Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Latin America
Latin America consists of two parts:
Middle America which includes Mexico, central America, and all of the islands of the Caribbean sea. South America which includes twelve independent countries and one colony.
Racial/Ethnic Composition
Indians they live in the highlands of Mexico and central America. Mestizos individuals with Indian and Spanish ancestry. They live in the highlands of Mexico and central America. Europeans they are individuals of Spanish, French, or English ancestry. The Spaniards live in the highlands where they found the Indians and where the climate is temperate as in Europe. The English and French live in the Caribbean islands while the English also live in Belize.
Racial/Ethnic Composition
Blacks they live in the Caribbean islands and coastal fringe of Central America or from Belize to Panama. Mulattos these are individuals of black and white ancestry. They live in the Caribbean Islands. Zambos they are individuals who live mainly in the Caribbean Islands and are a result of a union of Indians who lived in the mountains of Jamaica and Hispanola and black slaves who escaped the island plantations.
(Draw Diagram of this region.) Both sections contain a series of inter-mountain basins called bolsones. These bolsones vary in elevation from 3,000 to 7, 500 feet.
Legacy of Mesoamerica
Middle America was the scene of the emergence of a major, ancient civilization. Here, lay one of the worlds true culture hearth, a source area from which new ideas radiate and whose population contributed to material and intellectual progress. This culture hearth is called Mesoamerica and extends from Mexico City to Nicaragua.
Lowland Maya
The Maya civilization in the only one on the world culture map that arose in the lowland tropics. It experienced successive periods of glory and decline, and it reached its zenith between the third and tenth centuries A.D. This civilization was ruled by religious leaders, and it produced skilled artists, writers, mathematicians, and astronomers.
These three plants, jointly, comprise the farming system known as the milpa farming system.
Rapid deforestation by the Spaniards who used wood and charcoal for cooking, heating, and smelting.
Political Differentiation
Middle America is divided into 8 countries, all but one (Belize) have Hispanic origins. Today, Belize is being transformed as thousands of Spanish-speaking immigrants arrive from war-torn countries. Mexico is the largest country in this realm. It contains 70% of the realms entire land area. It now has 102 million inhabitants.
Political Differentiation
In the Caribbean area, Cuba is the largest island and the largest population (11.3 million). Although Cuba has Spanish heritage, Jamaica has British influence; Haiti has strong African and French influences; Puerto Rico, although has Spanish influence, it is a commonwealth of the U.S. The A-B-C islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) have Dutch influence.
African Heritage
The human geography of the Caribbean islands resemble the cultural landscape of west and equatorial Africa. The similarities are found in:
The construction of village dwellings. The operation of rural markets. The role of women in rural life. Preparation of the food. Methods of cultivation. Artistic expression and family life.
African Heritage
Despite the general dominance of African heritage in Caribbean basin, the white population, followed by mulattos, actually hold a disproportionate share of economic and political power. The islands also have large number of Chinese and eastern Indians. Cuba has a very large number of Chinese while Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Trinidad, jointly, received 250,000 East Indians.
Regional Cooperation
Due to regional interests, 25 nations created the association of Caribbean states (ACS) in order to achieve closer trading ties among the 25 nations and to protect their trading ties to the U.S. In light of Mexicos competitive edge in the U.S. Market
Mexico
Mexico is the largest country in land area and population in middle America. It now has a population of 102 million and 74 percent of this population is urbanized.
Mexico
Today, its population is 60 percent mestizo, 20 percent predominantly Amerindian, and 10 percent full-bloodied Amerindian; And only 9 percent European. Mexico city is largest city in Latin America, with 26 million inhabitants and with 25 percent of its national population.
Altitudinal Zonation
In 1932, Dr. Karl Sapper, a German climatologist, published his now famous textbook The Climate of Middle America. In this textbook, he described the concept of altitudinal zonation and climate change as one climbs up the mountains in the tropic of Middle and South America. Refer to the altitudinal zonation diagram on page 228 in your textbook.
Altitudinal Zonation
The temperature in the tropical environment (Tierra Caliente) is approximately 30 degrees Celsius at sea level which is the normal temperature in the tropics. For every 1,000 meters (or 3,000 feet) in altitude, there is a 6 degree drop in temperature. For example, if the average temperature at sea level is 30 degrees, this temperature converts to 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
Altitudinal Zonation
F = 9/5 C + 32, when C=30, then, F=86. F = 9/5 C + 32, when C=24, then, F=75. For temperature decline in Fahrenheit, we get a 11 degrees per 3,000 feet or 3.67 degree change per 1,000 feet. Let us consider the two following situations: T = 30 6H 0 = 30 6H
South America
Total population centers are along the mountains in the eastern coastline and, principally, in the Andes Mountains on the western coastline. In some areas of the Andes, population concentrations have become so high that extreme soil erosion has occurred. Draw diagram of the Andes Mountains.
Population Characteristics
Urbanization and Ethnic Composition: As I mentioned above, South America is settled on the fringe. The patterns are based on culture, attitude, and accidents of history. Spaniards always have had a predilection for communal life. To a Spaniard, a city represents culture, politics, and where the action is.
Population Characteristics
The population of all countries is highly nucleated. Cities such Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro have populations over 8 million, and the growth of these cities has resulted in the encirclement of slums around the cities which go by different names. For example, in Lima approximately of the population live in barridas; in Brazil slums are known as favelas; in Columbia as ranchos; and in Argentina as barrios.
Cultural Fragmentation
South America is a continent of plural societies where Amerindians of different cultures, Europeans from Iberia, blacks from Africa, and Asians from India, Japan, and Indonesia cultures form a mosaic of cultural and economic spheres.
Cultural Fragmentation
These spheres, as defined by John Augelli, are discussed below:
Tropical-Plantation Region: This area is found along the humid Brazilian coastline, including four more areas in the Atlantic-Caribbean areas of the continent. The region resembles the Rimlands culture and economic characteristics.
Cultural Fragmentation
European-Commercial Region: The area includes the southern countries, including southern Brazil; and it consists of an area that is economically more advance that the rest of the country.
Cultural Fragmentation
Amerindian-Subsistence Region: The region focuses on the high Andes where most of the inhabitants are Amerindian who live in minifundias.
Cultural Fragmentation
Mestizo-Transitional Region: This area is a mix of the three major culture groups, namely, the Europeans, Amerindians, and mestizos. This area surrounds the Amerindian Subsistence Region, and it is less commercial than the European sphere but less subsistent in orientation than the dominantly Amerindian areas.
Cultural Fragmentation
Undifferentiated Region: This region consists of the Amazon Basin. It is an area that is hard to classify because it is remote and exhibits limited economic development.
Economic Integration
Most of South Americas republics have replaced old policies that protected domestic economies with new ones that embrace market-oriented reform and the expansion of trading partners.
Economic Integration
The following list shows the new economic organizations that have developed in order to forge new trading zones.
Mercosur This trading area consists of the Southern Cone Common Market which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Andean Community The members of this trading group include Bolivia,Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru. Group of Three (G-3) This free-trade agreement involves Mexico, Venezuela, and Columbia.
Economic Integration
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) This free-trade agreement includes Canada, Mexico, and the United States. This group hopes to include Chile in the organization very soon. These organizations represent only an intermediate step toward a much grander goal: the creation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Urbanization
Today, seventy-six percent of the South American population now resides in urban areas, and this trends will continue for the foreseeable future. Moreover, the urban population is growing at a faster rate than rural populations, that is, the urban population has grown annually by 5% since 1950 while the increase in rural areas has been 2 %.
Brazil
Brazil is the largest country in South America (3.3 million square miles), and it ranks fifth in size. It is smaller than Russia, Canada, China, and the United States. Its population size is larger than another state in South America, with 167 million inhabitants as of 2000 (estimate).
Brazil
Its population is very diverse. Brazil has approximately 8.5 million blacks, 67 million of mixed-race, with AfricanEuropean-Amerindian ancestry, and 91 million of European ancestry. Japanese immigrants recently have joined the ranks, and they live in farming communities throughout southern Brazil.
Brazil-Regional Areas
Brazil can be divided into six regions:
The Northeast The Southeast The South The Interior and The Amazonian North.
Brazil-The Northeast
The NORTHEAST is the cultural heart of Brazil, and it is an area which is highly populated. The economy is essentially commercial agriculture, with an emphasis on sugar cane along the wetter coastal areas. But, unfortunately, this economy is depressed and the area experiences widespread poverty. Here, the Portuguese quickly imported African slaves to work the sugar fields.
Brazil-The Northeast
The area inland is known as the sertao, and it is often impacted by serious droughts. This is why it is referred to as the Polygon of Drought. Precipitation patterns are quite erratic here. The vegetation is called the Caatinga which is comparable to our semiarid vegetation of cactus and small thorny bushes.
Brazil-The Northeast
The major cities are Recife which is the oldest city in the region and San Salvador which is the areas most economically diversified city, with a major petrochemical complex in its vicinity.
Brazil-The Southeast
The SOUTHEAST consists of the States of Bahia, Espirito Santo, and Minas Gerais. This area is richly endowed with gold, bauxite, manganese, nickel, and many precious and semi-precious stones. The State of Minas Gerais means General Mines, and it derives its name from the more than 100 different mines that are found throughout the state.
Brazil-The Southeast
In fact, it was the lure of gold what brought people to this area. But, it is iron ore (around Lafaiete) that now makes this area, one of the most productive areas in Brazil. Brazil now ranks second, next to Russia, in the total production of iron and steel, and Belo Horizonte, the Capitol, is the leading metallurgical center of Brazil. Volta Redonda, close to Rio de Janeiro, contains the second largest steel mill in Brazil.
Sao Paulo
The State of Sao Paulo is the leading industrial producer and a very important agricultural region that specializes in coffee (grown in coffee plantation known as fazendas), soybeans, and citrus fruits (for orange concentrate). The area is well known for its fertile Terra Roxa or Red Soils. The City of Sao Paulo is the leading manufacturing city in all of South America, and it has a very active automobile industry.
The South
THE SOUTH consists of the southern states of Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. This area is characterized by numerous farming communities which were settled by European immigrants, especially Germans, Italians, and Portuguese farmers. (The staple crops are corn, potatoes, dairying, and vineyards. Recently, tobacco has been come an important cash crop for American tobacco companies.).
The South
This area, unfortunately, has been experiencing a separatist movement that is fueled by people who want to keep European cultural lifestyles intact and who do not want to mix with the non-European citizens from the North.
The South
Main industrial activity focuses on Tubarao where South Americas single largest steel-making plant opened in 1983. It obtains its coal from the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. During the 1990s an internationally significant center of the computer software industry was established in Florianopolis, the island city and State Capital, of Santa Catarina.
The Interior
THE INTERIOR focuses on the region that surrounds the capital city of Brasilia which was deliberately located in the savanna region of the Centro-Oeste of the interior of Brazil. The City of Brasilia, the forward capital, of Brazil is located in this region; and this region has been integrated into the nations economy through the exploitation of the cerrado the fertile plains that blanket the Central-West. This area is one of the worlds most promising agricultural frontiers.
Venezuela
The name Venezuela comes from the Spanish word for Little Venice. The name was derived when early Spanish explorers saw Indian huts on stilts on the shallow Lake Maracaibo. Petroleum was found in this lake during the 1920s, and it has flowed since then. Two-thirds of the national output comes from oil pools found under Lake Maracaibo.
Venezuela
The capital of Venezuela is Caracas, and it is located approximately 3,000 feet above sea level. Caracas fills a narrow valley 15 miles wide by 30 miles long and it has a population of approximately 3.2 million. The elevation of Caracas gives the city a temperate climate. Comparatively, the citys port of La Guaira sits six miles away on a desert coastline, and its is extremely hot, dry, and unpleasant.
Venezuela
The Guiana Highlands lie north of the Amazon Basin, and it remains the least explored area of South America. The highlands consist of high tabular mesas, the biggest is Mt. Roraima, with an elevation of 9,212 feet.
Venezuela
In the 1920s, an American flyer, Jimmy Angel, accidentally discovered the worlds highest waterfall --- Angels Fall. It drops 3,212 feet. The Guiana Highlands are very important economically because they contain large deposits of iron ore, bauxite, and gold. Iron ore has been found south of Ciudad Bolivar, in Cerro de Bolivar. Huge deposits of bauxite had also been found near the City of Guayana which refines bauxite ore into alumina, raw aluminum.
Venezuela
Gold is the most recent element discovered in the Guiana Highlands near the Brazilian border. Unfortunately, would-be gold prospectors are now indiscriminately ravishing the countryside to mine for gold. The Orinoco Lowlands extends for about 400-mile long plain along the Orinoco River. This area is devoted to ranching activities that satisfy the needs of numerous large cities in the mountains.
Columbia
Although this country contains a physical geography so varied that it produces crops ranging from the temperate to the tropical and is richly endowed with energy resources, it has been ravished by civil unrest and violence, and its future is uncertain.
Columbia
It recent unrest began in 1970s when groups opposing the power-sharing monopoly between the political parties began a campaign of terrorism, damaging the developing infrastructure of the country. In addition, drug cartels formed in response to the U.S. market for narcotics increased.
Columbia
Although its future is uncertain, the country has some very interesting characteristics:
It has a population that is predominately mestizo, it population size is approximately 40 million (2000 est.). Most of the population is concentrated in the western and northern portions of the country. The largest city is Bogota, the capital, which has a population of 5.6 million and an elevation of 8,500 feet. The second largest city is Medellin, with a population of 1.7 million and an elevation of 5,500 feet. This city is also famous for its coffee plantations which produce the most flavorful coffees.
Columbia
Coffee is now Columbias main export crop, but it is coca leaves that accounts for Columbias leading unofficial export to the United States. The city of Cali, on the Cauca River,has a population of 1.8 million, and it is the focal point where tobacco and sugar are produced and cattle raised for the larger cities of Columbia.
Columbia
Another major export is oil which was first found in the Casanare oilfield of northern Columbia, but a larger field was found in the Cusiana oilfield in 1991. Both oilfields allow Columbia to be a major exporter of oil in South America. A major source of coal is located in the Guajira Peninsula which is adjacent to the Maracaibo Lowlands. The mining activities centers in the Cerrejon District.
Columbia
The coastal Columbian area along the Pacific coastline of a rain forest climate and vegetation. In fact, one station in the mountains on the Pacific coast report 400 inches of rain a year. This coastal areas is sparely populated, and it has a large number of blacks who live in Buenaventura and other small villages.
Columbia
Commercial agriculture dominates, with banana and cocoa plantations. Finally, the Caribbean coastline is highly populated with three major cities, Barranquilla (975,000). Cartagen (525,000), and Santa Marta. In fact, Cartagen is now the Columbian headquarters for illegal, export trade in cocaine and marijuana.
Ecuador
Ecuador is the second smallest country in South America, that is, after Uruguay. It has a population of 12.7 million, with 40 percent of the population of Amerindian stock.
Ecuador
The capital is Quito which is located in the tierra fria zone.
Ecuador
This country is divided into three physiographic parts: 1) the coastal zone, 2) the Andes, and 3) the Oriente.
The coastal zone consists of two parts: a) a belt of lowlying hills which are utilized for the production of coffee, rice, and cotton; b) the lowlands which produce bananas, making Ecuador the worlds largest producer of bananas, and cacao. The Andes form two parallel north-south ranges. Crest elevations are very high, with some volcanic peaks reaching heights of 15,000-20,000 feet; it is here where the majority of the people live. They in turn, cultivate small farm plots, which is characteristic of minifundia.
Ecuador
El Oriente, located east of the Andes, is sparsely populated and has a rain forest canopy, but the forest is quickly disappearing due to large scale logging. Here, large oil fields have been discovered, and it is piped over the Andes to the city of Emeraldas. Presently,Ecuador is second, next to Venezuela, the largest oil producing country in South America.
Peru
Peru is the third largest country in South America. It has a population of 27 million. Its territory is divided physiographically into three sub regions:
The desert coast, the European-mestizo region; The Andean highlands or Sierra, the Amerindian region; The Oriente, which includes the eastern slopes of Andes, or montana, the sparsely populated Amerindianmestizo interior.
Peru
The capital, Lima, is situated several miles inland from a good harbor, Callao. The location of Lima is favorable in light of its productive sea that produces vast amounts of fish and sardines. The city is also close to 40 oases, along the arid coast, which produce cotton, sugar, rice, vegetables, fruits, and wheat for export.
Peru
The Amerindian population lives in clustered, isolated villages or in haciendas where they practice subsistence agriculture in the Andean mountains.
Peru
In either case, they grow corn, barley, and potatoes in tierra fria or tierra helada zones. The minerals produced for export include
Copper Zinc Lead.
Peru
In the rain forest of the Oriente, the focal is the city of Iquitos which looks to the east rather than the west, and it can be reached by oceangoing vessels from the Atlantic ocean. Oil was discovered west of Iquitos in the 1970s, and it is piped to the seaport of Bayovar. This area also contains natural gas deposits which are now being developed.
Bolivia
Bolivia is the second poorest country in South America, and it has a population of 8.4 million inhabitants, half of which are Amerindians while mestizos comprise approximately 35 percent of the total. This country is landlocked because it lost its corridor to the sea in a war with Chile in 1903. Consequently, this condition has limited its economic development .
Bolivia
The Andes form two large, paralleling ranging which are over 20,000 feet in elevation, and a large altiplano, or high plain, has been formed between them. On the boundary between Peru and Bolivia, freshwater Lake Titicaca the highest large lake on Earth lies at 12,507 feet above sea level.
Bolivia
Bolivias de facto capital is La Paz which is situated on the Altiplano at an elevation of 11,700 feet, making it the highest capital in the world. (La Paz contains only the Legislative and Executive departments.) Bolivias legal capital, however, is Sucre which still holds the Judicial branch or the Supreme Court.
Bolivia
Bolivia has tremendous mineral wealth. The city of Potosi, in the eastern cordillera is the center of silver mining industry. In 1544, the Spanish conquerors of Peru discovered the Cerro Rico, a conical mountain which stands above the city of Potosi. The bulk of this mountain is made up of one of the richest ore bodies known to man an ore so rich that it not only contains rich deposits of silver but tin, bismuth, and tungsten.
Bolivia
However, out of the mountain, between the its discovery and the beginning of the seventeenth century, came about one half of all of the silver produced in the world during the 56 years of discovery. This was the royal fifth which poured into the Spanish treasury which played a vital role in shaping the course of European history.
Bolivia
Bolivia is an important producer of tin. Tin was discovered at the end of the nineteenth century, and it is centered in the cities of Oruro and Unica. But, today, declining tin reserves and falling world prices has force much of the industry to shut down. Bolivia also produces zinc, lead, copper, tungsten, and antimony.
Bolivia
The Oriente produces natural gas and oil which are exported to Brazil and Argentina. Soybeans are now becoming an important source of revenue, accounting for Bolivias most important export item. Cattle ranching is also an important activity around the city of Santa Cruz.
Argentina
Argentina is the second largest city in southern South America. It contains approximately 37 million inhabitants. A vast majority of these people live in the subregion which is referred to as the Pampa, a word meaning plain.
Argentina
This area is the most intensely utilized area of Argentina. This area is also dominated by large estancias (latifundia) that raise thousands of cattle, sheep, and pigs for market. They also raise soybeans, alfalfa, wheat, corn, and other grains for animal and human consumption.
Argentina
All of these products are shipped to market via hundred of miles that dot the countryside. Most of the industry in the Pampa focuses on manufacturing of agricultural products such as vegetable oils, beef hides, woolen clothes, and fruit products.
Argentina
Outside of the Pampa, the population is sparse and agricultural activities focus on pastoralism while sheep ranching and fruit farming are dominant features in the Patagonia plateau which is quite dreary during the winter months. For this reason, Patagonia is called Argentinas Siberia.
Argentina
In the area known as Mesopotamia of Argentina or Entre Rios or Between Rivers, the area is primarily utilized for agriculture, mainly corn, cotton, and wheat. Here, flax is grown for flaxseed oil and linen while yerba mate, a local tea, is grown. Another product is the quebrachotree extract used for tanning leather.
Argentina
In the north of the Mesopotamia region, Paraguay and Argentina are currently building the worlds largest hydroelectric dam; it is called the Yacyreta Dam which is located on the Parana River which is designed to enhance the economic potential of this area. This dam is even larger than the Itaipu Dam which is located upstream on the Parana.
Uruguay
This country is a small, compact country which has an agricultural economy and a population of 3.3 million inhabitants of European ancestry.
Uruguay
Montevideo is the capital of this country, and it contains 40 percent of the countrys population. As in Buenos Aires, railroads and roads radiate outward into the agricultural interior (This city is the administrative capital for Mercosur.). Around the capital, market gardening dominates the landscape, but this activity gives way to cattle and sheep ranching, with beef products, wool, and textile manufacturing.
Paraguay
This country has 5.5 million inhabitants, and it has a mestizo majority of 95 percent. As for languages, Amerindian Guarani is so widely spoken alongside Spanish that the country is completely bilingual. Paraguays landlocked position has had much to do with its modest economic development. These opportunities have not been realized because of the fact that exports must be shipped through Buenos Aires via the Paraguay-Parana Rivers.
Paraguay
Soybeans products, cotton, timber, vegetable oils, and beef hides are important export items for this country. In the dry Chaco area, cattle ranching and oil mining are the most important activities, besides a large peanut crop that is grown by a Mennonite colony in this area.
Chile
Chile extends for 2,500 miles along the western coastline of South America, but it is, on the average, approximately 90 miles wide and rarely 150 miles wide.
Chile
It has approximately 15 million inhabitants, and it capital is Santiago, the largest city in Chile. Chile is a mestizo country. Its population has none of the profound racial divisions found in the lands to the north. Only 5 percent of the population is pure Amerindian while Europeans form approximately 30 percent of the population. The remaining 65 percent consist of mestizos.
Chile
This country is divided into three parts:
The arid north The central Mediterranean area The southern Marine West Coast area.
Chile
Northern Chile or the Arid North
The northern third of Chile consists of the Atacama Desert which consists of the driest place on earth. The wealth of the Atacama lies in its bolsones which contain valuable caliche which is composed of sodium nitrate, and a variety of other salts that include iodine salts.
Chile
Sodium nitrate has been used traditionally as a fertilizer but it was also used for the production of explosives, but with the discovery of synthetic nitrates, the industry has declined considerably. Another very important natural resource is copper which is mined near the city of Chuquimata. The mine is the largest copper mine in the world, making Chile the leading exporter of copper in the world bar none.
Chile
Middle Chile- This portion of Chile is the most important economic area because this is where most of the Chileans live. In central Chile, especially in the northern portion of this area, haciendas dominate the landscape. Here, wheat, corn, grapes, fruits, and vegetables are the main crops while beef and beef byproducts are the important export items.
Chile
The most distinctive feature of middle Chile is its climate which is the Mediterranean climate. Here, one finds a transitional zone between the desert and the continuously rainy climate of southern Chile. Because this climate has dry-summers, central Chile produces some of finest wines in South America, and they find markets throughout the world.
Chile
Southern Chile- South of the Rio Bio bio, the Mediterranean gives way to the Marine West Coast climate. Here, instead of large haciendas we find small or medium-size farms that have been created on cleared land; and Southern Chile has a rainy climate and forests dominate the landscape.
Chile
In spite of the abundance of trees, some of which could be used for lumber, Chile does not have a large lumber industry. Lumber is is still imported while the forests of the south are burned to make room for pasture or crops such as fruits, vegetables, and wheat.
Chile
As the 21th century opens, Chile is emerging from a developing boom that has established its reputation as South Americas greatest success story. Since 1990, Chile has embarked on a program of free-market economic reform that brought stable growth and has attracted massive foreign investment.
Chile
Consequently, Chiles newly international economy has propelled the country to forage a prominent role for itself on the global trading scene.
Chile
Thus, Chile was invited to join NAFTA in 1994, but it is still waiting for U.S Congress to approve its membership. But, in the meantime, it is a member of Mercosur, and this country is widely touted as the economic model for all of Middle and South America to emulate. Consequently, developing nations of Latin America aspire to follow in Chiles footsteps in order to become economicly successful.
Finis