balsa wood
 Most Ecuadorians are
farmers

30. Argentina
 Service economies
 Manufacturing near Buenos Aires
 Pampas: important to agriculture
 Patagonia: Petroleum

31. Chile
 Only 3% of land farmable
 Copper mining & fishing

32. Brazil
 Largest economy in South
America
 Abundance of natural
resources & good farmland
 Fast-moving Amazon river
creates hydroelectricity
 1/5 of workers in
agriculture
 2nd only to US in
agricultural exports
 ½ of workers in service
industries