Chapter 8 – Caribbean South America
Section Notes
Video
Physical Geography
Colombia
Venezuela and the Guianas
Impact of the Orinoco River
World Almanac
World’s Top Oil Exporters
Quick Facts
Chapter 8 Visual Summary
Maps
Caribbean South America: Political
Caribbean South America: Physical
Venezuela’s Major Resources
World: Political
Caribbean South America
Volcanoes of Colombia
Images
Venezuela’s Canaima National Park
Focus on Culture: The Feast of
Corpus Christi
Caracas, Venezuela
Latitude and Longitude
Physical Geography
The Big Idea
Caribbean South America is a region with diverse physical
features, wildlife, climates, and resources.
Main Ideas
• Caribbean South America has a wide variety of physical
features and wildlife.
• The region’s location and elevation both affect its climate
and vegetation.
• Caribbean South America is rich in resources, such as
farmland, oil, timber, and rivers for hydroelectric power.
Main Idea 1:
Caribbean South America has a wide variety
of physical features and wildlife.
• The Andes are the highest point in the region.
Mountains
• They reach 18,000 feet on Colombia’s western
side.
• The Andes form a cordillera, or a mountain
system made up of roughly parallel ranges.
• Some peaks are active volcanoes.
Highlands
• The Guiana Highlands, the highest point in
Venezuela, stretch into Guyana and Suriname.
• Sandstone layers resisted erosion to create
flat-topped formations that rise 3,000–6,000
feet above the surrounding plains.
Plains, Rivers, and Wildlife
• The plains between the highlands and the Andes make up
the Llanos.
• At a low elevation the Llanos is mostly grassland that floods
easily.
• The Orinoco is the longest river, flowing for 1,600 miles.
• The Cauca and the Magdalena are two other important
rivers that drain the Andean region.
• Hundreds of birds, crocodiles, and meat-eating fish called
piranhas live in or around the Orinoco River.
• Colombia has one of the highest concentrations of plant and
animal species in the world.
Main Idea 2:
The region’s location and elevation both
affect its climate and vegetation.
Temperature
Llanos
Rain Forests
• Located near
the equator, the
region is warm
year-round.
• This region has
a tropical
savanna
climate.
• Temperatures
vary with
elevation.
• Both wet and
dry seasons
provide
favorable
conditions for
grasslands.
• These forests
thrive in humid
tropical climate
of southern
Colombia.
• In the Andes,
temperatures
drop by four
degrees
Fahrenheit
every 1000
feet.
• They are part of
the Amazon
Basin.
• Rain falls
throughout the
year.
• The trees’
canopies block
the sunlight.
Main Idea 3:
Caribbean South America is rich in resources,
such as farmland, oil, timber, and rivers for
hydroelectric power.
• Rich soil and moderate climate are good for agriculture.
• Crops: rice, coffee, bananas, and sugarcane
• Resources: oil, iron ore, and coal
• Forests provide timber.
• Seas provide fish and shrimp.
• Rivers are used to generate hydroelectric power.
Colombia
The Big Idea
Spanish conquest, valuable resources, and civil war have
shaped the history, culture, and economy of Colombia.
Main Ideas
• Native cultures, Spanish conquest, and independence
shaped Colombia’s history.
• In Colombia today, the benefits of a rich culture and many
natural resources contrast with the effects of a long period
of civil war.
Main Idea 1:
Native cultures, Spanish conquest, and
independence shaped Colombia’s history.
• Giant mounds of earth, mysterious statues, and tombs
mark the history of the people of Colombia.
• The people who created these lived more than 1,500 years
ago.
• Colombia’s history includes the story of the Chibcha, the
Spanish conquest, and independence.
History
The
Chibcha
Spanish
Conquest
•
The legend of El Dorado, the Golden One, was inspired
by the Chibcha.
•
They covered new rulers in gold dust and threw gold
and emeralds into a lake as the new ruler washed.
•
They practiced pottery making, weaving, and metal
working.
•
1500: Spain conquered the Chibcha and established a
colony and cities along the Caribbean coast.
•
The colonial city Cartagena was a major naval base
and commercial port in the Spanish empire.
•
1600s: Spanish set up large estates and forced
Indians and enslaved Africans to work the land.
Independence
• Late 1970s: The struggle for independence created the
republic of Gran Colombia, which included Colombia,
Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela.
• 1830: The republic dissolved. Colombia and Panama
established New Grenada.
• One group wanted the Roman Catholic Church to participate
in government and education. Another group did not.
• Conflicts killed thousands of people in the 1800s and 1900s.
• Rugged geography also divided the people into two different
regions with separate economies and identities.
Main Idea 2:
In Colombia today, the benefits of a rich
culture and many natural resources contrast
with the effects of a long period of civil war.
• Colombia is the most populous South American country.
• Its capital, Bogotá, is located high in the eastern Andes.
• Colombia is rich in culture and resources.
• Forty years of civil war has harmed the economy.
People and Culture
People
Culture
•
Most Colombians farm in fertile valleys and river
basins.
•
Other Colombians ranch cattle in the Llanos.
•
Few people live in the rain forests.
•
Geography divides the country into separate cultural
and physical regions.
•
Traditional African songs and dances on the Caribbean
coast; South American Indian music in Andes
•
Sports: soccer and a Chibcha ring-toss game, tejo
•
Mostly Spanish speaking and Roman Catholic
•
Ethnic groups: 58 percent mestizo; also Spanish,
African, and Indian descent
Colombia Today
Economy
Civil War
• Colombia’s economy relies on
several valuable resources.
• Many different groups have
waged war with each other.
• Major farming exports: coffee,
bananas, sugarcane, cotton,
and flowers.
• Past 40 years: Armed
militants have controlled large
areas of Colombia.
• Natural resources: oil, iron
ore, gold, coal, and emeralds
• Guerillas, or members of an
irregular military force
– Want to overthrow
government
– Forced farmers off land
– Grow illegal coca plant to
make cocaine
• Government passed new laws
and receives U.S. aid to
combat the guerillas.
Venezuela and the Guianas
The Big Idea
European settlement, immigration, and natural resources
have greatly influenced the culture and economy of
Venezuela and the Guianas.
Main Ideas
• Spanish settlement shaped the history and culture of
Venezuela.
• Oil production plays a large role in Venezuela’s economy
and government today.
• The Guianas have diverse cultures and plentiful resources.
Main Idea 1:
Spanish settlement shaped the history and
culture of Venezuela.
• Small South American Indian tribes originally lived in
Venezuela.
• Spain conquered Venezuela in the early 1500s.
• Venezuela won independence in the early 1800s.
• Three centuries of Spanish rule influenced the country’s
history and culture.
History of Venezuela
Spanish Settlement
Independence
• Spain forced native
Indians to search for
gold and pearls, but
found little.
• Simon Bolívar led revolt
against Spain in
Venezuela and
throughout the region.
• Spain then forced
Indians to farm indigo.
• 1830: Venezuela became
officially independent.
• Many Indians died as a
result.
• 1800s: Military
dictatorships and civil
wars
• Spain replaced the
Indians with enslaved
Africans.
• Some slaves escaped,
settling in remote areas.
• 1900s: Oil was
discovered, but the
country’s leaders kept
wealth for themselves.
People and Culture
People
Culture
•
•
•
•
•
Most people are mestizos.
European descendents live in large cities.
African descendents live along the coast.
Most are Spanish-speaking Roman Catholic.
Indians make up 2 percent, but speak 25
different native languages and follow religious
practices of their ancestors.
• Venezuela’s national dance, the joropo, is a
lively foot-stomping couples’ dance.
• Rodeos are popular.
• Sports: baseball and soccer
Main Idea 2:
Oil production plays a large role in
Venezuela’s economy and government today.
• Northern Venezuela has small and large farms.
• Llaneros, or Venezuelan cowboys, herd cattle on ranches in
the Llanos region.
• 1960s: Oil production made a few wealthy; the majority of
the rest lived in poverty in cities or shacks on the outskirts.
• Immigrants arrived attracted by oil wealth.
• 1980s: The price of oil dropped. People suffered
economically. The price of oil recovered in 1990s.
• Venezuela joined Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) that tries to keep oil prices stable.
Natural Resources
• The Orinoco River basin and Lake Maracaibo are rich in
oil.
• Guiana Highlands are rich in iron ore, gold and other
minerals.
• Dams along the Orinoco River produce hydroelectricity.
• Caracas, the capital, is a large city with a modern subway
system, expressways, and tall buildings.
• Caracas is surrounded by slums.
Venezuela’s Government
• 1959: First president elected.
• 2002: President Hugo Chavez started to distribute the
country’s oil income equally among all Venezuelans.
• In protest, millions of people joined a strike—a group of
workers stopping work until their demands are met.
• The strike hurt the economy.
• People called for a referendum, or recall vote, to decide
whether Chavez would remain in office.
• 2004: Chavez won 58 percent of the vote and adopted new
policies to end poverty, illiteracy, and hunger.
Main Idea 3:
The Guianas have diverse cultures and
plentiful resources.
Guyana
Suriname
French
Guiana
•
One-third of the people lives in the capital, Georgetown.
•
Farmers grow rice and sugar on coastal plains.
•
Half of the people are descendents of immigrants from
India.
•
One-third of the people are of African descent.
•
The economy and resources are similar to Guyana.
•
The capital, Paramaribo, is home to half the population.
•
The population includes South Asians, Africans, Chinese,
Indonesians, and Creoles.
•
A territory of France with 190,000 people who live mainly
in coastal areas.
•
Two-thirds are of African descent. Others are of
European, Asian, and South American Indian descent.
Click on the window to start video