spanish 3 the story behind the name
puerto rico
"rich port" first meant the city of san juan, but its now the name of the whole island.
peru
Biru--either the name of a small river or the native chief who lived nearby-- was the source of this country's name.
Costa Rica
Columbus named this area "Gold coast" for gold ornaments worn by the native people. It was later changed to "rich coast"
Honduras
an early Spanish explorer named this part of Central America "depths" because of the deep ocean off its coast
venezuela
native villages built on silts in lake maracaibo reminded spanish explorers of venice, italy so they named the area "little venice.
argentina
part of this country is bordered by the Rio de la plata (river of silver) Its name comes from the latin word for silver, argentum.
ecuador
the equator runs through this small south american country, and gives it its name
bolivia
this country was named for a venezuelan general who helped it and smoother countries win freedom from spain
El Salvador
this country was named for jesus the savior and its capital translates as Holy Savior
colombia
this country- which christopher columbus never reached- was named in his honor
uruguay
this small country was named for the river which is its western border. it means "bird tail" in an indian language, after a waterfall which spreads out like the tail of a bird.
brazil
trees from this region were exported to portugal, so the portuguese called this country "the land of _____ trees."