I. Land of Mexico, Central America, Caribbean

A. Mexico and Central America

1. there are 8 countries between the Rio Grande and the Isthmus of Panama
2. Mexico is the largest country
3. the 7 others are : Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama
   

B. Mexico's Rugged Land

1. Mostly high, rough mts. not much flat land in Mexico
2. Mexico is like a funnel
   a. Western and Eastern Sierra Madre Mts. come together in S.Mexico to form the bottom of the funnel
3. between E&W Sierra Madre Mt. ranges there sits a plateau (flat or gentle rolling land that stands higher than the land around it)

a. this plateau has good water and good soils
b. Mexico city - one of the world's largest cities - is on this plateau

C. Lands of Central America

1. A large Mt. range runs down the center of Central America from Guatemala to Panama
2. Many of these mts. are volcanoes
3. The higher elevations are cool (average 70º F)
4. On the Pacific & Atlantic coasts the weather is hot and humid (80º-100º F)
5. Isthmus of Panama (isthmus- a narrow strip of land that connects two larger bodies of land)
6. Panama Canal - Man made canal used for shipping
7. No major river in C.A., but many smaller rivers that drain the rain forest
   

D. Lands of the Caribbean Islands

1. Most of the islands are tips of huge under water mts.
2. A few of these islands are volcanoes
3. Abundant rainfall and norm temps make for good crops of pineapples, bananas, cocoanuts, oranges, sugar cane, etc.
4. cuba, dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico are the largest island countries
5. There are many smaller island countries

II. Lands of South America

A. Andes Mountains

1. Andes Mts. run for 4,750 miles along the west coast of SA. that's the longest chain of mts. in the world.
2. Mt. Aconcaqua in Argentina is the tallest mt. in the Americas (22,831 ft.)
3. the Andes have more than 30 peaks over 20,000' above sea level
4. mts. near the equator start in tropical rainforests and have snow at their peaks

B. Rivers of South America

1. East of the Andes, 3 large rivers drain all the land of water into the Atlantic

   a. Rio Amazon is the second largest river in the world, but has more water flow than any other river in the world. The Amazon has over 200 tributaries (small rivers that flow into larger rivers). Most of the Amazon basin is tropical rainforests and gets 80-250" of rain per year.
   b. Rio Orinoco is north of the Amazon and drains the land of water in Venezuela and Colombia. The river basin is almost flat and the land is good for farming and cattle grazing. This area is called Llanos
   c. Rio Parana and its tributaries drain a region south of the Amazon. the river basin is divided into 2 regions in Argentina, Paraguay & Brazil. these are:
   

1a. Pampas -great fertile land in Argentina
2b. Gran Chaco - dry thorn bush covered land

III. People of Latin America (very diverse)

A. Original people

1. For 1000's of years native Indians built temples, palaces and cities to form civilizations that had unique languages and culture.

a. the Maya, Aztec and Inca were the largest tribes but there were many others, some large - some small

B. Newcomers

1. In 1492 Christopher Columbus raised a Spanish flag on an island in the Bahamas. That was the beginning of the Spanish invasion of Latin America.
2. Other settlers came from Europe - especially from Portugal, France, and Sweden.
3. Many European men came over to L.A. alone and married native women - now many people are 1/2 European and 1/2 Indian - these people are called "Mestizos"
4. Africans arrived between 1500-1800, 8-10 million of them. African slaves were shipped to L. A. and in many areas the blacks out numbered the white and Indian population.

C. Population

1. Before the 1400's the Indian population growth was slow and steady.
2. Europeans came in the late 1400's and spread disease (small pox, measles, flu, etc.) Indians died by the 1000's so the Indian population started dropping.
3. In the early 1900's Europeans brought medicine to help Indians fight diseases. Without this medicine the Indian population could have vanished.
4. The population in L.A. is exploding: Sau Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Mexico city are among the world's largest cities.