WORLD GEOGRAPHY- LATIN AMERICA Human Geography STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS. Answer on notebook paper.
Fall 2016
1. Why is Latin America called Latin America?
2. What two large Native American civilizations were conquered by the Spanish in the 16th century?
3. Explain how the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) made Portuguese the language of Brazil today.
4. What is the dominant religion of Latin America? Be specific.
5. Describe terraced farming (hint: Andes Mountains).
6. Describe subsistence farming.
7. Define: Favelas.
8. Define: Mestizo.
9. What Native American civilization was located in and around the Yucatan Peninsula, c. 800 CE?
10. The Aztecs were the dominant Native American civilization c. 1450 CE in what nation?
11. The Incas were the dominant Native American civilization c. 1450 located in which modern-day countries?
12. What mathematical concept did the Mayans use that Europeans did not, c. 800 CE?
13. A “push factor” that causes Latin Americans to move away from rural areas to urban areas would be what?
14. A “pull factor” that causes Latin Americans to move into cities could be what?
15. After independence in the early 19th century, what was the type of government most common in Latin America in which small groups of people ruled?
16. Many Latin American countries were ruled by a caudillo. What is a caudillo?
17. In Central America, most people work on ____ and live in ____.
18. Which large bodies of water are connected by the Panama Canal?
19. Which city hosted the most recent summer Olympics and is the center of culture in Brazil?
20. Identify two important results of the Spanish conquest of Mexico 500 years ago that still impacts that nation today.
21. After Columbus landed in the Caribbean islands in 1492, how did most of the indigenous population die?
22. Which Caribbean country gained its independence from France, and was the home of the largest slave revolt in the Western hemisphere?
23. Hispaniola is an island containing what countries?
24. What three cultures have had the largest influences on Latin America?
25. In which country has Voodoo or vodun been most prevalent in Latin America?
26. Reggae music traces its origins to which island nation?
27. Outside of Japan, what country has the largest Japanese population?
28. Calypso music traces its origins to which island nation?
29. The Brazilian martial art and dance called capoeira traces its roots to what continent?
30. Portuguese colonists affected Brazil in what important ways in the colonial (16th-18th centuries) period?
31. Rainforests help to do what on the planet?
32. What is being done to help keep the rainforests, like the Amazon, from being destroyed?
33. What is the atmospheric gas that the rainforests help to remove from the atmosphere?
34. Natives of the Amazon rainforest contribute to deforestation in what way?
35. Major oil producers in Latin America include Mexico and ______.
36. The largest export crop of the Caribbean region is ______.
37. The main reason Brazil has become an economic industrial power worldwide is ______.
38. NAFTA is defined as what? What does the acronym stand for, what nations are part of it, when was it signed, and what is it designed to do?
39. Llamas and alpacas are domesticated animals from what region/nations of South America?
40. Primary professional sports leagues in Latin American countries revolve around what sport?
41. The Brazilian named Pele is famous for what activity?
42. The most popular sport in the Caribbean nations of the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Venezuela is _____.
43. What country in Latin America today is communist?
44. By the 1990s, what political trend was well-established in most Latin American nations?
45. What nation replaced Spain and Britain as the dominant foreign power in Latin America after 1898?
46. The most common language spoken in Latin America today is ____.
47. The LARGEST river in the world is _____.
48. The highest mountain range in the Western hemisphere?
49. What are the THREE largest cities in Latin America (population)?
50. In terms of population, what is the 2nd largest country in the Western hemisphere?