World geography Chapter 9 review

What are the main products of the pampas?

Cattle and wheat grain

What are some of the disadvantages of tourism in the region?

Congestion, pollution, bigger income gap between poor and rich, congestion, & less room for native citizens.

Infrastructure

Facilities that include transportation, electricity, housing, and water

Rain forest

Forest regions located in the Tropical Zone Dense that have many species of trees, plants, and animals

Based on landforms and climate, which areas of Latin America would be the least agriculturally productive? Which of the five themes are reflected in your answer?

High-altitude zones in the mountains, semiarid and desert zones such as the Atacama Desert in Chile.

Where are some of the largest plains found in Latin America?

Spanish Plains

In what general direction do the Amazon and its tributaries flow?

Starts at the Andes mountains close to the Pacific and flows from west to east 4,000 miles emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

Slash-and-burn

Technique in which trees, brush, and grasses are cut and burned to clear a field

What farming technique is especially useful in mountainous regions?

Terraced Farming is the form of farming on the side of a hill or mountain, this can come in very useful for mountainous regions

What are the three major island groups of the Caribbean?

The Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the Lesser Antilles

What is the dominant vegetation of the Amazon river basin?

The vegetation varies from rain forests to grasslands and desert scrub. It ranges from the thick trees of the rain forests to mosses of the tundra.

Andes Mountains

A large system of mountain ranges located along the West coast of South America.

How have the Andes Mountains affected settlement in South America?

All along the west and south coasts of South America, the Andes Mountains are a barrier to movement in the interior. As a result, more settlement in South America has occurred along the eastern and northern coasts.

Which river drains the largest rain forest in the region?

Amazon River Basin

What are some factors that are pushing farmers off the land and into the cities?

Bad crops, less income/debt, etc

What Caribbean island is rich in natural gas, and what impact has this had on the economy?

Trinidad is a Caribbean island that is rich in natural gas. It has impacted the economy by turning Trinidad into a major exporter of methanol and ammonia and also attracting developers to the island.

What factors tend to pull people into the cities from their farms?

Usually offering higher-paying jobs, better schools, and better medical care. Basic physical and organizational structures. Such as sewers, transportation, electricity, and housing.

What two countries does the Orinoco River drain?

Venezuela and Columbia

Orinoco River

a major river that drains the interior lands of Venezuela and Columbia

Amazon River

arries more volume of water than any river in the world

What are some examples of mineral and energy resources found in abundance in Latin America?

gold, silver,copper, aluminum ore, tin, lead, nickel, oil, coal, natural gas, uranium, & hydroelectric power.

Pampas

grasslands that have rich soil in northern Argentina

Llanos

grassy, treeless areas used for livestock grazing and farming

What factors must people in the region consider when they are deciding whether to move from the country to the city?

medical care, jobs, education, and opportunity

How many tributaries does the Amazon have?

over 1,000

Push factors

push people to leave rural areas. (Ex: poor medical care, poor education, low-paying jobs, and ownership of the land by a few rich people)

Where are the Andes Mountains located?

Venezuela and the Llanos of Colombia; on the Western Coast of South America

What is the main disadvantage of the slash-and-burn method of growing crops?

It exhausts the soil

What are the settlement patterns of South America in terms of the interior and the coast?

On the west coast, the Andes mountains were a barrier that limited settlement to the interior. As a result, more settlement occurred along the eastern and northern coasts.

How do the vertical climate zones of Latin America affect agriculture?

People grow different crops depending on the elevation at which they live

What countries are drained by the Amazon and its tributaries?

Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, and Brazil

What are the two main purposes for which the plains and grasslands of the region are used?

Raising livestock and farming

Where are most of the mountains in South America located?

Rockies, Sierra Mades, & Andes

In what part of the region are savannas most common?

Savannas are most common in South America, Africa, Australia, India, and Burma

What agricultural technique involves using ashes to fertilize the soil?

Slash-and-burn (increases soil fertility and prepares it for agriculture)

Terraced farming

Ancient technique for growing crops on hillsides or mountain slopes using step-like, horizontal fields cut into the slopes

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of tourism to a community?

Disadvantages: pollution, congestion, and debt incurred by local governments. Advantages: Jobs reduce the income gap.

Which is the northernmost of the great rivers of South America?

The Orinoco river