4.3 The Landscape of Latin America

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Latin America extends south from the midlatitudes of the Northern Hemisphere across the Equator through the Southern Hemisphere, nearly to Antarctica. This long north-south expanse combined with large variations in altitude create a wide range of climates. Tectonic activity has shaped the primary landforms of the region to form an overall pattern of highlands to the west and lowlands to the east. 

A nearly continuous chain of mountains stretches along the western edge of the American continents for more than 10,000 miles from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. The middle part of this long mountain chain is known as the Sierra Madre in Mexico and by various names in Central America, and as the Andes in South America (the longest mountain range in the World).  It was formed by a long subduction zone, which runs thousands of miles along the western coast of the region. Two plates, the Cocos and the Nazca Plates collide with the the North American Plate, the Caribbean Palate and the South American Plate.  These very active plate boundaries are associated with extensive volcanoes in Mexico, Central America and South America. Earthquakes are also a common feature.  In fact the largest earthquake ever recorded occurred in Chile in 1960, with a magnitude of 9.5.

Vast lowlands extend over most of the land to the east of the mountains. In Mexico, east of the Sierra Madre, a coastal plain borders the Gulf of Mexico. Further south, in Central America the land slopes down to the Caribbean.  In South America, a huge area of lowlands, widest in the north, stretches from the Andes to the  Atlantic Ocean. These South American lowlands are interrupted in the northeast and the southeast by the Guiana Highlands and the Brazilian Highlands. Elsewhere, in the lowlands, grasslands cover large flat plains including the Llanos of Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil and the pampas of Argentina.  The largest feature of the South American lowlands is the Amazon Basin, drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries.  

Let's take a closer look at the physical features of Latin America:

Landforms of  Mexico

map of the landforms of mexico

  • Third largest country in Latin America
  • More than half of the Mexican people live in the center of the country. The arid north and the tropical south are sparsely settled. 
  • Mexico is 1,850 miles from northwest to southeast. Its width varies from less than 135 miles  at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to more than 1,200 miles in the north.
  • Citlaltépetl (also called Orizaba), is the highest point in Mexico (18,406 feet). Second highest is the active volcano Popocatépetl (17,930 feet),  southeast of Mexico City.
  • The Baja Peninsula is nearly 800 miles long but seldom more than 100 miles  wide.
  • The Pacific Coastal Lowlands begin near Mexicali and the Colorado River delta in the north and terminate near Tepic, some 900 miles to the south. 
  • The largest and most densely populated region is the inland Mexican Plateau, which is flanked by the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental.
  • Chihuahuan Desert — larger than the state of California — stretches across six Mexican states and parts of Texas and New Mexico. It is the largest desert in North America and is located between two of Mexico’s largest mountain ranges called the eastern and western Sierra Madre.
  • The largely volcanic Sierra Madre Occidental, which forms the western border of the Mexican Plateau, has an average elevation of 8,000–9,000 feet and extends roughly 700 miles from north to south.
  • The Sierra Madre Oriental, is located on the eastern side of the Mexican Plateau. It is often considered to be an extension of the Rocky Mountains. It runs roughly 700 miles from north to south.

Landforms of Central America

landforms of central america

  • Central America makes up the  isthmus that separates the Pacific Ocean, to the west, from the Caribbean Sea ( definition isthmus - a narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger areas of land)
  • It extends in an arc roughly 1,140 miles long from the northwest to the southeast.
  • At its narrowest point the isthmus is only about 30 miles  wide. There is no location in Central America that is more than 125 miles from the ocean.
  • Humid swamps and lowlands extend along both the west and east coasts, but four-fifths of Central America is either hilly or mountainous. 
  • There  are 40 active volcanoes in Central America and the region is very active seismically. 
  • The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the narrow Isthmus of Panama. 
  • The length of the Panama Canal from shoreline to shoreline is about 40 miles and from deep water in the Caribbean Sea to deep water in the Pacific, about 50 miles. 
  •  The canal, which was completed in August 1914, is one of the two most strategic artificial waterways in the world, the other being the Suez Canal
  • From its opening in 1914 until 1979, the Panama Canal was controlled solely by the United States, which built it. In 1979, however, control of the canal passed to the Panama Canal Commission, a joint agency of the United States and the Republic of Panama, and complete control passed to Panama at noon on December 31, 1999. Administration of the canal is the responsibility of the Panama Canal Authority.
  • The Darien Gap straddles the border between Central and South America. It is 30 miles wide, from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, and 54 miles in length,
  • The Pan-American Highway, stretching approximately 16,000 miles  from Alaska to the Tierra del Fuego in Chile is broken only by the natural barrier of the Darien Gap.

Topography of South America

The landforms of South America

  • Home to the world's longest river (Amazon) and the world's driest desert (the Atacama).
  • Fourth largest continent
  • The Andes Mountains run along the entire west coast of South America , 5, 500 miles.
  • There is a narrow coastal plain to the west of the mountain range
  • The tallest mountains in the western hemisphere are located here -  Mount Aconcagua 22,831 feet 
  • Along the continent’s northern and eastern sides are the ancient Guiana and Brazilian highlands, which are much lower in elevation and slope gently to the west. These are South American Shields.
  • The Altiplano (highland) originates northwest of Lake Titicaca in southern Peru and extends about 600 miles southeast to the southwestern corner of Bolivia. It is a series of intermountain basins lying at about 12,000 feet above sea level. Lake Titicaca occupies the northernmost basin.
  • The Altiplano is the most extensive highland outside of Tibet.  Most of it lies in Bolivia but it extends into northern Chile and Argentina. Mining - copper, silver, tungsten, tin.
  • The Mato Grosso is a western state of Brazil. The terrain of the  Mato Grosso is varied and includes cliffs, canyons, and waterfalls.  Rich grazing land, often flooded.
  • The Amazon River Basin covers 2,400,000 sq miles and roughly 35% of the South American continent. In terms of volume, it is the largest river system in the world. The basin includes the greater part of Brazil and Peru, significant parts of Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia, and a small area of Venezuela; roughly two-thirds of the Amazon’s main stream and by far the largest portion of its basin are within Brazil
  • 2.1 million sq miles of rainforest - the largest rainforest in the World.
  • 10% of the known plant and animal species in the World are in the Amazon. There are  3,000 known species of fish - the largest variety of freshwater fish in the World.
  • Bel Monte dam  is a hydroelectric dam complex on the northern part of the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon. Fourth largest dam in the world. 85% of Brazil's power comes from hydroelectric - including this dam. Project has been fiercely opposed. 
  • The Plata is the estuary of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers (as well as of the Paraguay River, which drains into the Paraná). It occupies 25% of South America and is the second largest drainage in South America.  It includes southeastern Brazil, south and central Brazil, the entire country of Paraguay, most of northern Argentina.
  • The 2nd largest hydroelectric dam in the world - Itaipu Dam
  • The Orinocco River is 1,330 miles long, 75% of it in Venezuela the remainder in Columbia. 3rd largest river in the world by volume.
  • More than 1,000 species of fish, 15% of which are found nowhere else in the World.
  • Iron ore is mined near its delta and tar sands and oil have been discovered here.
  • The Llanos - vast tropical grassland plain east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela. From May to October floods annually. Area is used for cattle grazing.
  • The Atacama Desert is a 600 mile strip of desert wedged between the Pacific and the Andes in Chile. It is the driest non-polar desert in the World.
  • The Atacama is the oldest desert on Earth and has experienced semiarid conditions for roughly the past 150 million years.
  • The Atacama is tucked in the shadow of the Andes Mountains, which block rainfall from the east. To the west, the Subtropical High prevents the formation of clouds and rain.
  • The Pampas include parts of Argentina, all of Uruguay and the southern most area of Brazil. These large grasslands are flat, interrupted only occasionally by low hills.
  • The Pampas are the land of the "gauchos". Cattle ranching, vegetables, fruit and milk production occur here. More recently, wine production.
  • Patagonia covers the southern portion of Argentina. It is steppe (cold grasslands) and desert with an elevation of 3,000 to 5,000 feet. The area was heavily glaciated and today there is mining for coal, manganese, copper and uranium; some natural gas and oil; hydroelectric production; and farming.
  • Cape Horn is the southern most point of Chile. It is one of the most hazardous shipping routes in the World. Known for rouge waves up to 100 feet and ice from Antarctica.