Deck 2: Introducing Latin America and the Caribbean

Question 1

Why are Latin America and the Caribbean often studied together as conceptuaunits?

A) they all speak the same Latin-based languages
B) both areas are dependent on either the United States or Europe
C) they share close historical and economic connections
D) each was colonized by either Spain or Portugal

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The concept of "Latin America" was constructed primarily by:

A) Creole and Mestizo elites who struggled to create a separate geo-political identity
B) Creole and Mestizo elites who struggled to establish a homogenous identity in the Western Hemisphere
C) Indigenous peoples in the Western Hemisphere who wished to establish independence
D) Europeans who were not at all involved in the geographical area

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The five most populous countries of Latin America are:

A) Puerto Rico, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile
B) Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua
C) Bolivia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Costa Rica
D) Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and Argentina

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Societies that are largely young, with high fertility and mortality rates, anpredominantly rural are referred to by demographers as:

A) transitional
B) pretransitional
C) underdeveloped
D) adolescent

Question 5

Which of the following statements most accurately represents Latin America today?

A) Latin America has a growing population that is increasingly urban and a decline in agriculture and agricultural incomes.
B) Latin America has a rapidly growing population that is increasingly urban, although there is also significant growth in all areas related to agriculture.
C) Latin America is largely rural and has a rapidly growing population.
D) Latin America is primarily urban, although there is a mass migration to rural areas today, accompanied by rising agricultural rates.

Question 6

All of the following are examples of indigenous languages currently spoken iLatin America except:

A) Assiniboin
B) Quechua
C) Mapuche
D) Guaraní

Question 7

What is a "landscape"?

A) a geo-political space that is enhanced by physical properties that have a commercial value
B) a natural area that creates a cultural environment
C) an area of the environment that has prominent geographical features of regional importance
D) an area of the environment that has been shaped by natural and cultural features

Question 8

Sizeable terrains exhibiting distinctive and circumscribed topographicclimatological, altitudinal, soil, and vegetative features are called:

A) geographic provinces
B) landscapes
C) physiographic regions
D) geopolitical regions

Question 9

The terra firme and várzea are both areas of the region:

A) Andean Mountains
B) Llanos
C) Amazonia
D) Patagonia

Question 10

The gauchos of the 18^th and 19^th centuries flourished in the region:

A) Amazonia
B) Pampas
C) Patagonia
D) Sertão

Question 11

The highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere is:

A) Mount Aconcagua
B) Mount McKinley
C) Mount Everest
D) Mount Chimborazo

Question 12

Which of the following is not a physiographic region associated with Mexico?

A) Yucatán Peninsula
B) Southern Highlands
C) Coastal Plains
D) Central Plateau

Question 13

In what part of the Caribbean do we find the distinct physiographic regions ocoastal plains and interior mountains ranges?

A) Llanos
B) Lesser Antilles
C) Greater Antilles
D) Neovolcanic Axis

Question 14

One of the primary weaknesses of the culture area concept is that it represents:

A) a disengagement of geographical boundaries
B) diasporas of cultural groups as historically significant
C) an intellectual arena as a form of classification
D) clear geographical boundaries between cultural areas

Question 15

Which of the following is an example of a "culture area" concept?

A) Peru
B) Mesoamerica
C) Paraguay
D) Brazil

Question 16

During the colonial period, the Spanish colonies in the New World weradministratively referred to as the Indias Orientales.

Question 17

The land area of Latin America and the Caribbean totals 5 million square miles.

Question 18

An informal economy is supplementary production through activities such as crafproduction, domestic employment, and petty commerce.

Question 19

The most linguistically complex region of Latin America is the Caribbean area.

Question 20

The llanos are vast stretches of grasslands.

Question 21

In South America the western coasts are much drier than the eastern ones.

Question 22

The great mines of Chuquicamata are known for silver and gold.

Question 23

On the Yucatán Peninsula the humidity decreases southward.

Question 24

The culture area concept is the belief that geography contributes to an understandinof cultural differences and similarities.

Question 25

The use of "life zones" or ecological niches is a form of culture area assemblage.

Question 26

What is a "cultural construct"?

Question 27

Distinguish between the terms "space" and "place."

Question 28

Name the three major "structural zones" of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Question 29

Name the ten major South American physiographic regions.

Question 30

Name the two broad physiographic regions of Central America.

Question 31

Why is it difficult to define "Latin America" and the "Caribbean"?

Question 32

Discuss the current state of indigenous languages in Latin America. Address botthe primary threats to these languages and the ways that they are being preserved.

Question 33

Describe the "Pristine Myth" and the role that it played in the colonization of LatiAmerica.