Physical Geography the Equator Means That Most of the Region of Caribbean South America Includes Has Warm Temperatures Year-Round

Home , Caribbean Sea, Caribbean South America

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SECTION 1 Physical TEKS 3A, 3B, 3C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 5A, Geography 5B, 5C, 6A, 6B, 21B, 21C, 22D What You Will Learn… If YOU lived there... Main Ideas You live in Caracas, Venezuela, but this is your first visit to the great 1. Caribbean South America Orinoco River. You’ve heard about the fierce creatures that live in has a wide variety of physical the river, so you think your guide is kidding when he says he’s going features and wildlife. 2. The region’s location and to catch a piranha. You’re expecting a monster and are surprised elevation both affect its when he pulls up a small orange fish. It has many sharp teeth, but climate and vegetation. 3. Caribbean South America is it’s only seven inches long! rich in resources, such as farmland, oil, timber, and What other animals might you see in the region? rivers for hydroelectric power.

The Big Idea Building Background The narrow Isthmus of Panama joins Caribbean South America is the continent of South America at its northwestern corner, the a region with diverse physical country of Colombia. Like the countries of Central America, the five features, wildlife, climates, and resources. countries in Caribbean South America border the Caribbean Sea. They all vary in landscape, climate, and culture and have large rivers Key Terms and Places and rugged mountains. Andes, p. 236 cordillera, p. 236 Guiana Highlands, p. 237 Physical Features and Wildlife Llanos, p. 237 If you were traveling through the region of Caribbean South Orinoco River, p. 238 America, you might see the world’s highest waterfall, South America’s largest lake, and even the world’s largest rodent! As you can see on the map, the geography of this region includes rugged mountains, highlands, and plains drained by huge Use the graphic organizer online to river systems. take notes on the physical geography of Caribbean South America. Mountains and Highlands The highest point in the region is in Colombia, a country larger than California and Texas combined. On the western side of Colombia the Andes (an-deez) reach 18,000 feet (5,490 m). The Andes form a cordillera (kawr-duhl-yer -uh), a mountain system made up of roughly parallel ranges. Some of the Andes’ snowcapped peaks are active volcanoes. Eruptions and earthquakes shake these mountains frequently.

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Caribbean South America: Physical

N 60°W

W E Caribbean Sea 70°W Place The region’s landscapes include 80°W S mountains, highlands, plains, and rivers. 1. Name What major river runs through Pico Cristóbal Colón Venezuela? 18,947 ft (5,775 m) Caracas 10°N 2. Contrast How is the elevation of Lake Colombia different from that of the rest Maracaibo

r ive r of Caribbean South America? PANAMA e inoco R ATLANTIC v Or i R OCEAN

S a Georgetown n O VENEZUELA le N Paramaribo r a d A Angel PACIFICHRW Middlee School World Geography GUYANA Kourou v g L i a L Falls Cayenne R ELEVATION OCEAN mg7fvs_csamap003ba M French a Bogotá G U c I A Feet Meters Carib.u S.America Physical Locator N Guiana a A SURINAME S C COLOMBIAO (FRANCE) 13,120 4,000 E Final pass – 6/7/05rin H I oc G 6,560 2,000 D o R H L iver A 1,640 500 N N D A S 656 200 Equator 0° BRAZIL (Sea level) 0 0 (Sea level) Below Below P Ri u o N sea level sea level ECUADOR tu eg m r o 0 200 400 Miles a AMAZON BASIN y o River 0 200 400 Kilometers Am PERU azon River Projection: Azimuthal Equal-Area

HRW Middle School World Geography mg7fvs_csamap003ca Carib. S. America Physical HRW Middle School World Geography Legend mg7fvs_csamap003aa Replacement Final pass--7/22/05 Carib. S. America Physical REPLACEMENT tFinal pass--7/13/05

stretching the entire length of western South America, the Andes the Orinoco River flows through Venezuela’s is the longest mountain system in the world. Andean peaks fill the rain forests, plains, and highlands. landscape here in western Colombia.

Lying on the Caribbean coast, Venezu- landscape as they rise about 3,000 to ela is located in the middle of the other 6,000 feet (900 to 1,800 m) above the countries in the region. Venezuela’s high- surrounding plains. est elevation is in the Guiana Highlands, which stretch into Guyana and Suriname. Plains, Rivers, and Wildlife For millions of years, wind and rain have As you look at the map above, notice how eroded these highlands’ plateaus. How- much the elevation drops between the ever, some of the steep-sided plateaus highlands and the Andes. This region of are capped by sandstone layers that have plains is known as the Llanos (yah-nohs). resisted erosion. These unusual flat-topped The Llanos is mostly grassland with few formations are sometimes called tepuís trees. At a low elevation and not much (tay-pweez). The tepuís create a dramatic vegetation, these plains flood easily.

caribbean south america 237 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=TX-A

FOCUS ON Flowing for about 1,600 miles (2,575 hundreds of bird species, meat-eating fish READING km), the Orinoco (ohr-ee-noh-koh) River is called piranhas, and crocodiles live in or What details in the region’s longest river. Snaking its way around the Orinoco River. Colombia has this paragraph support this through Venezuela to the Atlantic Ocean, one of the world’s highest concentrations section’s first the Orinoco and its tributaries drain the of plant and animal species. The country’s main idea? plains and highlands. Two other impor- wildlife includes jaguars, ocelots, and sev- tant rivers, the Cauca and the Magdalena, eral species of monkeys. drain the Andean region. Caribbean South America is home to Reading Check Summarizing What are the some remarkable wildlife. For example, region’s major physical features?

Venezuela’s Canaima National Park

Covering almost 3 million acres of eastern Venezuela, Canaima National Park is one of the largest national parks in the world. Analyzing Visuals What do you think attracts millions of people from around the world to visit Canaima National Park?

GUYANA Angel Falls Canaima Dropping more than National Park 3,200 feet (975 m), Angel Mt. Roraima N Falls is the world’s high-

W E i River est waterfall. on ar S C VENEZUELA BRAZIL

HRW Middle School World Geography mg7fvs_csamap031a Locate It! Canaima Nat’l Park Final pass – 7/25/05

A rocky tepuí rises from the park’s flat plains. The red-billed toucan is Hundreds of these flat- among the almost 500 topped mountains are species of birds that live scattered throughout in the park. the park.

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Climate and Vegetation SUmmary and PReview In this section Caribbean South America’s location near you learned that the physical geography the equator means that most of the region of Caribbean South America includes has warm temperatures year-round. How- mountains, highlands, plains, and riv- ever, temperatures do vary with elevation. ers. The region’s location near the equa- For example, in the Andes, as you go up tor and its elevation affect the region’s in elevation, the temperature can drop rap- climate. In the next section you will idly—about four degrees Fahrenheit every learn about Colombia’s history, people, 1,000 feet (305 m). and economy. You will also learn about In contrast, the vast, flat landscape of the challenges Colombia is facing today, the Llanos region has a tropical savanna which include a civil war. climate. Here, both the wet and dry seasons provide favorable conditions for grasslands to grow. Rain forests, another type of landscape, Section 1 Assessment ONLINE QUIZ thrive in the humid tropical climate of southern Colombia. This area is a part of Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and Places the Amazon Basin. Here, rain falls through- 1. a. Recall Where are the Andes located? out the year, watering the forest’s huge b. Explain How are the rock formations called trees. These trees form a canopy where the tepuís unusual? c. Elaborate Why do the Llanos in Colombia and vegetation is so dense that sunlight barely Venezuela flood easily? shines through to the jungle floor. 2. a. Describe In the Andes, how does the temperature change with elevation? Reading Check Analyzing What causes the b. Make Inferences How does the region’s location region’s temperatures to vary? near the equator affect its climate? 3. a. Identify What is a major resource in both Venezuela and Colombia? Resources b. Explain Which resource provides hydroelectric power? Good soil and moderate climates help make most of Caribbean South America a Critical Thinking rich agricultural region. Major crops 4. Categorizing Use your notes to identify four types of physical features in the region. Write each type in include rice, coffee, bananas, and sugar- one of the small circles of the diagram. cane. In addition, the region has other valu- able resources, such as oil, iron ore, and Physical Features coal. Both Venezuela and Colombia have large oil-rich areas. Forests throughout the region provide timber. While the seas provide plentiful fish and shrimp, the region’s major rivers are used to generate hydro- Focus on Writing electric power. 5. Describing Physical Geography Take notes about the physical features, wildlife, climate, vegetation, and resources Reading Check Summarizing How do of the region. After you decide which country you are living in, geographic factors affect economic activities in collect more details about it. Caribbean South America?

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