The Land And Climate of Latin America

The Land And Climate of Latin America — page 3
INTRODUCTION L atin America is the region made up of Mexico Central America and South America all of the continental land south of the United States border as well as the islands of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea This area was named Latin America because most of its inhab itants speak languages that can be traced back to Latin including Spanish Portuguese and French Grouping Latin America under a single characteristic may seem simple but the region is actually quite complex in its landscape cli mate and geologic history The entire area of Latin America rests upon massive rock foundations called tectonic plates whose friction and collisions are strong enough to shape mountains In fact western Latin America is part of the Ring of Fire a zone in the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur These forces have shaped and are still shaping Latin America not just in its physical form but also by how people use the land For example nutrient-rich volcanic ash throughout the West Indies and Central America makes land fertile for agriculture On the flip side ongoing volcanic activity has also led to the destruction of human habitats in these areas Latin America is a region of vast proportions extend ing roughly 6,000 miles 9,700 kilometers from the Rio Grande to the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego in the south The landforms within its boundaries are tremendous as well The Andes Mountains are 5,500 mi 8,900 km long Their highest peak the highest in the Americas is Mount 4