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 |
Archipelago | 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 elevatons |
Sertao | An interior plateau in Brazil with poor soil and uncertain rain. |
Favela | A slum community in a Brazilian city |
Plantation | A large estate farmed by many workers |
Gasohol | A fuel mixture of gasoline and ethonal |
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 |
Liano | 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 |
Timberline | The boundary in high elevations above which continuous forest vegetation cannot grow |
Selva | A forest 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 grassland region in Argentina and Uruguay |
Gaucho | A cowboy who herded cattle in the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay |