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Latin American Vocab
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Surrounded by Mexico's Sierra Madre mountain ranges. Mild climate, fertile volcanic soil, and adequate rainfall. | Mexican Plateau |
Mountain range in South America | Andes |
Parallel chains or ranges of mountains | Cordilleras |
Spanish for "high plain", a region in Peru and Bolivia encircled by the Andes peaks | Altiplano |
Sparsely populated plateau of forests and grasslands, that spreads across Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru | Malto Grosso Plateau |
Farther east of the Mato Grosso Plateau, a vast area spanning several climate and vegetation zones. Warm climate and open spaces make it important for raising livestock. | Brazilian Highlands |
Steep cliff or slope between a higher and lower land surface. | Escarpment |
Grasslands of Colombia and Venezuela | Llanos |
Grassy, treeless plains of southern South America (Argentina and Uruguay) | Pampas |
The Western Hemisphere's longest river, and the world's second longest. Flows from the headwaters of the Peruvian Andes to the Atlantic coast of Brazil (4000 miles) | Amazon River |
Electrical energy generated by falling water. | Hydroelectric power |
"River of the Silver" which flows into the Atlantic Ocean | Rio de la Plata |
Generally the rivers of Middle America are small, but this one is the exception. Forms part of the border between the United States and Mexico. | Rio Grande |
Located in the Andes of Bolivia and Peru, it is the world's highest navigable lake. | Lake Titicaca |
Spanish term for "frozen land"; a zone of permanent snow and ice on the peaks of the Andes | Tierra helada |
Spanish term for "cold land"; the highest altitude zone of Latin American highlands climates | Tierra fria |
Spanish term for "temperate land"; the middle-altitude zone of Latin American highlands climates | Tierra templada |
Spanish term for "hot land"; the lowest altitude zone of Latin American highlands climates | Tierra caliente |
Blanketed by the world's largest expanse of tropical rain forests. World's wettest tropical plain. | Amazon Basin |
Top layer of a rain forest, where the tops of tall trees form a continuous layer of leaves | Canopy |
Coastal desert that is so arid that in some places no rainfall has ever been recorded | Atacama Desert |
Native to a place | Indigenous |
The Maya's thrived here | Yucatan Peninsula |
Refers to people of Native American and European descent | Mestizo |
The movement of people from rural areas to cities | Urbanization |
Mexico's largest megacity with a population of more than 19 million people. A primate city. The primary destination for most people who move within Mexico | Mexico City |
A city with more than ten million people | Megacity |
A city that dominates a country's economic, culture, and goverment, and in which population is concentrated; usually the capital | Primate city |
Picture writing carved in stone | Glyphs |
The Aztec civilizations capital in Central Mexico, it was built on an island in a large lake | Tenochtitlan |
Floating farming islands made by the Aztec | Chinampas |
Spanish term for "conqueror" referring to soldiers who conquered Native Americans in Latin America | Conquistador |
Representative of the Spanish monarch appointed to enforce laws in colonial Latin America | Viceroys |
A Latin American political leader from the late 1800's to the present day, often a military dictator | Caudillo |
A blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith | Syncretism |
Faulty or inadequate nutrition | Malnutrition |
Wall Painting | Murals |
Picture or design made with small pieces of colored stone, glass, shell, or tile | Mosaics |
Household made up of several generations of family members | Extended family |
The island where the first permanent European settlement was founded in 1493 | Hispaniola |
The movement of plants, animals, and infectious diseases between Europe and the Americas as Europeans claimed lands in the Americas for Spain, Portugal, France, and Britain | Columbian Exchange |
Allows ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans without sailing around the sourthern tip of South America. Human-made | Panama Canal |
A soldier born to enslaved parents, who led a revolt of enslaved Africans in Haiti | Francois Toussaint-Louverture |
A revolution in 1959 set up a communist state in Cuba under this man | Fidel Castro |
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica | Provinces of Central America |
Local form of a language used in a particular place or by a certain group | Dialects |
Dialect that blend elements of indigenous, European, African, and Asian languages | Patois |
Family ruled by a woman such as a mother, grandmother, or aunt | Matriarchal |
the former capital of Brazil, switched in 1960 in order to draw people away from the densely populated coast | Rio De Janeiro |
The new capital of Brazil, a planned city in the country's interior | Brasilia |
the loss of highly educated and skilled workers to other countries | Brain Drain |
cities in wealthy neighborhoods, where houses are hidden behind gates or walls | Favelas |
location of where four quarters met, and where the Inca's built their capital | Cuzco |
"land of the four quarters". Name of the Incan empire | Tawantinsuyu |
knotted cords of various lengths and colors used by the Inca to keep financial records | Quipu |
A conquistador who sailed for Peru from the Spanish territory of Panama | Francisco Pizarro |