Published in 2018 by Britannica Educational Publishing a trademark of Encyclopædia Britannica Inc in association with The Rosen Publishing Group Inc 29 East 21st Street New York NY 10010 Copyright 2018 The Rosen Publishing Group Inc and Encyclopædia Britannica Inc Encyclopædia Britannica Britannica and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopædia Britannica Inc All rights reserved Distributed exclusively by Rosen Publishing To see additional Britannica Educational Publishing titles go to rosenpublishing com First Edition Britannica Educational Publishing J E Luebering Executive Director Core Editorial Andrea R Field Managing Editor Compton’s by Britannica Rosen Publishing Carolyn DeCarlo Editor Nelson Sá Art Director Michael Moy Series Designer Raúl Rodriguez Book Layout Cindy Reiman Photography Manager Karen Huang Photo Researcher Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names Shea Therese Title The land and climate of Latin America Therese M Shea Description New York Britannica Educational Publishing in Association with Rosen Educational Services 2018 Series Exploring Latin America Audience Grades 5-8 Includes bibli ographical references and index Identifiers ISBN 9781680486889 eBook Subjects LCSH Latin America Juvenile literature Classification LCC F1408 2 S52 2018 DDC 972 8 dc23 Manufactured in the United States of America Photo credits Cover Westend61 Getty Images pp 4-5 9 19 26 35 background By Vadim Petrakov Shutterstock com pp 5 9 11 17 20 21 27 Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc p 6 Daniel Garcia AFP Getty Images p 7 ckchiu Shutterstock com p 12 Kerrick James p 14 Scott Latham Fotolia pp 15 42-43 Jeremy Woodhouse Digital Vision Getty Images p 22 U S Department of the Interior Geological Survey p 24 hotshotsworldwide Fotolia pp 28-29 Demetrio Carrasco Dorling Kindersley Getty Images p 30 Peter Essick Aurora Getty Images p 31 Christopher Pillitz Getty Images p 33 Philip Coblentz Digital Vision Getty Images p 37 Reflejo EB Inc p 38 Fotos593 Shutterstock com p 39 DEA Pubbli Aer Foto De Agostini Getty Images back cover By Filipe Frazao Shutterstock com
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE REMARKABLE MEXICO CHAPTER TWO ASTONISHING CENTRAL AMERICA CHAPTER THREE THE WONDROUS WEST INDIES CHAPTER FOUR SENSATIONAL SOUTH AMERICA GLOSSARY FOR FURTHER READING INDEX 4 9 19 26 35 44 46 47
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
INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION The Ring of Fire rests along the edges of the Pacific Plate When this plate moves against the tectonic plates around it earthquakes and volcanoes are more likely to occur 5 5
