Post on 15-Dec-2015
ELEVATIONA GEOGRAPHIC “BIG IDEA”
WITH MANY CONSEQUENCE IN
SOUTH AMERICA
Elevation is a big idea that can help us understandmany geographic patterns in South America
including the patterns of rivers, rainforests,
ancient empires, food production,
mining, tourism, deforestation,
and the locations of capital cities.Skip to
questionsection.
A satelliteimage shows
the majorregions.
The greenAmazonrainforest
The highAndes
MountainsThe dry
Patagoniangrasslands
Here isa simple
basemap.
Theequatorcrosses
the mouthof the
AmazonRiver
That fact is pure luck.
It’s a happy accident, however,because it makes it very easy
for us to remember the locationof the biggest river on the planet
(and also to find the equatorif a mapmaker forgets to put it on a map).
Big Idea:The elevationof the land
in different placeshas great influence
on many other features of
South America.
For example,the Amazon Riverstarts in the high Andes Mountains and then flows
all the wayacross thecontinent.
While theParaguaydrains thesouthern
partIt’s also called
the Parana andRio de la Plata.
TheInca Empire
startedin the highmountainsof modern
Peru.
By 1525it had spread
to covermost of themountains.
Then the Spanishand Portugueseexplorers and
missionaries came.
You can tell where they wentby finding towns
named after saints(San, Sao, Santa).
That is wherenearly all
of the metalores are found,
. . .because
metal ores are associated with
the geologic processes that make
mountains.
ExceptAluminum –it is formed
from the soilin hot, rainy
environments.
In other words,in the low lands
near the equator.
Becauseit drains
so much landnear the equator,
the Amazonis a huge river –by far the largest
in the world.
It’s hard to raise cattle
on high mountainsor in hot lowlands,
even if you clear the forest.
It’s hard to raise cattle
on high mountainsor in hot lowlands,
even if you clear the forest.
Three countriesnear the equatorput their capitals
high in the mountains
As much astwo miles
above sea level.
For comparison,here is the
United Statesat the same size
and properlatitude.
It’s “upside-down”because this partof South America
is south ofthe Equator.
Many placesin Chile
and Argentinaare similarto places
in the U.S.
Butno place
in the U.S.is like theAmazon
rainforest or the
high Andesmountains.
Butno place
in the U.S.is like theAmazon
rainforest or the
high Andesnear theequator.
This presentation was a brief look at some consequences of elevation,using examples from South America.
A satelliteimage shows
the majorregions.
What doesdark greenrepresent?
What doeswhite
mean?What does
this tan colorrepresent?
How does thearrangement
of high mountainshelp us understand
why the Amazonis the largest
river on earth?
That is wherenearly all
of the metalores are found.
. . .
Why aremetal mines
often associated with mountains?
Aluminum isan importantexception –
do you know why?
It forms in the soilin the low lands
near the equator.
It’s hard to raise cattle
on high mountainsor in hot lowlands,
even if you clear the forest.
Why is it hard to raise cattle
on high mountainsor in hot lowlands?
For comparison,here is the
United Statesat the same size
and properlatitude.
Why is theUnited States“upside down”
for this comparison?
Patagoniais like
easternMontana –
cool and dry.
The centralcoastal area
of Chileis like
California.Why is thatimportant?