Review Questions (Main Ideas) 1-10 pg.214

Landforms and Resources (pg. 201-206)
1. How have the Andes Mountains affected settlement in South America?
The Andes Mountains are a barrier to movement into the interior, as a result more settlement has occurred along the eastern and northern coasts.

2. What are the two main purposes for which the plains and grasslands of the region are used?
Plains and grasslands are used for raising livestock and farming.

3. What are the three major island groups of the Caribbean?
The Greater Antilles, The Lesser Antilles, and The Bahamas are the three major island groups of the Caribbean.

4. What Caribbean island is rich in natural gas, and what impact has this had on the economy?
The Greater Antilles is rich in natural gas, and as a result, The Greater Antilles's economy has had a huge impact on it's land, by earthquakes and air pulltuion.

Climate and Vegetation (pg. 207-209)
5. In what part of the region are savannas most common?
Savannas are most common in tropical climate zones. (Brazil, Colombia, Argentina)

6. How do the vertical climate zones of Latin America affect agriculture?
Each climate zones contains certain vegetation due to the climate. So farmers can grow different types of vegetation in certain climate temps.

7. What is the dominant vegetation of the Amazon river basin?
The dominant vegetation in the Amazon river basin is forests or rain forests.

Human-Environment Interaction (pg. 210-213)
8. What is the main disadvantage of the slash-and-burn method of growing crops?
The soil is no loner fertil and nothing can grow there anymore; trees are needed to get rid of carbon in the air so the more trees are burned down the more carbon is left in the air providing more global warning.

9. What factors tend to pull people into the cities from their farms?
The "pull" factors include higher-paying jobs, better schools, and better medical care.

10. What are some of the disadvantages of tourism in the region?
An obvious gap between rich tourists and less well-off local residents; this has produced resentment and hostility in places such as Jamaica in the Caribbean and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Governments can run up large public debts by borrowing money to build tourist facilities.