Geography & Regions
Name three countries in Central America.
What is — Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Belize (any three)?
What major mountain range runs along the western edge of South America?
What is he Andes Mountains?
What is the capital city of Mexico?
What is Mexico City?
Name one pre‑Columbian civilization in Latin America.
What are Maya, Aztec, or Inca?
Name one major natural resource produced in Venezuela.
What is Oil (petroleum)?
Which body of water lies to the east of Central America and borders many Caribbean islands?
What is Atlantic Ocean (also acceptable: Caribbean Sea depending on phrasing)?
Name the desert in northern Chile known as one of the driest places on Earth.
What is the Atacama Desert?
Match the city to its country: Lima =_____ , Caracas =_________ , Brasília=__________ .
What is: Lima = Peru; Caracas = Venezuela; Brasília = Brazil.
Which two European languages are the most widely spoken in Latin America?
What are Spanish and Portuguese?
What is the Panama Canal and how does it affect shipping?
What is an artificial waterway through the Isthmus of Panama connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans; it shortens shipping routes and increases trade efficiency?
What region includes Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic?
What is the Caribbean?
What is the Amazon River Basin and why is it important?
What is the Amazon River Basin is the area drained by the Amazon River; it stores carbon, supports immense biodiversity, and influences regional and global climate and rainfall.
Name two major Brazilian cities known for very large populations and major cultural events.
What are São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro?
Explain what "mestizo" means.
What is a person of mixed indigenous and European ancestry?
Define "subsistence farming" and give one example of a plantation cash crop.
What is growing enough food to feed a family; Cash crop example = coffee, sugarcane, cacao, or bananas?
Why do Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean are considered part of "Latin America" culturally even though some are on the North American continent.
What is they share Spanish/Portuguese languages, colonial histories, cultural practices, and historical economic ties with South America?
Define "altiplano" and state where it is located.
What is high, flat plains in the central Andes, notably in Bolivia and Peru.
Give one reason why many major South American cities developed along the coast.
What are coastal locations provided access to shipping routes and international trade, making colonial settlement, transport, and economic growth easier?
Who were the conquistadors?
What is European conquerors who led military campaigns to overthrow indigenous empires and establish colonial rule?
Explain one cause and one effect of deforestation in the Amazon Basin.
what is Cause — clearing land for agriculture, ranching, logging, and development. Effect — loss of biodiversity, habitat destruction, increased carbon emissions, soil erosion, and harm to indigenous communities?
What is the Isthmus of Panama and why is it important to world trade?
What is the narrow land bridge connecting North and South America; it contains the Panama Canal, which shortens shipping routes between the Atlantic and Pacific, greatly increasing trade efficiency?
Describe vertical zonation in the Andes and give one crop or product for each zone: tierra caliente, tierra templada, tierra fría.
What is climate/vegetation zones that change with altitude. Examples: tierra caliente — bananas or sugarcane; tierra templada — maize (corn); tierra fría — potatoes or barley.
On a blank map, label: Quito, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Montevideo. Explain one reason for each city's coastal or highland location.
What are:
Quito — Ecuador (highland in the Andes; location tied to trade and altitude-suited agriculture); Santiago — Chile (central valley near the Andes and coast; access to ports and fertile land); Buenos Aires — Argentina (on the Rio de la Plata/Atlantic coast; major port for trade); Montevideo — Uruguay (south coast port city; access to Atlantic trade).
Describe one long-term impact of European colonization on religion, language, and social structure in Latin America.
What is Colonization introduced Roman Catholic Christianity, Spanish and Portuguese languages, and rigid social hierarchies that often privileged European ancestry and shaped land ownership and political power.
Explain how El Niño affects agriculture and fisheries in Latin America and give one historical economic example (e.g., 1997–1998 Peru).
What is El Niño shifts ocean and atmospheric temperatures, producing droughts in some regions and heavy rains in others; this damages crops and reduces fish catches. Example: the 1997–1998 El Niño caused major declines in Peruvian fisheries and large economic losses (about US$3.5 billion reported)?