| A | B |
|---|
| hacienda | huge farm or ranch (Mexico) |
| cinder cone | small cone-shaped volcano (Mexico) |
| ejido | communial farmland in Mexico, once part of hacienda |
| mestizo | person of mixed European and American Indian ancestry |
| inflation | drop in value of money and rising prices |
| birthrate | number of people born in a certain area |
| mulatto | person of mixed African and European ancestry |
| expropriate | to take over the property of another |
| dictator | one person seized power by force and rules by the treat of force |
| guerrila | a person who fights against the government |
| literacy rate | percentage of people who can read and write |
| tierra calienta | hot lands |
| tierra templada | temperate lands |
| tierra fria | cold lands |
| deforestation | large-scale cutting down of trees |
| mesa | a large, flat-topped mountain with steep sides |
| shifting agriculture | process used by subsistence farmers to clear forest land to plant crops |
| squatter settlement | settlement filled with people who have taken over land they do not own |
| primate city | most important city in the country |
| coup d' 'etat | sudden overthrowing of a government by a small group |
| estuary | mouth of river in which ocean water flows, deep enough for ocean vessels |
| confluence | place where two or more streams or rivers join |
| rain shadow | area does not get much rain, protected by side of mountain |
| Middle America | Mexico and Central America |
| Central America | 7 countries south of Mexico |
| Latin America | Middle America and South America |
