Geo 5 & 6

• Ch. 5

•1

• Enter room, and take assigned seat quietly. Put your name, date, and period on the top right-hand side of a piece of

paper. Do NOT write in red. At the end of the period, turn your paper into tray #1 on your way

out of the room.

5.1.1Pgs. 142-143

Landforms in Central America are mountains, coastal plains, rain forest.

Isthmus: a narrow strip connecting two large land masses.

Mountains: support region’s economy; cool climate; rich soil ideal for growing coffee, a key

export.

Archipelago: chain of island, Caribbean Islands are a curving chain of islands.

Lowlands support sugarcane cultivation, tropical climate supports tourism year round.

Rain Forest: heavily wooded forest that may receive over 100 inches of rain a year,

help support a region’s economy; dense forest lots of rain, contain many resources.

Coffee is grown in the mountains; sugarcane is grown in the coastal plains

(lowlands next to the seacoast) in Central America.

5.1.2pgs 144-145

Central America’s location on top of moving tectonic plates, part of the earth’s crust, causes many earthquakes and volcanoes

creating mountains and islands in the region.

Seismic activity and volcano eruptions.

2010 Haiti Earthquake : movement of plates cased the earthquake; killed 200,000 people; destroyed homes; damaged critical systems; destroyed much of Haiti’s

capital.

1996 Montserrat Volcano: movement of plates cased the volcano to form; caused much of the

population to leave.

Many islands in the Caribbean made from tips of ancient volcanoes.

Rich soil in mountains is a positive effect have volcanoes had on the region.

There are more earthquakes on the western side of Central America than on the eastern side because it is

closer to the edge of the tectonic plate

5.1.3pgs. 146-147

Ecosystem a place where plants and animals rely on the environment to survive

Central Americans make most of their money by growing crops (Agriculture) Fertile able to produce plentiful crops. and hosting

tourists.

People clear areas for farmland and use trees for wood, this causes deforestation

(forest loss) of the rain forests.

Tourism (travel industry) brings high amounts of income to the region so people do not

have to destroy the rainforest for farmland.

Rain Forest are important to the

economy of Central America. Many

species live in rain forest. Tourism helps

the economy without damaging

the rain forest.

Rain forest land is used for farming

ranching and timber. Many

commercial uses lead to

deforestation, certain farming

methods can help prevent damage.

Sea turtle are disappearing (Extinction dying out completely) from Nicaragua.

Geography Independent Practice

Write answers in complete sentences.

If you do not copy last question, you will receive a zero.

• 5-1.1

• 1. As you read 142-143 give details about the physical geography of Cental America and the Caribbean. A. • B. • C.

• 5-1.2

• 2. As you read 144-145 give details of the causes and effects of the following events:• A. Haiti Earthquake • B. Montserrat Volcano

• 5-1.3

• 3. As you read 146-147 describe details of the importance of the Rain Forest to Central America. • A. • B. • C. • D.

2

• Enter room, and take assigned seat quietly. Put your name, date, and period on the top right-hand side of a piece of

paper. Do NOT write in red. At the end of the period, turn your paper into tray #1 on your way

out of the room.

5.2.1Pgs. 152-153

Columbus lands in Caribbean in 1492.

The Spanish controlled most of Central America in the 1700s, other

European nations took over the region to gain

riches from growing cash

crops.

Spanish Colonist export crops, minerals resources to Spain. They import

African Slaves to use as workers.

The original natives of the Caribbean died from European diseases, so Europeans

brought Africans to the Americas as slaves to work on plantations.

Global trade in a large scale was the outcome of the events but the trade

involved Europeans enslaving people.

Slavery grows in America. Millions were enslaved and this trade in

slaves lasted 300 years. Exploit (take advantage)

The trade pattern among the Americas, Europe, and Africa was called triangular trade, it caused trade and competition

among European countries.

Europe, Africa, and the Americas were connected by Triangular Trade.

In the triangular trade, raw materials came from the Americas.

5.2.4pgs. 158-159

Both Puerto Rica and Cuba were once Spanish colonies, ideal conditions for growing

sugarcane; good naturalharbors ruled as colonies from around 1500 to

1900;

Spanish built large sugarcane plantations; native people rebelled several times;

controlled by US after Spanish American War.

Cuba won independence as a result of Spanish American war; governed by

corrupt governors for 50 years; became a communist country after revolution

government controls the economy though it is loosening a bit; has no

trade with US; Castro took control in the 1960s, he established a

communist government in Cuba.

Puerto Rico is a United States commonwealth today it has more economic

and political freedom than Cuba.

Since 1492, trade has many groups passing through this region.

Europeans, East Indians, and Africans groups from different continents have interacted in this region.

6.1.3pgs. 168-169

Before the Panama Canal opened, ships had to sail around

South America from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, its purpose was to shorten the trip

from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The United States build the first transcontinental railroad in Panama before the canal in 1855. Goods and

people could now travel by rail across the Isthmus.

People still wanted to build a canal across the isthmus. Shipping goods

across the isthmus by canal would be more efficient than by train.

Mosquitoes and rough terrain were the biggest problems in building the Panama Canal.

The Panama Canal 50 miles long.

The country of Panama has controlled the Panama Canal since 1999.

Panama expanded the canal to allow larger ships through, to avoid traffic jams caused by increased

trade.

Geography Independent Practice

Write answers in complete sentences.

If you do not copy last question, you will receive a zero.

• 5-2.1

• 1. As you read 152- 153 give details events that led to the growth of slavery in the Americas.

• 5-2.4

• 2. As you read 158-159 compare and contrast Cuba and Puerto Rico:

• 6-1.3

• 3. As you read 168-169 explain why did the people want to build a canal if there was a railroad.