CENTRAL AMERICACh. 11 – Section 1

I. BackgroundA. Central America is an isthmus – narrow

strip of land, with water on both sides, that connects two larger bodies of land

B. 7 countries occupy Central America1. Belize2. Guatemala3. Honduras4. El Salvador5. Nicaragua6. Costa Rica7. Panama

II. Landforms & ClimatesA. 3 major landforms regions make up

Central America:1. mountainous core2. Caribbean lowlands3. Pacific coastal plain

1. Mountainous CoreA. Mountains run the length of Central

AmericaB. Many of the mountains are active

volcanoesC. 2 climates zones in this area:

1. elevations of 3,000-6,000 ft. have year-round, springlike climate

2. above 6,000 ft. is cold with frost

2. Caribbean LowlandsA. Eastern side of Central America along the

Caribbean SeaB. Tropical wet climate that is hot and humid

all yearC. Heavy rainfall in this areaD. Rainforest soil is not very fertile, limiting

the crops that can be grown here

3. Pacific Coastal PlainA. Western side of Central AmericaB. Has tropical wet and dry climate with

savanna, or grassland, vegetationC. Depends on rain only in the summerD. Volcanoes in the mountains affect the land

because of the lava flows and volcanic ash (makes the land extremely fertile)

III. People and CulturesA. Indians

1. people who have lived here the longest2. each group of Indians have their own history, culture,

& language3. largest amount live in Guatemala (1/2 of the

population)B. Europeans & Mestizos

1. arrived in 1500s, mostly from Spain2. Spanish is the official language in almost all of C.A.3. Mestizos are those people who have ancestors of

both Indian and European descentC. African Descent

1. some are descendants of slaves (1500s) 2. most are descended from people who moved here

from the Caribbean Islands in the 1900s

IV. Wealth and PovertyA. Rich

1. plantation owners/Europeans/Mestizos2. dominate government and politics

B. Poor1. 2/3 of all Central Americans are poor2. most are of Indian and African descent3. farmers or laborers

C. Middle Class1. farmers who own small, noncommercial farms2. some employees in urban industries

V. Economic ActivitiesA. Majority of Central Americans earn a

living through farmingB. Most of the rural population live by

subsistence farmingC. On the large plantations, the crops are

mostly shipped to the US or Europe & account for over half of their income

VI. Political ConflictA. Many of Central America’s issues become

intense fightsB. Each region has specific problems, but the

largest one is the shortage of available farmland to meet the needs of the population

C. Land is not distributed properly – most of the land is given to the wealthy

D. Recent governments favor the wealthy, so many guerrilla movements (armed forces not in the military) have organized to revolt