Part one

• PARAGUAY, B- COLUMBIA, C-  PANAMA,   D—CHILE,    E—BRAZIL   F—BOLIVIA,  G—MEXICO,  H—ARGENTINA,  I—COSTARICA,  J—PERU,  K—FRENCH GUIANA,  L—GUATEMALA, M—VENEZUELA, N—URUGUAY.

Part two

1. Hazards in Latin America

Latin America and the Caribbean have over the years been very prone to major hazards and disasters. These hazards include earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, and drought and in the recent years have also experienced El-Niño and sporadic storms as a result of the increased global warming. For instance, storms and hurricanes are prevalent in western Caribbean and the gulf of Mexican (Bradshaw, White & Dymond, 2004). This is explained by the fact that these areas are in the tropical rainforests. El-Niño has also been experienced in Middle America, Chile and Peru. Parts of South America have also experienced El Niño which is explained by the fact that the region lies within the tropics where temperature vary with elevation. Caribbean basin has experienced floods due to being in the lowlands that experience heavy rains.

1. b) Major mineral products of Latin America and their distribution

Mineral resources are important for economic development of a country. Latin America and the Caribbean are endowed with several resources such as petroleum and metal ores. For instance, Mexico and Peru are leading producers of sivlver.  Chile is known for its vast production of copper while Brazil is recognized as the largest producer of iron. Brazil and Canada are also leaders in production of steel. South America is known to have large deposits of oil and natural gas especially in Venezuela (Bradshaw, White & Dymond, 2004). Bolivia, Brazil and Peru are major producers of tin while Peru, Bolivia and Argentina are known to have deposits of lead and zinc.

1. c) How do significant mountain barriers, such as Andes, affect climate patterns and agricultural practices throughout the Caribbean and Latin America?

Mountain barriers have major implications to climate change and agricultural practices of a region. For instance, the Andes Mountains have major impacts to climate changes and agricultural practices of Peru.  Both climate change and agricultural practices are inseparable and mountains have both positive and negative attributes. For instance, the southern side of the mountain is an arid coastal area that is dry most of the times thus creating desert conditions. On the east of the mountain, the area has high humidity in the area of Amazon rain forest (Bradshaw, White & Dymond, 2004).  As a result, the south has been adversely affected by these mountains and thus the area has little agricultural activities. Lack of adequate rainfall and high levels of glaciers have adversely affected the agricultural practices in this area. However, Amazon tropical rainforest area has adequate rainfall sufficient for agriculture. Presence of glaciers from these mountains is responsible for the different precipitation patterns experienced in the tropical regions (Bradshaw, White & Dymond, 2004). The higher altitudes where the glaciers are found put them close to solar radiations. The meltdowns of the glacier increase water levels of the water bodies thus enhancing rain making. As a result tropical regions have many agricultural practices brought about by positive climate changes.

1. d) Natural Resource utilization and Wealth Gap in Latin America

Despite the many natural resources endowed to most parts of Latin America, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident. For instance, most of people in Colombia live in shantytowns in southern Bogota. This is in total contrast to the residents of northern Bogota who live in much better houses and in better environment. This gap in wealth can be explained by the over-dependence on export by communities in these areas (Bradshaw, White & Dymond, 2004). It is argued that most people in the region depended on exporting minerals agricultural products to outside market which was booming at the time. This over dependence meant that the government had no other source of income but taxes from the export business.  As a result, most people in these regions live in poor state due to overreliance in one source of income. Additionally, the abundance in natural resources has adverse impacts on foreign direct investment which has direct effects on nominal income.

Part three

1. List 4 countries in the Latin America and 4 words that describe each country

Brazil:  a young person’s country

Chile:  country of great culture

Argentina: country of the mountain

Venezuela: country of adventure

Choose an issue/topic about a country in Latin America

Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the whole of Caribbean and the Latin America. It is located in western Argentina near the Chilean border and it is 6960 meters and is also located in the Andes mountain ranges.  The mountain is known to have a number of glaciers and was created by the subduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate but it’s not a volcanic mountain.  This an important issue to the states of this region since it has major impacts on the climate changes and agricultural practices of the region.

References

Bradshaw, M., White, G., & Dymond, J. (2004). Contemporary world regional geography. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

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