Geography GEO 1310 Lecture 1: Central and South America study guide.docx
Document Summary
Central mesa: in between the sierra madres; arid, dry, less than 30 inches of rain; primary. Sierra madre del sur: along south coast; 2nd largest populations of pure native americans in. Mexico (mainly mayans) because the mountains create isolation. Chiapas: zapiasta movement to overthrow the government because of nafta (north american. Andes: tallest peaks in the western hemisphere (mount aconcagua) Alfred wegener: theory on continental drift; all features are riding on chunks of crust called plate tectonics and they move around. Guiana highlands: rich in minerals, especially bauxite: bauxite -> alumina -> aluminum. Brazilian high lands: shaped by volcanoes and weather; leading producer in coffee. Factors for coffee productions: (1) rich volcanic soil (2) tropical, constant and no frost and (3) slightly higher conditions. Rio grande: physiographic boundary between texas and mexico. Amazon river: has a drainage basin roughly the size of the united states west of the. Parana-paraguay river system: 2nd largest hydroelectric facility at the itaipu dam between.