CA:Caribbean Reading Check

Name _____________________________ Class __________________ Date ___________________ Central America and the Caribbean Section 1 MAIN IDEAS 1. Physical features of the region include volcanic highlands and coastal plains. 2. The climate and vegetation of the region include forested highlands, tropical forests, and humid lowlands. 3. Key natural resources in the region include rich soils for agriculture, a few minerals, and beautiful beaches. Key Terms and Places isthmus narrow strip of land that connects two larger land areas Caribbean Sea sea surrounded by Central America, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and South America archipelago large group of islands Greater Antilles group of large islands in the Caribbean Sea Lesser Antilles group of small islands in the Caribbean Sea cloud forest moist, high-elevation tropical forest where low clouds are common Section Summary PHYSICAL FEATURES Central America is an isthmus that connects North and South America. It is made up of seven small countries: Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Underline the names of the seven countries that make Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. At up Central America. its widest, the isthmus separates the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea by 125 miles (200 km). A chain of mountains and volcanoes runs through the middle of the isthmus. On both sides, a few short rivers run through the coastal plains to the sea. The lack of good water routes and ruggedness of the land make travel difficult. The Caribbean islands separate the Atlantic What causestwo bodies earthquakes of water Ocean from the Caribbean Sea. On the east lie the andare separatedvolcanoes by in thethe Lesser Antilles, an archipelago of islands that region?Caribbean islands? _______________________ stretch from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad and _______________________ Tobago. West and north of these are the Greater _______________________ Antilles, which include Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola. Many of these islands are actually the tops of underwater volcanoes. They are located Original content © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. 70 Guided Reading Workbook Name _____________________________ Class __________________ Date ___________________ Section 1, continued along the edges of tectonic plates that move against each other, causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The Bahama Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, were formed by coral reefs. CLIMATE AND VEGETATION Most of the region is generally sunny and warm. Most of Central America’s Pacific coast, where plantations and ranches are found, has a tropical savanna climate. The Caribbean coast has areas of Where are cloud forests tropical rain forest. The inland mountains are cool found? and humid. Some mountainous areas have dense _______________________ cloud forests, or moist, high-elevation tropical _______________________ forests where low clouds are common. Many animal and plant species live there. Temperatures in the region do not change much from day to night or from winter to summer. Change in seasons is marked by changes in rainfall. Winters are generally dry, but it rains nearly every day in the summer. From summer to fall, hurricanes bring heavy rains and wind, which occasionally cause flooding and great destruction. RESOURCES The region’s best resources are its land and climate, What two factors make the which make tourism an important industry. Warm region a good place to climate and rich volcanic soil make the region a grow crops? _______________________ good place to grow coffee, bananas, sugarcane, and cotton. However, the region has few mineral or _______________________ energy resources. Original content © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. 71 Guided Reading Workbook Name _____________________________ Class __________________ Date ___________________ Section 1, continued archipelago Caribbean Sea cloud forest Greater Antilles isthmus Lesser Antilles reefs volcanic ash DIRECTIONS Read each sentence and fill in the blank with the word in the word pair that best completes the sentence. 1. The land that the seven countries of Central America are on is an ____________________, a narrow strip of land that connects two larger land areas. (archipelago/isthmus) 2. A large group of islands, such as the Caribbean Islands, is called an ________________________. (archipelago/isthmus) 3. The ____________________ is the body of water between Central America and the Caribbean Islands. (Greater Antilles/Caribbean Sea) 4. Cuba is part of the ________________________, one of the two main island groups in the Caribbean. (Greater Antilles/Caribbean Sea) 5. The many smaller islands of the Caribbean are called the _______________________. (Lesser Antilles/Greater Antilles) 6. A ______________________ is a moist, high-elevation tropical forest where low clouds are common. (cloud forest/tropical savanna climate) CHALLENGE ACTIVITY A.) LETTER On a separate sheet of paper, write a letter to someone who lives in a desert region. Describe how the geography of the Central America and Caribbean area differs from the desert. Include at least four terms from the word bank to describe the Central America and Caribbean region. B.) Critical Thinking: Comparing and Contrasting Write a description of the year-round climate in your region and compare and contrast it with that of the Central American and Caribbean region. Original content © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor. 72 Guided Reading Workbook.

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