Part 1 Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean

Home , Central America, North America, Sierra Madre Oriental

Part 1 Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean Name: Date:

LATIN AMER I CA Overview

ATIN AMERICA is in the Western Hemi areas, advanced civilizations developed. Then, sphere. But countries in this region are in the early 1500s, Spanish invaders conquered actually located on two continents: much of the region. Eventually, Brazil became a North America and South America. "Latin Portuguese colony. Other areas were controlled America" includes a number of countries in by France, the Netherlands, the United States, North America, Central America, and South and the United Kingdom. The conquerors America. The name refers to the fact that much killed many of the native people. Indians also of this region was once ruled by Spain and died of diseases carried by the invaders. To do Portugal, where Latin-based languages were the work in their colonies, the ruling foreign spoken. Latin America stretches from Mexico powers brought slaves from Africa. Thus, the in the north to Tierra del Fuego in southern cultures of the Native Americans, Europeans, Chile, which is just north of Antarctica. and Africans were combined. Physically, the region is defined by its moun In the 1820s, many countries in the region tains. From the Sierra Madres in Mexico began to break away from colonial rule and through the Andes of South America, a sweep become independent nations. In the early of mountains runs from north to south. It is a 1900s, many of these new nations were ruled barrier between the west coast and the east. by dictators. Toward the end of the twentieth Latin America is a place of extremes. The century, more had democratic governments. 3,900-mile-long (6,437-km-long) Amazon In much of Latin America, conditions do not River is the longest river in the Western make for a dense population. Rain forests, Hemisphere. It carries more water, by volume, highlands, and dry plains inhibit development. than any other river in the world. The Amazon Because of this, people tend to live near the rain forest is the largest single mass of vegeta coast, where the fertile coastal plains are good tion anywhere on earth. Venezuela's Angel for agriculture. Over half of all Latin Falls, at 3,212 feet (979 m), are the world's Americans live in cities, many of them on or highest. The Andes are the world's second near the coast. highest mountain range, and the longest. They Think About It stretch 4,495 miles (7,234 km) from north to south. The climates of Latin America vary from Some countries in this region still have tropical heat near the equator to glaciers in names based on·Indian words. Others were southern Chile. There are hot dry deserts, named by European conquerors. Find out the steamy rain forests, and cold mountain regions origins and meaning of at least three of these in between. countries' names: Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Culturally, the region has three main intlu Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Paraguay, ences. Most of the area was settled by Native Puerto Rico, Uruguay. Americans about 11,000 years ago. In some

LATIN AMERICA, PART 1: MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN Word List

Political Features DEPENDENCIES St. John's CoUNTRIES Aruba (Netherlands) San Jose Antigua and Barbuda Curas;ao (Netherlands) San Juan Bahamas Guadeloupe (France) San Salvador Barbados Martinique (France) Santo Domingo Belize Puerto Rico (U.S.) Tegucigalpa Costa Rica Virgin Islands (U.S. Physical Features Cuba and U.K.) RivERS Dominica CAPITALS Rio Grande Dominican Republic Basseterre Sonora River El Salvador Belmopan Yaqui River Grenada Bridgetown OTHER WATER BODIES Guatemala Castries Atlantic Ocean Haiti Guatemala City Caribbean Sea Honduras Havana Gulf of California Jamaica Kingston Gulf of Mexico Mexico Kingstown Pacific Ocean Nicaragua Managua Panama Canal Panama Mexico City LAND FEATURES St. Kitts and Nevis Nassau Baja California St. Lucia Panama City Sierra Madre del Sur St. Vincent and Port-au-Prince Sierra Madre Occidental the Grenadines Port of Spain Sierra Madre Oriental Trinidad and Tobago Roseau Yucatan Peninsula St. George's

LATI N AMERICA, PART 7: MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CA RIBBEAN Labeled Physical Map

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