Generalities of the Americas

History of the name “Americas”

In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions.

The earliest known use of the name America for this landmass dates from April 25, 1507, where it was used for what is now known as South America. It first appears on a small globe map with twelve time zones, together with the largest wall map made to date, both created by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges in France. These were the first maps to show the Americas as a land mass separate from Asia. An accompanying book, Cosmographiae Introductio, anonymous but apparently written by Waldseemüller's collaborator Matthias Ringmann,[25] states, "I do not see what right any one would have to object to calling this part [that is, the South American mainland], after Americus who discovered it and who is a man of intelligence, Amerigen, that is, the Land of Americus, or America: since both Europa and Asia got their names from women". Americus Vespucius is the Latinized version of the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci's name, and America is the feminine form of Americus. Amerigen is explained as Amerigo plus gen, the accusative case of the Greek word for 'earth', and meaning 'land of Amerigo'. Amerigo itself is an Italian form of the medieval Latin Emericus, which through the German form Heinrich derived from the Germanic name Haimirich.

Vespucci was apparently unaware of the use of his name to refer to the new landmass, as Waldseemüller's maps did not reach Spain until a few years after his death. Ringmann may have been misled into crediting Vespucci by the widely published Soderini Letter, a sensationalized version of one of Vespucci's actual letters reporting on the mapping of the South American coast, which glamorized his discoveries and implied that he had recognized that South America was a continent separate from Asia; in fact, it is not known what Vespucci believed on this count, and he may have died believing what Columbus had, that they had reached the East Indies in Asia rather than a new continent. Spain officially refused to accept the name America for two centuries, saying that Columbus should get credit, and Waldseemüller's later maps, after he had ceased collaboration with Ringmann, did not include it; however, usage was established when Gerardus Mercator applied the name to the entire New World in his 1538 world map. Acceptance may have been aided by the "natural poetic counterpart" that the name America made with Asia, Africa, and Europa

Political division: North America

The political division of North America is composed by the following countries:

1. Bermuda

2. Canada

3. Greenland 

4. Mexico 

5. Saint Pierre and Miquelon 

6. United States

Political division: South America

The political division of South America is composed by the following countries:

1. Argentina

2. Bolivia

3. Brazil

4. Chile

5. Colombia

6. Ecuador

7. Falkland Islands

8. French Guiana

9. Guyana

10.         Paraguay

11.         Peru

12.         South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

13.         Suriname

14.         Uruguay

15.         Venezuela

Political division: America Central

The political division of America Central is composed by the following countries:

1. Belize

2. Costa Rica

3. El Salvador

4. Guatemala

5. Honduras

6. Nicaragua

7. Panama

Political division: Caribbean America

The political division of Caribbean Central is composed by the following countries:

1. Anguilla

2. Antigua and Barbuda

3. Aruba (Neth.)

4. Bahamas, 

5. Barbados

6. Bonaire

7. British Virgin Islands

8. Cayman Islands

9. Cuba

10.         Curaçao

11.         Dominica

12.         Dominican Republic

13.         Grenada

14.         Guadeloupe (Fr.)

15.         Haiti

16.         Jamaica

17.         Martinique

18.         Montserrat

19.         Navassa Island

20.         Puerto Rico

21.         Saba

22.         Saint Barthélemy

23.         Saint Kitts and Nevis

24.         Saint Lucia

25.         Saint Martin

26.         Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

27.         Sint Eustatius

28.         Sint Maarten

29.         Trinidad and Tobago

30.         Turks and Caicos Islands

31.         United States Virgin Islands

Difference between America Central and Central America

America Central is a realm of Mexico, Central America, and the greater and lesser Antilles. Central America consists only of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Belize.

External link: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_Central_America_and_Middle_America#ixzz1QUKCGmLH

Anglo America: Language

Anglo-America is a region in the Americas in which English is a main language

Anglo America: Religion

The predominant religión is Protestantism. The second most common religion is Catholicism.

Anglo America: Economy

Free market economy with a flexible labour force and low levels of governmental interference in the economy. Is often seen as opposed to the European model of greater governmental regulation and social standards for workers, including protection against being sacked without compensation.  

Latin America: Language

Its primary language is Spanish. Some countries speak Portuguese also.

Latin America: Religion

Latin America’s primary religion is Catholicism.

Latin America: Economy

On a per capita basis most Latin American countries, including the largest ones (Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and Colombia), have per capita GDPs (Gross domestic product) greater than that of China in 2009. As of 2010 Latin America included five nations classified as high-income countries: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico and Panama.

Poverty continues to be one of the region's main challenges; according to the ECLAC, Latin America is the most unequal region in the world. Inequality is undermining the region's economic potential and the well-being of its population, since it increases poverty and reduces the impact of economic development on poverty reduction. Inequality in Latin America has deep historical roots that have been difficult to eradicate since the differences between initial endowments and opportunities among social groups have constrained the poorest's social mobility, thus making poverty to be transmitted from generation to generation, becoming a vicious cycle. High inequality is rooted in exclusionary institutions that have been perpetuated ever since colonial times and that have survived different political and economic regimes. Recent economic liberalization also plays a role as not everyone is equally capable of taking advantage of its benefits. Differences in opportunities and endowments tend to be based on race, ethnicity, rurality and gender. Those differences have a strong impact on the distribution of income, capital and political standing.

The major trade blocs (or agreements) in the region are the Union of South American Nations, composed of the integrated Mercosur and Andean Community of Nations (CAN). Minor blocs or trade agreements are the G3 Free Trade Agreement, the Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). However, major reconfigurations are taking place along opposing approaches to integration and trade; Venezuela has officially withdrawn from both the CAN and G3 and it has been formally admitted into the Mercosur (pending ratification from the Paraguayan legislature). The president-elect of Ecuador has manifested his intentions of following the same path. This bloc nominally opposes any Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, although Uruguay has manifested its intention otherwise. On the other hand, Mexico is a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Chile has already signed an FTA with Canada, and along with Peru are the only two South American nations that have an FTA with the United States. Colombia's government is currently awaiting its ratification by the U.S. Senate.

Income from tourism is key to the economy of several Latin American countries. Mexico receives the largest number of international tourists, with 21.5 million visitors in 2009, followed by Brazil, with 4.8 million; Argentina, with 4.3 million; Dominican Republic, with 4.0 million;, Puerto Rico, with 3.5 million and Chile with 2.8 million.[97] Places such as Cancun, Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, Cartagena de Indias, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Margarita Island, São Paulo, Salar de Uyuni, Punta del Este, Santo Domingo, Labadee, San Juan, La Habana, Panama City, Iguazu Falls, Puerto Vallarta, Poás Volcano National Park, Punta Cana, Viña del Mar, Mexico City, Quito, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Maceió, Florianópolis, Cuzco and Patagonia are popular among international visitors in the region.

Picture related to these topics

Sources used to write the post

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_America

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_Central_America_and_Middle_America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-America

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am%C3%A9rica_Anglosajona#Religi.C3.B3n

http://en.euabc.com/word/45

Video related to these topics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLnxnhHxKs0

Major landforms of North America

Alaska Range

The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 650-km-long (400 mi) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest end to the White River in Canada's Yukon Territory in the southeast. The highest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley (or Denali), is in the Alaska Range.

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians are believed to have been the highest mountains on earth roughly 460 million years ago during the Ordovician Period, much like (but higher than[citation needed]) the Himalayas today, when all of today's continents were joined as the supercontinent Pangaea. The Appalachian chain is a barrier to east-west travel as it forms a series of alternating ridgelines and valleys oriented in opposition to any road running east-west.

The Appalachian Mountains represent a series of Paleozoic orogenies along the eastern margin of North America. The Appalachians extend from Alabama through Maine in the United States, and continue across the southeastern provinces of Canada to Newfoundland. More than 10,000 m of Paleozoic sedimentary and volcanic strata are contained in the exposed portions of the Appalachian Mountains, about 10 times the thickness of equivalent strata in the mid-continent region. The Appalachian Mountains are divided classically into four main provinces, which are best developed from New York southward.

Piedmont -- Stretching from Alabama to New York, the Piedmont is a plateau of moderate elevation (150-300 m) that forms the eastern portion of the mountain system. It consists of varied crystalline metamorphic and igneous rocks of Paleozoic age. Many of the rocks began as marine sediments and volanic deposits--typical oceanic crust--that were deformed and metamorphosed mostly to the greenschist facies of chlorite and biotite schists and slate. Numerous granite intrusions form domes within the Piedmont, and narrow belts of serpentine are common. All Paleozoic and older rocks of the Piedmont Province are now thought to be completely allochthonous thrust masses.

Blue Ridge -- Upthrust Proterozoic basement rocks form a relatively narrow ridge separating the Piedmont from the Valley and Ridge provinces. The boundary between the Piedmont and Blue Ridge is marked by the Brevard Fault zone in the southern Appalachian. This fault zone contains remnants of unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks derived from the deep décollement beneath the Piedmont Province. Like the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge is considered to be allochthonous.

 Valley and Ridge -- Paleozoic sedimentary rocks are thrust and folded into large anticlines and synclines. This deformation took place at low temperature over shallow décollements (shale, salt) within the sedimentary sequence. Metamorphic and igneous rocks are conspicuously absent. Differential erosion of the thrust and folded structures has led to the distinctive valley-and-ridge topography for which this province is famous. Deformation diminishes westward in a transition into the Appalachian Plateau.

Appalachian Plateau -- The plateau is underlain by gently folded to little-deformed Paleozoic sedimentary strata. The amplitude of folding and thickness of strata decrease toward the continental interior. Deep stream entrenchment has created a rugged topography, which was the main geographic barrier to westward expansion of the early United States.

External link: http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/struc_geo/appalach/appalach.htm

Brooks Range

The Brooks Range is a mountain range in far northern North America. It stretches from west to east across northern Alaska and into Canada's Yukon Territory, a total distance of about 1100 km (700 mi). The mountains top out at over 2,700 m (9,000 ft). The range is believed to be approximately 126 million years old. These mountains are considered part of (or an extension of) the Rockies.[1][2]

The range is mostly uninhabited, but the Dalton Highway and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System run through the Atigun Pass (1,415 m, 4,643 ft) on their way to the North Slope and the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay. The Alaska Native villages of Anaktuvuk and Arctic Village, as well as the very small communities of Coldfoot, Wiseman, Bettles, and Chandalar Lake are the only settlements in the 700-mile Brooks Range. In the far west, near the Wulik River in the De Long Mountains is the Red Dog mine, largest zinc mine in the world.

The range was named by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1925 after Alfred Hulse Brooks, who was the chief USGS geologist for Alaska from 1903 to 1924.

Various historical records also referred to the range as the Arctic Mountains, Hooper Mountains, Meade Mountains and Meade River Mountains; the Canadian portion is still often referred to as the British Mountains. The British Mountains are part of Ivvavik National Park.

Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier canadien (French), is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history. It has a deep, common, joined bedrock region in eastern and central Canada and stretches North from the Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean, covering over half of Canada; it also extends south into the northern reaches of the United States. Human population is scarce, and industrial development is minimal, while mining is very prevalent.

Cascades

The Cascade Range (or Cascades) is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades. The small part of the range in British Columbia is locally called the "Coastal Mountains" but is also known as the Canadian Cascades or Cascade Mountains; the latter term is also sometimes used by Washington residents to refer to the Washington section of the Cascades in addition to North Cascades, the more usual American term, as in North Cascades National Park.

The Cascades are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the ring of volcanoes and associated mountains around the Pacific Ocean. All of the known historic eruptions in the contiguous United States have been from Cascade volcanoes. The two most recent were Lassen Peak in 1914 to 1921 and a major eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. Minor eruptions of Mount St. Helens have also occurred since, most recently in 2006.

Coast Range

The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often referred to as the Coast Range. It includes volcanic and non-volcanic mountains and the huge icefields of the Pacific and Boundary Ranges, and the northern end of the notable volcanic system known as the Cascade Volcanoes. The Coast Mountains are part of a larger mountain system called the Pacific Coast Ranges or the Pacific Mountain System, which includes the Cascade Range, the Insular Mountains, the Oregon and California Coast Ranges and the Saint Elias and Chugach Mountains.

The Coast Mountains are approximately 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) long and average 300 kilometres (190 mi) in width. Its southern and southeastern boundaries are surrounded by the Fraser River and the Interior Plateau while its far northwestern edge is delimited by the Kelsall and Tatshenshini Rivers at the north end of the Alaska Panhandle, beyond which are the Saint Elias Mountains, and by Champagne Pass in the Yukon Territory. Covered in dense temperate rainforest on its western exposures, the range rises to heavily glaciated peaks, including the largest temperate-latitude icefields in the world. It then tapers to the dry Interior Plateau on its eastern flanks, or to the subarctic boreal forest of the Skeena Mountains and Stikine Plateau.

The Coast Mountains are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the ring of volcanoes and associated mountains around the Pacific Ocean. It contains some of British Columbia's highest mountains. Mount Waddington, northeast of the head of Knight Inlet with an elevation of 4,019 metres (13,186 ft), is the highest mountain of the Coast Mountains and the highest that lies entirely within British Columbia.

Coastal Plain

A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in eastern South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity. The Gulf Coastal Plain of North America extends northwards from the Gulf of Mexico along the Lower Mississippi River to the Ohio River, which is a distance of about 500 miles (about 800 km). During the Cretaceous age, the central area of the United States was covered by a shallow sea, which disappeared as the land rose. Large fossilized aquatic birds called Hesperornis and Ichthyornis, found in western Kansas, indicate that the shallow sea was rife with fish. The coastal plain lying alongside the lower Mississippi River may be associated with a shallow sea which had existed 6 thousand years ago.

Great Plains

The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The Canadian portion of the Plains is known as the Prairies. Some geographers include some territory of Mexico in the Plains, but many stop at the Rio Grande.

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains (or the Rockies) are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles (4,830 km) from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. The range's highest peak is Mount Elbert located in Colorado at 14,440 feet (4,401 m) above sea level. Within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada which all lie further to the west.

The Rocky Mountains were formed from 80 million to 55 million years ago by the Laramide orogeny. Since then, erosion by water and glaciers has sculpted the mountain range into dramatic valleys and peaks. At the end of the last ice age, humans started to inhabit the mountain range. After Europeans, such as Sir Alexander MacKenzie and the Lewis and Clark expedition, started to explore the range, minerals and furs drove the initial economic exploitation of the mountains, although the range itself never became densely populated.

Currently, much of the mountain range is protected by public parks and forest lands, and is a popular tourist destination, especially for hiking, camping, mountaineering, fishing, hunting, skiing, and snowboarding.

Sierra Nevada

The Sierra Nevada (Spanish: [ˈsjera neˈβaða], snowy mountain range) is a mountain range in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, between the California Central Valley and the Basin and Range Province. The Sierra runs 400 miles (640 km) north-to-south, and is approximately 70 miles (110 km) across east-to-west. Notable Sierra features include Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America; Mount Whitney at 14,505 feet (4,421 m), the highest point in the contiguous United States; and Yosemite Valley sculpted by glaciers out of 100-million-year-old granite. The Sierra is home to three national parks, 20 wilderness areas, and two national monuments. These areas include Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

The character of the range is shaped by its geology and ecology. More than 100 million years ago, granite formed deep underground. The range started to uplift 4 million years ago, and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the range. The uplift caused a wide range of elevations and climates in the Sierra, which are reflected by the presence of five life zones.

The Sierra Nevada was home to several Native American tribes. The range was first sighted by Pedro Fages in 1772, and then explored between 1844 and 1912.

Sierra Madres

The Sierra Madre Mountains are a mountain range in northern Santa Barbara County, California, USA. They are a portion of the Inner South Coast Ranges, representing the southernmost part, which are themselves part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America. The Sierra Madre Mountains trend from northwest to southeast, and are approximately 25 mi (40 km) long. High peaks in the range include MacPherson Peak (5,747 feet (1,752 m)), and the highest point in the range, Peak Mountain (5,843 feet (1,781 m)). To the southeast, the range merges with the San Rafael Mountains in a complex topography of unnamed ranges, the highest point of which is Big Pine Mountain (6,820 ft (2,079 m)), the highest point in Santa Barbara County. Snow falls on the highest peaks during the winter months.

The Sierra Madre Mountains are almost entirely within the Los Padres National Forest, and mark the northern boundary of the San Rafael Wilderness. The southeastern extent of the range is about 25 mi (40 km) north of the city of Santa Barbara, and the northwestern extent of the range is about 50 mi (80 km) north by northwest of the city.

 Las Coches Mountain in the Sierra Madre Mountains, from SR166. The predominant vegetation type on the mountains is chaparral; however oak woodlands occur in some areas, and some of the higher slopes support small areas of coniferous forest. The mountains are one of the most important habitat areas of the endangered California Condor.

Geologically, the mountains are almost entirely composed of sedimentary rocks of Tertiary age. Most of the rocks are Eocene marine sandstones and other sediments, and one region in the eastern portion of the range is made up of middle and early Miocene sediments. The mountain range is delineated on the south by the Nacimiento Fault, and on the north, by the South Cuyama and Ozena Faults. The Sierra Madre Mountains rise abruptly just south of the Cuyama Valley, which defines the northern boundary of Santa Barbara County.

The mountain range is almost entirely uninhabited, except for portions of the lower slopes to the north, which is developed for oil and gas production at the South Cuyama Oil Field. One difficult, single-lane dirt road follows the mountain crest; it often is closed after storms, and is normally only passable by four-wheel-drive vehicles or motorcycles.

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Latin america

Sources used to write the post

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Range

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Mountains

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Range

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Shield

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_Range

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_plain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Madre_Mountains_(California)

Video related to these topics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew13_fqn01w

Geomorphology

Concept of geomorphology

Geomorphology  is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them.

Difference between landscape and landform

Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies, living elements of land cover, human elements, and transitory elements. It refers to the combined effect of numerous landforms

A landform is an individual feature--a slope, valley or mountain. It comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography. Landform elements also include seascape and oceanic waterbody interface features such as bays, peninsulas, seas and so forth, including sub-aqueous terrain features such as submersed mountain ranges, volcanoes, and the great ocean basins.

Extragenic processes that form landscape

Extragenic processes refer to meteor impacts. They are important because they could help solve the question of where does water come from, or be the cause of mass extinctions (like dinosaurs). There are craters and large structures  produced by meteor impact

 External link: http://centros.edu.xunta.es/iesames/webantiga/webfq/EUSECTSUSO/chem_phys_eso/chemphys3eso/Geomorphology/Geomorphology1.htm

Endogenic processes that form landscape

Endogenic proceses that form landscape are Volcanism and Diastrophism:

1. Volcanism: intraplate hotspot activity, arc volcanism, sea floor spreading

2. Tectonics: Plate tectonics

3. Orogenesis:

4. Epierogenisis: regional uplift and subsidence caused by mantle anomalies.

Exogenic processes that form landscape

This processes are:

1. Weather and erosion

2. Hydrologic cycle and related fluvial processes

3. Glaciation

4. Eolian

5. Biological activity

6. Men

Example of landforms

Hills

Sand Dune

Glacier

Sources used to write the post

http://www1.bellevuepublicschools.org/curriculum/k6web/secondgrade/landforms/Landformpage1.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landform

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomorphology

Video related to these topics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ijoXMcS1XI

Major landforms of South America

Amazon basin

The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The basin is located mainly (40%)[citation needed] in Brazil, but also stretches into Peru and several other countries. The South American rain forest of the Amazon is the largest in the world, covering about 8,235,430 km2 (3,179,720 sq mi) with dense tropical forest.

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about 7,000 km (4,300 mi) long, about 200 km (120 mi) to 700 km (430 mi) wide (widest between 18 degrees South and 20 degrees South latitude), and of an average height of about 4,000 m (13,000 ft).

Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated by intermediate depressions. The Andes is the location of several high plateaux – some of which host major cities such as Quito, Bogotá, Arequipa, Medellín, Sucre, and La Paz.

The so-called Altiplano plateau is the world's second-highest plateau following the Tibetan plateau. The Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries; Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

The Andes range is the world's highest mountain range outside of the continent of Asia. The highest peak, Mt. Aconcagua, rises to an elevation of about 6,962 m (22,841 ft) above sea level. The peak of Mt. Chimborazo in the Ecuadorean Andes is located at the point on the surface of the Earth that is the most distant one from its centre. This is because of the Earth's equatorial bulge that results from its rotation. The world's highest volcanos are in the Andes, including Ojos del Salado on the Chile-Argentina frontier which rises to 6,893 m (22,615 ft), and over 50 other volcanos that rise above 6,000 m.

Atacama desert

The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a 600-mile (1,000 km) strip of land on the Pacific coast of South America, west of the Andes mountains. The Atacama desert is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world,[1][2][3] due to the rain shadow on the leeward side of the Chilean Coast Range, as well as a coastal inversion layer created by the cold offshore Humboldt Current.[4] The Atacama occupies 40,600 square miles (105,000 km2)[5] in northern Chile, composed mostly of salt basins (salares), sand, and felsic lava flows towards the Andes.

Brazilian highlands

The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau (Portuguese: Planalto Brasileiro) are an extensive geographical region, covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all approximately half of the country's land area, or some 4,500,000 km² (1,930,511 sq mi). In addition, the vast majority of Brazil's population (190.755.799 2010 census) lives in the highlands or on the narrow coastal region immediately adjacent to it.

Ancient basaltic lava flows gave birth to much of the region. However, the time of dramatic geophysical activity is long past, as there is now no seismic or volcanic activity. Erosion has also played a large part in shaping the Highlands, forming extensive sedimentary deposits and wearing down the mountains.

The Brazilian Highlands are notable for the great diversity to be found there: within the region there are several different biomes, vastly different climatic conditions, many types of soil, and thousands of animal and plant species.

Guiana highlands

The Guiana Shield[1] is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a 1.7 billion year old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. The higher elevations on the shield are called the Guiana Highlands, which is where the impressive and mysterious table-like mountains called tepuis are found. The Guiana Highlands are also the source of some of the world's most spectacular waterfalls such as Angel Falls, Kaieteur Falls and Kuquenan Falls.

The Guiana Shield underlies Guyana (previously British Guiana), Suriname (previously Dutch Guiana) and French Guiana (or Cayenne), as well as parts of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. The rocks of the Guiana Shield consist of metasediments and metavolcanics (greenstones) overlain by quasi-horizontal layers of sandstones, quartzites, shales and conglomerates intruded by sills of younger mafic intrusives such as gabbros.

Llanos

The Llanos (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈʝanos] or [ˈʎanos], The Plains) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in northwestern South America (Colombia and Venezuela). Its main river is the Orinoco, which forms part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela and is the major river system of Venezuela.[1]

The climate change of the Llanos is extreme. During the rainy season from May to October, parts of the Llanos can flood up to a meter. This turns the woodlands and grassland into a temporary wetland, comparable to the Pantanal of central South America. This flooding also makes the area unique for its wildlife. The area supports around 70 species of water birds, including the Scarlet Ibis.[1] A large portion of the distribution of the White-bearded Flycatcher is in the Llanos.

This event also makes the area unfit for most agriculture before the advent of modern, industrial technology; therefore, during the colonial era, the prime economic activity of the area came from the herding of millions of heads of cattle. The term llanero ("plainsman") became synonymous with the cowhands that took care of the herds, and had some cultural similarities to the compare to the gauchos of the Pampas or the vaqueros of Spanish and Mexican Texas.

The area slopes gradually away from the highland areas that surround it; elevation above sea level in the llanos area never exceeds 200 meters.

Pampas

The Pampas (from Quechua, meaning "plain") are the fertile South American lowlands, covering more than 750,000 km2 (289,577 sq mi), that include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Córdoba, most of Uruguay, and the southernmost Brazilian State, Rio Grande do Sul. These vast plains are only interrupted by the low Ventana and Tandil hills near Bahía Blanca and Tandil (Argentina), with a height of 1,300 m (4,265 ft) and 500 m (1,640 ft) respectively. The climate is mild, with precipitation of 600 mm (23.6 in) to 1,200 mm (47.2 in), more or less evenly distributed through the year, making the soils appropriate for agriculture. This area is also one of the distinct physiography provinces of the larger Paraná-Paraguay Plain division. These plains contain unique wildlife because of the different terrains around it. Some of this wildlife includes the rhea, the pampas deer, several species of armadillos, the pampas fox, the White-eared opossum, the Elegant Crested Tinamou, and several other species

Patagonia

Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the south west towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean. To the west, it includes the territory of Valdivia through Tierra del Fuego archipelago.[1]

The name Patagonia comes from the word patagón[2] used by Magellan in 1520 to describe the native people that his expedition thought to be giants. It is now believed the Patagons were actually Tehuelches with an average height of 180 cm (~5′11″) compared to the 155 cm (~5′1″) average for Spaniards of the time.[3]

The Argentine portion of Patagonia includes the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz, as well as the eastern portion of Tierra del Fuego archipelago . The Argentine politico-economic Patagonic Region includes the Province of La Pampa.[4]

The Chilean part of Patagonia embraces the southern provinces and regions of Valdivia, Los Lagos Region and Greater Island of Chiloé, it includes Puerto Montt and the Archaeological site of Monte Verde, and also the islands south to the regions of Aisén and Magallanes, including the west side of Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn.[5]

Picture related to these topics

 Amazon Basin

Patagonia

Sources used to write the post

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Basin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atacama_Desert

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Highlands

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guiana_Shield

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llanos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pampas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia

Video related to these topics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT3gsc906Jg