| A | B |
|---|
| isthmus | a narrow strip of land that connects two larger land areas |
| Martinique | island formed from volcanoes |
| cash crops | crops grown for sale in a market |
| buffer state | a small country situated between two larger more powerful countries |
| favelas | large urban slums |
| indigenous | native |
| maquiladoras | factories in Mexico that produce goods for U.S. markets |
| tepuis | a chain of high plateaus |
| mulattos | people of African and European descent |
| mestizos | people of mixed European and Indian heritage |
| Belize | only non-Spanish speaking country in Central America |
| Isthmus of Tehuantepec | separates the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean |
| Chile | world's largest producer and exporter of copper |
| Chibcha | South American Indians living in the Columbian Andes with gold-working skills |
| land reform | one result of the Mexican revolution |
| warm and sunny climate | basis for Central America's tourism industry |
| poor infrastructure | major obstacle to economic growth in Mexico |
| Panama Canal | controlled by U.S. until 1999 |
| Amazon River | world's largest tropical humid climate region |
| milpa | style of cultivation where several crops are grown in same plot |
| Puerto Rico | most industrialized country in the Caribbean |
| Tenochtitlan | capital city of the Aztecs |
| importing raw materials | limitation of many industries in South America |
| Llanos | large plains area between Colombia and Venzuela |
| mangrove | tree whose roots grow in salt water |
