Question | Answer |
Plateau | A large area of raised, level land. |
Isthmus | A narrow strip of land that has water on both sides and joins two larger bodies of land. |
Coral | A rock like subsistance formed by the skelatons of tiny sea animals. |
Pampas | Flat grassland regions in the southern part of South America. A region similar to the Great Plains. |
Tributary | A river or stream that flows into the main river. |
El Nino | A warm ocean current that flowsalong the western coast of South America. This current influences global weather patterns. |
Elevation | The height of land above sea level. |
Hydroelectricity | Electricity produced from running and pushing water. |
Diversity | To add variety; To expand. Variety. |
Maize | Both the plant and the kernal of corn. |
Hieroglyphics | A system of writing using signs ans symbols, used by the Maya and other cultures. |
Aqueduct | A pipe ot channel used to carry water for a distant source to dry areas. |
Quipu | A knotted string used by Incan government officals and traders for record keeping. |
Treaty Of Tordesillas | The 1494 treaty setting up the Line Off Demarcation, giving Spain the right to settle and trade west of the line of Portugal the same rights east of the line. |
Treaty | An agreement in writting made between two or more countries. |
Line Of Demarcation | An imaginary line from the North Pole to the South Pole (about 50 degrees longitude) set forth in the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas; Spain has the rigth to settle and trade west of the line of Portugal had the right to settle and trade east of the line. |
Conquisdor | 16th-century conquerors working for the Spanish government who were in charge of gaining land and weath in the Americas. |
Mestizo | A person of mixed Spanish and Native Americain ancestry. |
Hacienda | A plantation owned by the Spanish settlers or the Catholic Church in Spanish America. |
Encomienda | The right to demand taxes or labor from Native Americans ; this right was granted to American settlers by the Spanish government. |
Revolution | A political movement in which people overthrow the existing government and set up another. |
Crollo | A person born os Spanish parents born outside of Spain; often amoung the best-educated and weathest people in the Spanish colonies. |
Caudillo | A millitary officer who rules strictly. |
Invest | To spend money and than earn money. |
Economy | The ways that goods and services are produced and made avaliable to people. |
Campesino | A poor Latin American farmer. |
Rural | Having to do with the countryside. |
Urban | Having to do with cities. |
Indigenous | Describes people who are desendents of the people who first lived in the region. |
Injustice | Lack of fairness. |
Maquiladora | A U.S.-owned factory in Mexico that is located close to the U.S.-Mexico border. |
Emigrate | Move out of one country into another. |
Immigrant | A person who has moved into one country from another. |
Ethnic Group | A group of people who share the same ancestors, culture, language, or religion. |
Carnival | An annual celebration in Latin America with music, dances, and parades. |
Subsistence Farming | The practice of growing only as much food as a group of people need to survive. |
Import | To bring products into one country from another to sell. |
Squatter | A person who settles on someone else's land without permission. |
Plaza | Public square at the center of a village, town, or city. |
Migrant Farmworker | A laborer who travels from one area to another picking crops that are in season. |
Ladino | In Guatemala, a Mestizo. |
Political Movement | A large group of people who work together to defend their rights, or to change the leaders in power. |
Strike | Work stoppage; a refusal to continue to work until certain demands of workers are met. |
Lock | A section of waterway in which ships are raised or lowered by adjusting the water level. |
Dictaor | A ruler of a country who has complete power. |
Communist | Having an economic system in which the Goverment owns all large businesses and most of a country's land. |
Exile | A person who leaves or is forced to leave his or her homeland for another country. |
Illiterate | Unable to read or write. |
Creole | A person, often of European and African descent, born in the Caribbean or other parts of the Americas, whose culture has a strong French and African influence; A dialect spoken by Creoles. |
Dialect | A version of a language that is spoken in a particular region. |
Citizen | An individual with certain rights and responsibilities under a particular goverment. |
Commonwealth | A self-governing political unit with strong ties to a particular country. |
Constitution | A statement of a country's basic laws and values |
Canopy | A dense mass of leaves forming the top layer of a forest. |
Photosynthesis | The process by which green plants and trees produce their own food using water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight; oxygen is released as a result of photosynthesis. |
Altiplano | A high plateau region; a region of high plateaus in the Andes. |
Sierra | A group of mountains, such as the one that runs from northwest Peru to southwest Peru. |
Montana | In northwest Peru, large stretches of tropical rainforests on the lower slopes of the mountains. |
Tundra | A cold region with little vegetation; in mountains, the area above tree line. |
Pesticide | A chemical used to kill insects and diseases that can attack crops. |
Boom | A period of increased prosperity during which more of a product is produced and sold. |
Privatization | A policy by a government to sell its industries to individuals or private companies. |