South America
MAP LOCATIONS
 Landforms – Amazon Basin, Andes Mountains, Atacama
Desert, Pampas, Patagonia
 Water bodies – Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific
Ocean, Lake Titicaca
 Urban centers – Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Bogotá,
Santiago, Caracas, Buenos Aries, Quito
 Countries – French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana,
Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil,
Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay
Brazil, Argentina, Peru
 Predominately Spanish-speaking with the exception of
Brazil where Portuguese is the official language, a result
of Portuguese and Spanish colonization
 Blended culture and society because of the mixing of
enslaved Africans, American Indian tribes and European
colonizers to the region; the region received more
enslaved Africans that did other regions including the
United States via the trans-Atlantic slavery trade
 Economic systems tend to rely on the extraction of
natural resources, such as mining in Peru, as the region
was the supplier for colonial powers;
 Brazil has made significant economic development;
 Argentina developed ranching activities on a wide-scale
after the introduction of cattle and horses to the region in
the Columbian Exchange
 Many agricultural products originated in the region and
spread via the Columbian Exchange, including potatoes
 Latin America is noted for the tall mountains and deserts
that hug the west coast, the dense rainforests of the
Amazon River Basin,
 tropical climates of Central America and the Caribbean,
the grasslands of Argentina and many other spectacular
natural features. These
 features are all the result of many physical forces like
tectonic activity over very long periods of time. The major
physical features along with
 their relative location from the equator and nearby ocean
and wind currents create many different climate regions
throughout the region, and
 these climate areas along with the natural features
determine what kinds of economic activities, specifically
agriculture, can take place.
 arrival of Columbus in the late fifteenth century led to the ex
tensive exchange of agricultural products between the “Old
World” and “New World”
The Columbian Exchange is an excellent example of diffusion
processes at work. New crops provided people with better
opportunities to thrive, but there are downsides as well
including invasive species and the spread of infectious
diseases, such as small pox
 Latin America’s patterns of settlement are closely tied the
physical geography. Deserts, rainforests, mountains, and
islands all inhibit growth in settlements.
 This region also has made use of extensive coastlines,
which is evident in the peripheral settlements: most major
cities are directly on the coast.
 Latin America is marked by regional development. There
are many areas of Latin America that have remained
almost unchanged over the decades, and even
centuries, while growth in some areas has been
phenomenal. Reasons for growth primarily center on
increased global trade that has created new job
markets.
 Many countries still rely on major products for export (rum,
sugar, bananas, coffee, copper, and other minerals) and
tourism as their primary source of income.
 Unlike North America, Latin America still has many
cultural groups that have little to no contact with modern
society. However this is rapidly changing a modern
society encroaches on lands held by these groups. There
is much political instability in Latin American and this
affects indigenous societies.