Central and South America HFT2716 01 Most important things bolded LET ME REPEAT MYSELF That doesn t mean only study the bolded terms I just bold whatever he says on review day Central America 1 Belize little is known about Belize prior to the arrival of the explorers in the 1500s beautiful coastlines climate is very stable warm archeological tourism retired people live here 2 million people travel there each year religious minorities settled here and expanded agriculture became independent in 1981 o The Spanish ignored Belize A British ship wrecked and the survivors lived off the island When the British came for the survivors they liked what they saw They asked the other countries who owned Belize but no one fessed up so the Brits took it They established it in 1638 as the British Honduras Attractions o Barrier Reef and the Cayes World s second longest reef runs parallel to the coast The ridges are called cayes the 2 largest cayes are Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye More than 2000 isles San Pedro is the most important access point for La Ruta Maya north of Belize City wildlife Altun Ha extensively excavated Head of sun god carved in jade national symbol found diving o Northern Belize sanctuary here o Western Belize Mayans o Southern Belize Caracol Belize vs Tikal Guatemala Chiquibul Caves Largest cave system in Central America March to May San Ignacio base for exploration of the area The area to go to in Belize Dangriga largest town festival in November Inhabitants are descendants of black Caribs fleeing Honduras after a revolt Garifuna Settlement Day November 19th 2 Costa Rica Ecotourism world s best national parks 25 of territory is protected 97 literacy rate McDonalds and BK home delivery population lives in central Costa Rica San Jose is located here no need for military popular surfing destination mostly Pacific Pacific comes from the word peaceful 5 of world s biodiversity is in Costa Rica 130 species of freshwater fish 850 birds 1 000 butterflies in the 3 Panama 70s Costa Rica went green known for nightlife agriculture is mainly coffee and bananas medical tourism also in Belize very stable government which increases tourism San Jose capital in 1737 Ticos citizens love San Jose when a volcano nearby was emitting ash the people never left Puntarenas principal Pacific port Puerto Caldera cruise liner port Liberia area s principal town Pan American Highway Mexico but Wiki says Alaska passes through airport has daily flights to San Jose Attractions butterfly farm coffee plantations symbol of country carretas factory o Volcan Poas the most visited park fumaroles geyser o Monteverde forest o Tortuaguero important nesting area for turtles and other species like monkeys jaguars etc Crossroads of the world Caribbean Sea is north and Pacific is south about the size of South Carolina 1 3 of the country is tropical rain forest much is protected by the government scuba diving ecotourism 940 recorded bird species Darien Gap is the only gap in the Pan American Highway and is just undeveloped swamp and rainforests Panama Canal 19th century Panama used to be part of Gran Colombia In 1878 the Colombian government asked the French diplomat Ferdinand Lesseps builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt Tropical diseases prevented the French from completing it Teddy Roosevelt wanted to have control of the canal so he offered his assistance Colombia said NO BITCH Aaron Paul style of course So in 1903 the US pushed Panama to revolt against Colombia Panama became independent and allowed the United States to build the canal which was called the Big Ditch It was built at the most narrow point in Panama and extends 51 miles It took 10 years and cost 352 million and 5 609 lives It opened in 1914 US control of canal ended in 1999 It takes about 8 10 hours to cross the canal Runs northwest to southeast Col n is the entry city in the Caribbean Panama City capital is the entry point for Pacific San Blas Islands Panama s largest archipelago often visited by cruise ships Cuna Indians live on the islands the Cuna Indians are self governing have ancient living methods speak Spanish but have their own language 4 Guatemala Shares a border with Honduras El Salvador Mexico and Belize Guatemala City is the capital more than 2000 Mayan ruins are hidden in the tropical rain forest Attractions o Lake Atitlan mile high lake a caldera bowl of volcano surrounded by 3 volcanoes and 12 indian villages o Tikal greatest of the Mayan cities near Belize o Antigua colonial city center of weaving industry 5 Honduras Lies between Nicaragua Guatemala and El Salvador relied on the banana republic but now relies on tobacco and cows covered by mountains known for deep sea fishing Attractions o Mosquito Coast called the Mosquito coast because of the Miskito Indians and the insect o El Copon Mayan ruins largest to the South o Tegucigalpa capital 6 El Salvador Small densely populated 1980 1992 civil war political unrest lots of gang violence no Caribbean coastline San Salvador is the capital tourism has only grown a little but with political unrest tourism is affected greatly 7 Nicaragua Located between Honduras and Costa Rica Managua is the largest city and the capital 1972 earthquake destroyed 90 of Managua Ortega is the president strong ties with Cuba largest country yet sparsely populated a little bigger than New York South America Geography to Know because there s just too much Ecuador Equator Galapagos Peru Andes Bolivia Lake Titicaca Andes Argentina Pampas Patagonia Iguazu Falls Chile Atacama Desert Tierra del Fuego Andes Easter Island not in map Brazil Iguazu Falls the Amazon Venezuela Angel Falls Canaima 1 Ecuador Andean Lands 1200 AD in southern Peru Incans Guzco was capital Quechua was language stretched from Peru to some of Bolivia and Colombia in 1532 Pizarro landed and found the Inca The Great Royal Highway Incan road from Ecuador Colombia border to Santiago Chile most used section is from Guzco to Machu Picchu One of the smallest countries in South America lies on the equator hence the name Quito is the capital considered the Florence of the Americas located in the avenue of volcanoes Guayaquil is largest city and South America s principal Pacific port part of Spain o Galapagos Islands 15 large islands and many small islands islands are volcano peaks 1835 a ship The Beagle arrived to the island with Darwin on board he observed that the animals had adapted differently i e swimming iguanas the name comes from the turtles that
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