Chapter 9 Section 2 Page 207
1. What three factors determine the variety of climate and vegetation in Latin America?
2. What are rain forests? What is the largest rain forest and where is it mostly located? What are three dangerous animals that live in rain forests?
3. Where would semiarid climates be found in Latin America?
4. Where are desert regions found in Latin America?
5. What are the four mid-latitude climate zones in Latin America?
6. Where would each of the four mid-latitude climate zones in Latin America be found?
7. (Section 3, Page 210) How did the Incan people farm in the Andes Mountains?
7. In what four ways did native Latin American peoples change their environment in order to grow food?
8. What is the slash-and-burn technique and where was it most effective?
9. What is a major reason for the steady shrinking of Latin American rain forests?
10. What is terraced farming? Besides the Inca, what other native people practiced terraced farming and where were they located?
1. What three factors determine the variety of climate and vegetation in Latin America? Latin America covers a large distance on both sides of the equator. The mountains cause big changes in elevation. Warm Atlantic currents and cold Pacific currents affect the climate.
2. What are rain forests? What is the largest rain forest and where is it mostly located? What are two dangerous animals that live in rain forests? Rain forests are thick forests with many different species of trees. The climate is hot and rainy year round. Most of the Amazon rain forest is in Brazil. The three dangerous Amazon animals are the anaconda, jaguar, and piranha.
3. Where would semiarid climates be found in Latin America? Semiarid regions are found in Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.
4. Where are desert regions found in Latin America? Desert regions are found in northern Mexico, the coast of Peru, northern Chile, and Argentina s southern zone.
5. What are the four mid-latitude climate zones in Latin America? These climate zones are Humid Subtropical, Mediterranean, Marine West Coast, and Highlands.
6. Where would each of the four mid-latitude climate zones in Latin America be found? The Humid Subtropical areas are in parts of Paraguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil, southern Bolivia, and Northern Argentina. Mediterranean climate zones are in part of Chile along the west coast. The Marine West Coast climate zones are found in parts of southern Chile and Argentina. The Highlands are found in the mountains of Mexico and South America.
7. (Section 3, Page 210) How did the Incan people farm in the Andes Mountains? The Incans cut terraces from the steep sides of the mountains. They constructed irrigation channels to carry water to the terraces. This is known as terraced farming.
7. In what four ways did native Latin American peoples change their environment in order to grow food? The early Latin American peoples burned forest areas to clear land for framing, diverted streams to water crops, built raised fields in swampy areas, and carved terraces out of hillsides.
8. What is the slash-and-burn technique and where was it most effective? The slash-and-burn technique involves cutting trees, brush, and grasses and burning the debris to clear the field. This technique is most effective in humid and tropical areas.
9. What is a major reason for the steady shrinking of Latin American rain forests? Non-landowning poor use destructive farming practices which drain all the nutrients from the land. They move on and do the same thing all over again.
10. What is terraced farming? Besides the Inca, what other native people practiced terraced farming and where were they located? Terraced farming is an old technique for growing crops on steep slopes. It was also used by the Aztecs of Mexico.