Term | Definition |
Isthmus | a narrow strip of land having water on each side and joining two larger bodies of land |
Guerrilla | A member of an armed force that is not part of a regular army: relating to a form of warfare carried on by such an independent armed force |
Achipelago | A group of islands |
Coral Island | An island formed by the skeletal remains of tiny sea animals and the sand and sediment piling on top of them |
Windward | Facing the wind |
Leeward | Facing away from the wind |
Escarpment | a steep cliff that separates two level areas of differing elevations |
Sertao | an interior plateau in Brazil with poor soil and uncertain rain |
Favela | a slum community in the Brazilian city |
Plantations | a large estate farmed by many workers |
Gasohol | a fuel mixture of gasoline and ethanol |
Deforestation | the process of stripping the land of its trees |
Ecotourism | tourism that encourages environmental awareness and has little effect on the ecosystem |
Mulatto | a person of mixed african and european ancestry |
Bauxite | a mineral used in making aluminum |
Llano | a grassy plain |
Cordillera | a related set of separate mountain ranges |
Campesino | in Latin america, a tenant farmer or farm worker |
Altiplano | a plateau region located in the Andes of Bolivia and Peru |
Paramo | A plateau in the Andes of Ecuador |
Timber line | The boundary in high elevations above which continuous forest vegetation cannot grow |
Selva | a forested region in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia |
Estuary | the wide mouth of a river, where freshwater river currents meet salt water |
Piedmont | a region of rolling foothills |
Pampas | a grasslands region in Argentina and Uruguay |
Gaucho | a cowboy who herded cattle in the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay |