From the Rio Grande to the Andes and Amazon River, the physical features of Latin America shapes settlement patterns.

1. By Jack Garrity

4.  Chapter 8
 Pages 200-206

5.  Latin America has the longest river and
mountain range in the world.
 The physical environment affects people and
their activities. The rugged Andes and massive
rivers of Latin America influence human
settlement in the region.

6.  Latin America covers 16 percent of the Earth’s land
surface, around 8 million sq. km.

7.  Geographers divide Latin America in to three sub-regions;
 Middle America,

8.  Geographers divide Latin America in to three sub-regions;
 Middle America, the Caribbean

9.  Geographers divide Latin America in to three sub-regions;
 Middle America, the Caribbean, and South America.

10.  Latin America’s mountains distinguish the region.

11.  They stretch from North America (Rockies) to the tip of
South America.

12.  Mexico names them the Sierra Madre Mountains.

13.  In Southern Central America the name changes to the
Central Highlands.

14.  In South America, they call them the Andes.

15.  The Ring of Fire’s colliding plates formed the range over
millions of years.

16.  Plate movements continue to change the region.

17.  In 1999, a 6.6 earthquake destroyed many towns in
villages in Columbia.

19.  Humans have settled on Latin America’s mountains and
plateaus for thousands of years.

20.  A plateau is a flat, elevated landform that rises
sharply above the surrounding area on at least
one side.

22.  Volcanic soil, minerals, wood and water attract
settlements.

23.  The rugged terrain tends to isolate communities from
each other.

24.  Today Pokemon and Snappy Chatty help break down
those barriers to communication.

25.  The Sierra Madre mountains surround the populated
Mexican Plateau.

27.  A mild climate, fertile volcanic soil, and water has
supported cities for more than a thousand years.

28.  The volcanic mountain chain of the Central Highlands
continues under the Gulf of Mexico.

31.  Volcanoes formed most of the islands of the Caribbean
Sea.

32.  Some active volcanoes make life precarious at best.

33. precarious
 1 : depending on the will or pleasure of
another. 2 : dependent on uncertain premises

34.  The Andes run 7,242 km along the western edge of South
America, the longest in the world.

35.  Some mountains rise to 6,096 meters.

36.  Cordilleras (parallel mountain ranges) make up the
Andes, which tend to isolate communities.

37.  The Andes surround the altiplano (high plain) in Peru
and Bolivia.

40.  In Southern Argentina, flatlands form the plateau of
Patagonia.

41.  The Andes cause a rain shadow desert in Patagonia.

42.  The Mato Grosso Platea spreads across Brazil, Bolivia,
and Peru.

43.  600 m above sea level, the plateau is covered with a
mixture of savanna grasslands and woodland.

44.  The connect are a continuation of the Brazilian
Highlands.

45.  The Brazilian Highlands has many climate and vegetatio
zones.

46.  Its’ warm climate and open spaces make it good for
livestock.

47.  The Eastern Highlands plunge to the Atlantic Ocean
forming an escarpment.

48.  escarpment
 ɪˈskɑːpm(ə)nt,ɛ-/
 noun
 a long, steep slope, especially one at the edge of
a plateau or separating areas of land at
different heights.

50.  Narrow coastal lowlands run along much of South
America, especially Brazil.

51.  The escarpment begins in the northeast and goes
southward to Uruguay.

52.  The escarpment shapes population patterns, most people
live in cities on the coast.

53.  The llanos grasslands provide great places to raise cattle
in Colombia and Venezuela.

54.  The llanos grasslands provide great places to raise cattle
in Colombia and Venezuela.

55.  The pampas grasslands provide great places to raise cattl
in Argentina and Uruguay.

56.  The pampas is one of the world’s bread basket.

57.  The pampas and llanos shape human culture, producing
llaneros or gauchos or cowboys.

58.  The regions major waterways are in South America,
Middle America has mostly small rivers.

59.  The Amazon River runs 6,400 km through the heart of
South America.

60.  Ocean ships can travel 3,701 km of the Amazon due to its
great depth and width.

61.  Hundreds of smaller rivers drain into the Amazon
forming the Amazon Basin (2 million km sq).

62.  The Parana, Paraguay, and Uruguay Rivers drains the
rainy eastern half of South America.

63.  The Parana, Paraguay, and Uruguay Rivers drains the
rainy eastern half of South America.

64.  These rivers provide a water highway between cities.

65.  They are a source of hydroelectric power.

67.  They all flow into the estuary Rio de la Plata (Silver
River).

68.  estuary
 ˈɛstjʊ(ə)ri/
 noun
 the tidal mouth of a large river, where the
ocean tide meets the fresh water.

71.  The Rio Grande River forms the far northern boarder of
Latin America.

74.  The human made Panama Canal allows ships to travel
between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, without sailing
around the continent.

76.  Lake Maracaibo is South America’s largest lake, which
merges with Venezuel’s oil fields.

78.  At 3,810, Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable
lake.

80.  Latin America is super rich in natural resources.

81.  Mexico and Venezuela are rich in oil and natural gas
deposits.

82.  Venezuela has large amounts of gold.

83.  Mexico and Peru have lots of silver.

84.  Columbia has the best emeralds for over 1000 years.

85.  Chile is the world’s largest exporter of copper.

86.  Jamaica produces the most bauxite, the main source of
aluminum.

87.  Next time, Cultural Latin America

88.  end