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 elevations. |
Sertao. | An interior plateau in Brazil with poor soil and uncertain rain. |
Favela. | A slum community in a Brazilian community. |
Plantation. | 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 for 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. |