1
1. The world’s natural environment
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5.2. Climate and biogeography
In the north of Chile, due to the influence of the cold Humboldt
Current, is the Atacama Desert. It is the driest place in the world.
In this region of the Caribbean, hurricanes are common during the
summer months.
The Amazon is the region with the highest
biodiversity
in the world.
This is due to its equatorial climate and tropical humidity, its immense
forests and its fauna. At the moment, the Amazon is extremely
threatened by human activity.
In Central and South America warm climates predominate (except
in the mountains and the extreme south). The main differences are
in the amount and distribution of precipitation.
Climate
Temperatures
Precipitation
Vegetation
Fauna
Equatorial
AMT >20 ºC
Small thermal range
>1500 mm
All year
Amazon jungle
Jaguar, tapir, monkey, toucan,
macaw, sloth
Wet tropical
Dry tropical
AMT 15-25 ºC
Small thermal range
Medium thermal range
800-2000 mm
Summer rains
300-800 mm
Forest (precious woods),
mangroves, palm groves,
meadows, scrubland
Alligator, piranha, anaconda,
anteater, capybara, armadillo,
rodents
Mediterranean
AMT 10-20 ºC
Medium thermal range
300-700 mm
Dry summers
Forest (pine, holm oak) and
scrubland
Fox, puma, hare, birds of prey
Oceanic
AMT 5-15 ºC
Small thermal range
800-2000 mm
All year
Forest (araucaria pine, cypress,
oak, bay) and meadows
Deer, fox
Chinese
AMT 15-25 ºC
Small thermal range
800-1500 mm
Rain in summer
Forest and mangroves
Rhea, capybara, hare, alligator,
tapir
Desert
Large thermal range
<100 mm
Cactus and thorny bushes.
Reptiles.
Mountain
Decrease with altitude
600-2000 mm (snow) Forest and puna (grasses and
scruband)
Llama, guanaco, condor
2500 km
0
1:104 475 000
N
Equatorial
Wet tropical
Dry tropical
Monsoon
Desert and
semidesert
Mediterranean
Chinese
Oceanic
Continental
Polar
Mountain
Tropic of Cancer
Equator
Tropic of Capricorn
The Atacama desert (Chile)
Analyse
16.
What group of Islands does Cuba belong to? What
about Martinique? How do they differ? What sea
surrounds them?
17.
Why is the Amazon River so long? Why does it have an
abundant flow?
18.
In your notebook, write the different types of climates
that Chile has, where they are found and their main
characteristics.
Understand
19.
Listen to the questions and choose the correct
answer. Write the answers in your notebook. Then
make a fact file about the physical enviroment of
South America.
