拉丁美洲概况概要1.pptVIP

Globalization Diversity: Rowntree, Lewis, Price, Wyckoff Latin America Reference Introduction Latin America has 17 countries Colonized by Spain Portugal (Iberian countries) Large, diverse populations 490 million people total Indian and African presence 75% of the people live in cities Several megacities (more than 10 million people) Industrialization development grew since 1960s Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) proposes to integrate economies of Latin America, North America and the Caribbean (except Cuba) Natural resource extraction remains important Environmental Geography: Neotropical Diversity Much of the region lies in the tropics, but not all Neotropics: tropical ecosystems of the Western Hemisphere Large species diversity, inspired Darwin Environmental Issues Facing Latin America Relatively large land area and low population density has minimized environmental degradation Latin America has the opportunity to avoid mistakes that other regions have made Brazil and Costa Rica have conservation movements The Destruction of Tropical Rainforests Deforestation is the most common environmental problem in Latin America Environmental Geography (cont.) Environmental Issues (cont.) Destruction of Tropical Rainforests (cont.) Affected regions: Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil and Pacific forests of Central America Causes: agriculture, settlement, and ranching Grassification: conversion of tropical forest to pasture Concerns: loss of biological diversity Tropical rainforests: 6% of Earth’s landmass but 50% of species Urban Environmental Challenges: Valley of Mexico Environmental Issues in Latin America (Fig. 4.3) Environmental Geography (cont.) Western Mountains and Eastern Shields The Andes Relatively young, 5,000 miles long; 30 peaks over 20K feet Contain valuable metals and minerals Altiplano: treeless, elevated plain in Peru and Bolivia The Uplands of Mexico and Central America Most major cities and population found here Rich volcanic soils Physical Geography