Middle and South America - World Regional Geography Practice Flashcards

Geographic Features of Middle and South America

• Regional Connectivity and Division

  • The region of Middle and South America is characterized by fragmentation in physical connectivity and history.

  • The geographers' division between North and South America is the Isthmus of Panama, a narrow land strip connecting the two masses.

  • Middle America is defined as the area between North and South America, including Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean islands.

  • Mexico is categorized sometimes as North America and sometimes as Middle or Central America due to strong cultural and historical ties to Central America.

  • South America extends from the tropical beaches of Colombia to the frigid southern islands of Chile and Argentina.

• Tectonic Activity and High Relief

  • The region is physically defined by tectonic plate boundaries: the Caribbean, North American, South American, Nazca, Cocos, and Antarctic plates.

  • Haiti Earthquake (2010): Located on Hispaniola, situated on a transform plate boundary near the Caribbean plate. A magnitude $7.0$ earthquake killed over $100,000$ people.

  • Mexico's Mountain Ranges:

    • Sierra Madre Occidental: In the west.

    • Sierra Madre Oriental: In the east.

    • Sierra Madre del Sur: In the south.

  • Caribbean Archipelago: Formed by the collision of the Caribbean and North American plates. Islands are often the tops of underwater mountains.

    • Greater Antilles: Larger islands including Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and the Cayman Islands.

    • Lesser Antilles: Smaller islands categorized into Leeward and Windward Islands, the Leeward Antilles, and the Bahamas.

• Meteorological Hazards

  • The region is prone to tropical cyclones (hurricanes), especially along the Gulf of Mexico.

  • El Niño: The warming phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. It increases tropical cyclones in the Americas and leads to excessive rain in South America, while causing warmer temperatures in North America.

• Altitudinal Zonation

  • Central and South American agriculture is dictated by cooling temperatures at higher elevations, a process called Altitudinal Zonation.

  • Tierra caliente (hot land): $0$ to $1000\,m$. Supports tropical crops like bananas, rice, and corn.

  • Tierra templada (temperate land): $1000$ to $2000\,m$. Supports coffee and corn.

  • Tierra fria (cold land): $2000$ to $3000\,m$. Supports wheat, rye, and potatoes.

  • Tierra helada (frozen land): $3000$ to $4000\,m$. Above the tree line; supports cool grasses for grazing animals like llamas.

  • Tierra nevada (snowy land): Above $4000\,m$. Characterized by snow and ice.

• South American Physical Features

  • Andes Mountains: Formed by the subduction of Nazca and Antarctic plates under the South American plate. They are the highest mountains outside of Asia and run from Venezuela to Chile/Argentina.

  • Altiplano: A series of high-elevation plains and basins in the Andes, central to early human settlement.

  • Amazon Basin: Centered on the Amazon River, the continent's longest river.

    • Discharge rate: $209,000\,m^3/s$ (more than the next seven largest rivers combined).

    • Drainage basin size: Over $7,000,000\,km^2$ ($2.7\,million\,sq\,miles$).

• Key Waterways and the Panama Canal

  • Lake Nicaragua: A large freshwater lake in Central America; environmental concerns exist regarding proposed canal plans through the lake.

  • Panama Canal:

    • Initial French attempt (1881): Failed due to rainy seasons, dense jungle, and disease; $22,000$ workers died.

    • US construction (1904-1914): US helped Panama gain independence from Colombia for rights to the canal; over $5,600$ workers died during the $10$-year project.

    • Sovereignty: Panama regained control in 1999.

    • Capacity: Increased from $1,000$ ships/year at opening to approximately $15,000$ ships/year today.

    • Operation: Uses man-made locks to raise/lower ships over changing elevations. Transit takes $8$ to $10$ hours.

    • Expansion: Completed in 2016 to accommodate massive modern container ships.

Colonization and Conquest in Middle America

• Early Civilizations

  • Mesoamerican Cultural Hearth: One of the world's earliest civilizations, founded by indigenous groups migrating from North America.

  • The Maya (2000 BCE - 9th century CE):

    • Location: Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and the Yucatan peninsula.

    • Structure: Theocratic with divine kings; utilized hieroglyphics, complex calendars, mathematics, and astronomy.

    • Population: Over $1,000,000$ people at its height.

    • Architecture: Visible ruins like the pyramid Chichen Itza.

    • Decline: Potential causes include overpopulation, ecological damage, disease, infighting, or famine caused by climate change (decreased rainfall).

  • The Aztec (15th century CE):

    • Location: Centered around the capital Tenochtitlan (population $100,000$ to $200,000$), now site of Mexico City.

    • Conquest: Hernán Cortés (Spanish) allied with rival groups and arrived in 1520. Leader Montezuma was killed. Tenochtitlan was destroyed by 1521.

• Colonial Spheres: Mainland vs. Rimland

  • The Rimland:

    • Geography: Caribbean islands and coastal areas.

    • European impact: High accessibility; first landing sites for explorers like Christopher Columbus (1492 CE).

    • Demographics: Blending of European and African cultures.

    • Economy: Based on Plantations (seasonal labor, efficient, monocultures, export-oriented).

    • Slave Trade: Of over $11,000,000$ Africans sold into slavery, over $90\%$ were sent to the Caribbean and South America.

  • The Mainland:

    • Geography: Interior Mexico and Central America.

    • Demographics: Blending of Indigenous and Spanish cultures; Mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian descent).

    • Economy: Based on Haciendas.

      • Spanish estates growing varied crops for local and international markets.

      • Year-round labor (workers lived on the land).

      • Less efficient than plantations but less economically vulnerable due to crop diversity.

      • High social prestige for landowners.

  • Land Alienation: The active taking of land from one group (indigenous) and claiming it by another (wealthy European settlers), leading to long-term poverty among indigenous descendants.

The South American Colonial Landscape

• The Inca Empire (13th century CE):

  • Settled in the Altiplano of Peru; largest pre-Colombian civilization.

  • Began as the Kingdom of Cusco; expanded to cover $2,500$ miles and $4,000,000$ people.

  • Conquest: Francisco Pizarro reached the Inca in 1526 CE. Smallpox and infighting weakened the empire before Spanish total conquest.

• Treaty of Tordesillas (1494 CE)

  • An agreement between Spain and Portugal to divide the New World.

  • Spain controlled everything west of the line; Portugal controlled land to the east (much of present-day Brazil).

• Urban and Rural Impacts

  • Colonial centers like Lima, Peru became wealthy from silver deposits.

  • Laws of the Indies: Spanish urban planning regulations requiring towns to be built around a Plaza Mayor (main square) with a grid road system.

  • Indigenous structures were often razed; e.g., the Mexico City Cathedral was built over the Aztec Templo Mayor.

  • Independence: Most colonies gained freedom in the early 19th century, often led by local Europeans. Federated republics (like in Central America) often dissolved into smaller states.

  • Remaining Territories: French Guiana (French, site of European Space Agency launches); various Caribbean islands (US, UK, Netherlands, France).

Urban Development in South America

• Urbanization Overview

  • South America is $80\%$ urbanized; Central America and Caribbean are roughly $70\%$ urbanized.

  • Primate City: A city more than twice as large as the next biggest city, representing national culture (e.g., Montevideo, Uruguay, where over half the population lives).

  • Megacity: A metropolitan area with over $10,000,000$ people.

    • Mexico City (Mexico): $22,000,000$ people.

    • São Paulo (Brazil): $21.5,000,000$ people.

    • Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) are also megacities.

• The Latin American City Model (Ford 1996)

  • CBD (Central Business District): Middle of the city, often containing the original colonial plaza and a central market.

  • Spine and Mall: A major boulevard (spine) for commercial/industrial development connecting the CBD to a major retail mall.

  • Elite Residential Sector: High-income housing/condominiums surrounding the spine.

  • Zone of Maturity: Inner ring of middle-class housing.

  • Zone of In Situ Accretion: Transitional area between middle-class housing and slums.

  • Zone of Peripheral Squatter Settlements: Outermost ring where residents "squat" on unused land without owning or renting.

  • Disamenity Sectors: Marginal land (near highways/rail lines) where the poorest live in makeshift housing (cardboard/tin).

• Slums and Favelas

  • Approximately $1/3$ of people in developing countries live in slums.

  • Favelas: Brazilian term for slums. Over $11,000,000$ Brazilians live in them.

  • Rocinha (Rio de Janeiro): Brazil's largest favela ($70,000$ residents); transitioned from temporary to permanent structures with basic utilities.

  • Housing shortage: Slums are often populated by the underemployed and even managers who cannot find affordable housing due to rapid rural-to-urban migration.

Income Inequality and Globalization

• Wealth Disparity

  • Latin America is the most unequal region globally; the top $10\%$ of the population controls $71\%$ of the region's wealth.

  • In Mexico, half the population lives in poverty.

  • In Brazil, the top $10\%$ owns nearly $75\%$ of the wealth.

• Socio-Political Factors

  • Land Ownership: Governments often took over colonial land instead of returning it to private small farmers, who cannot compete with large-scale producers.

  • Socialism: Countries like Venezuela (under Hugo Chavez) turned to socialism financed by oil exports. Falling oil prices in 2016 led to massive inflation and shortages.

  • Bolivia: $62\%$ indigenous population, but didn't have an indigenous president until Evo Morales in 1998. $42\%$ of indigenous students do not finish school (vs $17\%$ of non-indigenous).

  • Liberation Theology: A form of Christianity blended with political activism, focusing on social justice and aligning with the marginalized.

• Global Connectivity and Migration

  • Brain Drain: Emigration of highly skilled workers. $84\%$ of Haiti's college graduates live abroad.

  • Remittances: Money sent back home by migrants. In 2015, Mexico received over $25\,billion$ (approx. $2\%$ of its GDP).

  • SIDS (Small Island Developing States): Small Caribbean nations with limited resources. They formed CARICOM (Caribbean Community) for economic integration.

  • Offshore Banking: Provides privacy and zero/low taxes. Cayman Islands holds $1.5\,trillion$ in wealth (GDP per capita: over $49,000$ vs Jamaica's $8,800$).

• Illicit Trade and Environment

  • Drug Trade: Cartels in the Andes (Bolivia, Colombia, Peru) for cocaine and Mexico for trafficking. The Mexican Drug War has killed over $100,000$ people. The US market spends approx. $60\,billion$ annually on illegal drugs.

  • Deforestation:

    • Nicaragua has lost $75\%$ of its forests.

    • Amazon rainforest (holds $10\%$ of global biodiversity) is down to $80\%$ of its 1970 size, largely due to Brazil's cattle/beef industry.

  • Dependency Theory: The theory that resources flow from the "periphery" (developing nations) to the "core" (wealthy nations) to the core's advantage, perpetuating inequality.