Transcript Latin America: Climates and People

Describe the
pictures to the
left.
Explain what
is significant
about each of
the pictures.
How do these
pictures relate
to the Latin
American
unit?
How do these
pictures relate
to the Red
Goes Green
initiative?
Latin America:
Climates and People
Pages 443-447
Tropical Climate
75% of Latin America lies
in the tropics
Tropical wet climate:
Amazon Basin, some
Caribbean islands, parts of
Central America
Much of Latin America has
a wet and dry climate
Half the year is rainy/other
half is dry
Lowlands of Mexico, western
Central America, southern
Brazil
Other Climates
Temperate
Paraguay,
Uruguay
Warm and cool
season
Dry Climates
Northern Mexico,
Argentina
Baja Peninsula
Atacama Desert in
Chile is VERY dry
Natural
Resources
Gold and silver:
Brazil, Mexico, Peru
Copper: Chile
Oil: Mexico and
Venezuela
Cash crops:
bananas, sugar,
tobacco, coffee,
rubber
Peoples of Latin America
80 million Native Americans lived
in Western Hemisphere before
Columbus
Mestizos: People of mixed
European and Native American
ancestry
Africans: brought as slaves
between 1500-1800
Millions of American Indians speak
their native languages still today
Most Latin Americans are Roman
Catholic.
Variety of ethnicities and cultures
Most spoken language = Spanish
Brazilians speak Portuguese,
though
Population Patterns
Concentration of people in temperate
highland areas and coastal plains
Only 6% of Latin America is suitable
for farming
Interior region: Native American
and/or mestizo culture
European culture in the cities
Has over 500 million people living
there