The Amazon River is located in the northern portion of South America, flowing from west to east. The river system originates in the Andes Mountains of Peru and travels through Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.
What is the large plain that covers central South America?
The Pampas, also called the Pampa, Spanish La Pampa , vast plains extending westward across central Argentina from the Atlantic coast to the Andean foothills, bounded by the Gran Chaco (north) and Patagonia (south).
What is the vast River Basin that covers most of northern Brazil?
The Amazon River basin has an area of almost 7 million square kilometers (2.7 million square miles), making it the largest watershed in the world. The basin, which covers most of northern South America, is fed by tributaries from the glaciers of the Andes.
What is the plateau located in southern Argentina between the Andes mountains in the Atlantic Ocean?
Patagonia , semiarid scrub plateau that covers nearly all of the southern portion of mainland Argentina. With an area of about 260,000 square miles (673,000 square kilometres), it constitutes a vast area of steppe and desert that extends south from latitude 37° to 51° S.
What is the huge plateau that covers most central Mexico and is surrounded by mountains?
The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano (Spanish: Altiplanicie Mexicana) , is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico.
What countries does the Amazon basin cover?
Facts. The Amazon is a vast biome that spans eight rapidly developing countries— Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname —and French Guiana, an overseas territory of France.
What is the difference between Amazon Basin and Amazon rainforest?
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 6,300,000 km 2 (2,400,000 sq mi), or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. ... Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon rainforest, also known as Amazonia.
Why is South America called the land of extremes?
In geographic terms, it has some of the hottest, driest deserts in the world (the Atacama and Sonoran deserts) while having the largest rain-forest in the world (the Amazon).
What is the plain grassland that covers most of central Argentina and extends into Uruguay?
The Pampas is one of the largest fertile grassland plains in the world, covering almost one third of Argentina's land area. Pampa is in fact a Quechua word meaning “flat plain”. The Pampas extends for 750,000 square kilometres from the Atlantic to the Andes and continues into Uruguay.
Why is South America lopsided?
We conclude by identifying three critical factors that explain Latin American inequality: its position within a global economic system , internal colonialism with maintenance of racial categories, and the underdevelopment of state structures.
What mountains in the western portion of South America runs roughly parallel to the Pacific coast for more than 5000 miles?
Andes Mts. Mountains in the western portion of South America that run roughly parallel to the Pacific Coast for more than 5,000 miles.
Why is Patagonia called Patagonia?
The name Patagonia comes from the word patagón . Magellan used this term in 1520 to describe the native tribes of the region, whom his expedition thought to be giants. The people he called the Patagons are now believed to have been the Tehuelche, who tended to be taller than Europeans of the time.
Are the Andes higher than the Rockies?
The highest point in the Rockies is Mt. Elbert , in Colorado, which reaches a height of 14,431ft (4,399 m). The Andes are the longest mountain range in the world, covering over 4,300 mi (7,000 km) in length! ...
Why is it called Sierra Madre?
Etymology. The Spanish name sierra madre means “mother mountain range” in English , and occidental means “western”, these thus being the “Western mother mountain range”.
Which mountain range covers the most area in Mexico?
One of the largest mountain ranges in Mexico, the Sierra Madre Occidental extends down the west of the country right from Sonora to the Sierra Madre del Sur range.
How would you predict that elevation and climate might affect the way the Aztecs lived?
The elevation of the land in central Mexico ranges from 5,001 feet to 10,000 feet above sea level. ... How would you predict that elevation and climate might affect the way the Aztecs lived? The high elevation and semiarid climate might have made transportation and farming difficult . You just studied 5 terms!
