| A | B |
|---|
| Key Term | Definiton |
| deforestation | removing or clearing awy the trees from a forest. Often done to clear land for farming or ranching. |
| terracing | the creation of flat areas on mountain slopes for the purpose of farmng. |
| Panama Canal | man made sturcture that cuts through the Isthmus of Panama creating a quicker trade route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans |
| Doldrums | a frequently windless area near the equator. |
| trade winds | steady winds in tropical latitudes that blow toward the equator from both the north and south.. |
| Intertropical Convergence Zone | known by sailors as the doldrums, is the area encircling the earth near the equator where the northeast and southeast trade winds come together creating an area of very little wind |
| Isthmus | a narrow strip of land that links two larger landmasses. |
| functional region | a central point and the surrounding territory linked to it. |
| El Nino | a warm ocean current that flows of the west coast of South America every few years. An El Nino event changes weather patterns around the world. It may also cause extreme weather in some regions. |
| Ethnocentric | thinking of ones ethnicity as superior to other cultures |
| nationalism | feelings of loyalty and pride toward one's nation or ethnic group. Nationalism sometimes includes the belief that one's nation or group is better than all others. |
| Regions of Latin America | Mexico, Caribbean, Central America, South America |
| Subduction Zone | a process by wihich mountains can form as sea plates dive beneath continental plates |
| climate zone | a region that shares the same climate |
| Mesoamerica | the area extendingapproximately from central Mexico to Honduras andNicaragua in which diverse pre-Columbian civilizationsflourished. |
| Policy | a course of action adopted and pursued by a government,ruler, political party, etc |
| mural | wall painting |
| transportation corridors | is a generally linear tract of land that contains lines of transportation such as highways,railroads, or canals |
| infrastructure | the basic urban necessities like streets and utilities |
| Amazon Basin | the area of land located around the Amazon River that is drained by the Amazon River and includes the Amazon Rain Forest |
| Inca | a cultural group located in Peru and throughout the Andes mountains that existed from the 1200s to the 1500s |
| Columbian Exchange | the routes of the first time goods were traded between the Eastern and Western hemispheres |
| ecotourism | a form of tourism that brings people to unique ecosystems while trying to avoid damage to these special places |
| cordillera | parallel chains or ranges of mountains |
| maquiladoreas | in Mexico, manufaturing plants set up by foreign firms |
