Presentation on geography “Natural areas of South America. Presentation on the topic "natural areas of South America" ​​Organic world of South America

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Lesson topic: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE LESSON: To get acquainted with the natural areas characteristic of the mainland; To form an idea of ​​the flora and fauna of South America; Name and show representatives of the flora and fauna of natural zones; Analyze the location of natural areas on the map; To form an idea of ​​altitudinal zonation in the Andes; Create an image of the nature of South America by watching video clips about the nature of the continent;

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EQUATORIAL FORESTS A characteristic feature of the continent is the presence of impenetrable evergreen equatorial forests. They are distinguished by exceptional density, shade, richness and diversity of species composition, abundance of vines and epiphytes. The tree crowns completely hide what is happening on the ground (view from an airplane). The equatorial Amazon forests are one of the longest in the world. The road is in the Amazonian lowland, almost the entire space is occupied by endless jungle.

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They are located on the Amazonian lowland and the adjacent eastern slopes of the Andes, as well as in the northern part of the Pacific coast in the equatorial climate zone. Rivers have difficulty making their way through dense vegetation.

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TROPICAL FORESTS The equatorial belt of moist evergreen forests of the Amazon River basin is adjoined from the north and south by a zone of evergreen subtropical forests. These equatorial and tropical forests are called selva, or selvas (translated from Portuguese this means “forest”).

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One of the amazing plants is Victoria Amazonica. This is a giant water lily that prefers quiet backwaters, where its rounded leaves with sides float on the surface of the water, reaching 2 meters in diameter and capable of supporting a weight of up to 50 kg.

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Characteristic of the South American tropical forest are types of chocolate trees with flowers and fruits sitting directly on the trunk. The fruits of the cultivated chocolate tree, rich in valuable nutrients, provide raw materials for making chocolate. The seeds contain up to 50% fat. Cocoa butter is used in the confectionery industry and for the preparation of medicinal ointments.

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Hevea rubber plant belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family; there are more than 10 species of this tree. Hevea is a source of natural rubber. Collectors receive 3-7.5 kg of rubber per year from one tree. Hevea was exported to Asia and is now cultivated there on plantations

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The smallest monkey is 50-75 g and up to 30 cm in length. Many animals are adapted to life in trees, such as the spider monkey. The anteater is one of the largest representatives of the local animal world.

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SLOTH is an inhabitant of the equatorial forest. This slow-moving animal hangs with its tenacious claws on the branches, its back down. Body length is 50-60 cm. It feeds on leaves and fruits of trees. Its yellow-white fur is sometimes covered with green patches of algae.

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The capybara (capybara) is the largest rodent on Earth. This rodent lives near rivers and lakes, in wetlands. The capybara swims well. The weight of the animal reaches 100 kg, and the body length is more than 1 meter. Serves as a hunting object for local residents.

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The world of birds is also rich: There are about 500 species of hummingbirds. This is the smallest bird on Earth. Its weight is 1.6-1.8 g, and its length is 2.5 cm.

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SAVANNAS Equatorial forests are replaced by grass palm savannas, which occupy mainly subequatorial and tropical climatic zones. The savannas in the Orinoco Lowland are called llanos (from Spanish - “flat”). The savannas of the Brazilian plateau - campos (from Portuguese - “plain”) occupy a much larger area than the llanos. The appearance of llanos and campos is approximately the same: tall grasses, free-standing palm trees, cacti, acacias, mimosas, Cedracho tree. The fauna of the savannas is quite poor. The Nandu ostrich, small deer, wild peccary pigs, armadillos, and pumas live here.

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The armadillo is a non-toothed mammal. The animal's body is covered on top with a thick shell of horny scutes. The armadillo reaches 1 m in length. It feeds on insects and larvae. During the day, the armadillo hides in burrows, and at night it wanders in search of food. In case of danger, it quickly burrows into the ground. Armadillo meat is edible and is hunted.

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The puma is an American lion, a large predator of the savannas. Body length is up to 190 cm. Once upon a time, this big cat was distributed from Canada to Patagonia. Currently, this species has been severely exterminated and is therefore protected as a rare animal.

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Wild peccary pigs reach a length of 1 meter and weigh up to 50 kg. They eat plant foods. Residents of savannahs and forests hunt them for their edible meat and durable skins.

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STEPS South of the savannas in the subtropical climate zone lie the steppes, which in South America are called pampas, which translated from the Indian language means “space devoid of woody vegetation.” Almost all the land is plowed or turned into pasture, so there are almost no wild animals left, with the exception of rodents. The territory is covered with dense grassy vegetation: feather grass, wild millet, reeds.

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Llama - body length 1.5–1.75 cm. These animals are domesticated and have long been used as pack animals. They are hardy and submissive.

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SEMI-DESERTS AND DESERTS Semi-deserts and deserts occupy a small area on the mainland. They are located in subtropical and temperate climate zones. The vegetation is represented by dry grasses and cushion-shaped shrubs. The same animals live in semi-deserts as in the pampa. This harsh region is called Patagonia.

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Updating knowledge

. Game "Traffic Light"" - “I claim that ..." (+ - agree, - - no).

1.The distribution of the river network depends on the topography and climate.

2. South America – the most watered, i.e. a continent rich in inland waters.

3. Most of the rivers of South America belong to the Pacific Ocean basin.

4.The deepest river in the world, the Amazon, flows in South America.

5. Angel Falls was discovered by the English traveler D. Livingston.

6. Iguazu Falls is the highest waterfall in the world.

7. The rivers of South America are fed mainly by snow.

8.Lake Titicaca is the largest alpine lake in the world.

9. There are many large lakes in South America.

10.Iguazu Falls is located in the Parana River system.

11 The capital of Brazil is Brasilia.

12 The capital of Peru is Quito

• 1+ 7 –
• 2+ 8+
• 3 – 9 -
• 4+ 10 +
• 5 – 11 +
• 6 - 12 -

• “5” - 10-12 correct answers
• "4" - 7-9
• "3" 5-6
• "2" 4 or less

Motivation: game "The fourth one is extra"

• Magellan, Humboldt, Llanos, Vespucci.
• Amazon, Parana, Orinoco, Pampa
• Selva, Cotopaxi, Aconcagua, Andes

What can these words have in common?

Pampa, selva, llanos - natural areas of South America

Lesson topic:

NATURAL AREAS OF SOUTH AMERICA

Goals and objectives of the lesson :

• Continue to form an understanding of the flora and fauna of South America;
• Get acquainted with the natural areas characteristic of the mainland;
• Get to know the typical plants and animals of South America.
• Understand new terms and concepts.

• - How many natural areas are there in South America? List them.
• - Which natural zones occupy the largest area on the continent?
• - Which natural zones occupy the smallest area on the mainland?

• Task: Draw the boundaries of natural zones on contour maps.

INDEPENDENT WORK with the textbook text

• No. 1 – description of humid equatorial forests; p.149-150
• No. 2 – description of savannas; p.151
• No. 3 – description of subtropical steppes; p.151-152
• No. 4 – description of semi-deserts. p.152-153

Anyone who wants to get an extra point will also describe areas of altitudinal zonation. p.153-154

: Describe the continent's mainland by filling in the missing places in the story

This natural zone occupies the _______________ area of ​​the mainland. It is located in (on)___________ mainland. Among the climatic features, ___________ can be distinguished. Temperatures in the winter season _______ and in the summer _______. Annual precipitation is _________. ______ VMs have a great influence on the climate.

The soils in this zone are _________. They have _________ fertility. Characteristic representatives of the plant world are __________. They adapted to these conditions with the help of __________. Characteristic representatives of the animal world are __________. They adapted to these conditions as follows: __________.

Victoria - Region

The largest aquatic plant, the diameter of the leaves reaches 2 meters.

The smallest bird (weight – 1.6 – 1.8 g, length – 5.5 cm)

The only bird whose chicks have two fingers at the ends of their wings.

spider - Tarantula

The largest spider reaches 28 cm in length.

Hercules beetle

The largest beetle in the world - its body length is up to 20 cm.

anaconda

The biggest snake. Reaches a length of up to 12 m and weighs up to 230 kg.

The most dangerous fish in the Amazon.

capybara

The largest rodent weighs up to 100 kg and is up to 1 m long.

pygmy marmoset

The smallest monkey is 50 - 75 g and up to 30 cm in length.

The slowest mammal is its movement speed of 2.5 m/min.

South American predator

chocolate tree - cocoa

The height of cocoa trees ranges from 5 to 7 meters, and their lifespan is from 25 to 30 years. The leaves of the cocoa tree are large (20-40 cm long and 7-1 2 cm wide). At the age of 3-4 years it blooms with white flowers (1 cm in diameter). On average, the tree produces 30 pods, each containing 30 to 40 beans embedded in the white flesh of the fruit.

rubber plant - Hevea

Frantisek Flos

"Orchid Hunters"

Paraguayan tea - mate

An evergreen tree from 1 to 6 m tall, with large ovate serrated leaves 5-16 cm long.

Compare the natural zones of South America and conclude that there is a relationship between the components within the complex

Natural conditions and natural components

Equatorial rainforests

1.Geographical location

Savannah

2.Climate

Steppe

3 Soils

Deserts

4. Inland waters

5. Animal world

6.Flora world

ANT-EATER

PIGS BAKERS

Dwarf giraffe - okapi

LAMA

• LAMA
• LAMA

PAMPAS CAT

PAMPAS DEER

BATTLESHIP

LLAMA

• VISCASHA - RODENT

Who is this? What is this?

1- Find in the text of the textbook what the following concepts mean: selva, campos, llanos, pampa, Patagonia.

2- Which cultivated plants are native to South America? In what natural areas do they grow?

3- Name the endemic species of the continent.

• Selva –(translated from Portuguese means " forest"), a zone of equatorial forests located on both sides of the equator.
• The savannas of the Northern Hemisphere are called Llanos, which in Spanish means " smooth". In the Southern Hemisphere, savannas are called campos(translated from Portuguese- plain).

• Pampa (pampas)- steppes of the subtropical zone. Pampa means plain in the local Indian language.

• Paramos– high mountain meadows.

• Patagonia– semi-desert zone of the temperate zone.

Test .

1 . What is the name of the natural area of ​​South America where rubber trees, orchids, ceiba, melon, and chocolate trees grow?

A) Andes B) Desert C) Selva D) Patagonia E) Pampa

A) ostrich B) sunbird C) condor D) hummingbird E) steppe eagle

3. To which natural zone does the following description apply: “This area is characterized by a climate with large differences in precipitation across the territory. Various grains grow here, there are many rodents, and nutria live along the banks of the rivers”?

A. Savannas and woodlands.

B. Subtropical steppes.

B. Equatorial forests.

G. Deserts.

4. Which South American endemic animal, found in the Andes, was domesticated by the local population and used as a beast of burden?

B. Przewalski's horse.

Test.

5. Which landscape of South America is described below: “.. trees grow in several tiers. These are different types of palm trees. The lower tiers are formed by hevea, cocoa, and mahogany. Their trunks are entwined with vines. Lots of ferns..."?

A. Savannas and woodlands.

B. Moist evergreen forests

B. Variably humid forests

D. Areas of altitudinal zonation.

6. Most of the Amazonian lowland is occupied by:

A. Selva.

B. Llanos.

V. Campos.

• “5” - 6 correct answers
• "4" - 4-5
• "3" - 3
• "2" - 2

reflection

1. During the lesson I worked actively/passively

2. I am satisfied/dissatisfied with my work in class

3. The lesson seemed short/long for me

4. During the lesson I wasn’t tired / tired

5.My mood has become better/worse

6. The material was clear/not clear to me

useful/useless

interesting/boring

7. homework

seems easy/difficult to me

interesting/uninteresting

Homework:

• § 41-42, Additional task:

Determine the centers of cultivated plants: durum wheat, rice, corn, coffee, tomatoes, cocoa, potatoes, beans, tea.

South America is the most
wet continent. Therefore here
forests are widespread, and
deserts and semi-deserts
relatively little.

1.Moist evergreen equatorial forests
-Under what climatic conditions is this formed?
zone?
- What are the conditions of these belts?
- In the basin of which river is this protection zone formed?
-That’s why this natural zone was called Amazonia.
S. Zweig “Whoever has seen the Amazon will have enough beauty for
all life."
- What's so surprising?
In terms of the number of plant and animal species, it
exceeds the PP of equatorial humid forests
Africa. Plants - 4000 species. (Ceiba - up to 80m, Givea,
cocoa, palm trees), Victoria - Region.
Fauna: hummingbird, toucan, parrots, jaguar,
sloth, anaconda, capybara, etc.

EQUATORIAL FORESTS of South America - selva

A characteristic feature of the continent
– the presence of impassable
evergreen equatorial
forests They differ
exceptional thickness,
shade, wealth and
species diversity
composition, abundance of vines and
Equatorial
epiphytes.
Amazon forests
occupy one of
first places in the world
by length.
.

Alexander Humboldt - a German scientist named them hylaea. And often these forests are also called “the lungs of the planet!”

Selva-equatorial forests.
Amazonian lowland

Geographical position
Located on
Amazonian lowland
on the eastern slopes
Andes, as well as in the northern
parts of the Pacific
coast in the area
equatorial
climate zone.

orchid
ceiba – tree
reaching
height 80 m.

Vegetable world
equatorial forests
Hevea
cocoa

Animal world
equatorial forests
monkey
sloth

anaconda
jaguar

Fauna of the equatorial
forests
tapir
capybara

Animal world
equatorial forests
hummingbird
toucan

2. Here nature is monotonous and depends on the season. Here
the period of hot days turned into the rainy season. Which
Can a natural area have such a characteristic?
Savannas and woodlands.
In what climatic zones is this protected area located?(
Subequatorial and partly tropical.
There are northern and southern parts of savannas.
Vegetation: mimosa, bottle tree, ceiba)
Fauna: puma, rhea ostrich, armadillo,
ant-eater

SAVANNAH

Equatorial forests are replaced by grasslands
Equatorial forests
are replaced
palm
savannas,
which occupy
grass palm savannas,
mostly
subequatorial
And
which occupy
mostly
subequatorial and tropical
tropical
belts
climatic zones. climatic
Savannah on
Orinoco
lowlands
called campos approximately
Appearance
Llanosa
llanos (from Spanish -
"smooth").
is the same:
tall grasses, separately
Savannah of Brazil
standing
cacti, acacias,
plateaus - palm trees,
campos (from
Portuguese
– “plain”)
mimosas,
tree
cedracho.
occupy a significantly larger
territory,
than Llanos.
Animal
The world of savannas is quite poor.
The appearance of the llanos and campos
Here
live
ostrich Nandu, small
approximately the same:
high
herbs, separately
standing
palm trees,
deer,
wild
baker pigs,
armadillos,
cacti, acacia, mimosa, tree
Kedracho. Savanna fauna
cougars.
pretty poor. They live here
ostrich Nandu, small deer,
wild baker pigs,
armadillos, pumas.

Flora of savannas
Campos savannah
Brazilian
plateau –(from
Portuguese –
"plain") occupy
much larger
territory than
Llanos.

Flora of savannas
Llanos - savannas
Orinoco
lowlands (from
Spanish -
"smooth").

Flora of savannas
Quebracho tree

Savanna fauna
peccary pigs
ostrich rhea

Savanna fauna
ant-eater
armadillo

3.Translated from the Indian language, the name of the following
natural area means an area devoid of trees
vegetation. What natural area are we talking about?
Steppe zone.
- In what climatic zone is this conservation area located?
-Subtropical zone.
-Why do steppe soils have high fertility?
- Lots of herbaceous vegetation (wild millet, feather grass)
The soils are chernozem-like and meadow.
Fauna: Llamas, viscachas, pampas cat,
pampas deer

Pampa - South American steppe

South of the savannahs in the subtropical
steppes spread across the climatic zone.
Almost all land has been plowed or turned into
pastures, so there are almost no wild animals
remained, with the exception of rodents.

Pampa - steppes of South America, translated from the language
Indian means "space devoid of
woody vegetation

Vegetable world
steppes (pampas)
Territory covered
herbaceous vegetation:
feather grass, wild millet, on
wetlands
reeds are growing.
reed
feather grass
wild millet

Fauna of the steppes (pampas)
There are a lot of rodents in the pampa,
some species of armadillos
and birds.
Pampas cat
Pampas deer
Pampas cat
lama

4.-Which natural area on the mainland has
smallest area?
Desert and semi-desert zone.
-In what climatic zones is it located?
this natural area?
- Subtropical and temperate.
- Wet continent on the west coast
washed by a cold current that does not bring
precipitation.
Flora and fauna: rodents, nutria,
whiskey
Cacti, turf grasses.

Semi-deserts and deserts in
South America are called
patagonia

Patagonia occupies a small area on the mainland
square. They are located in subtropical and
temperate climate zones.
The vegetation is represented by dry cereals and
cushion-shaped shrubs.
The same animals live in semi-deserts as in
pump. This harsh region is called Patagonia.

Atacama Desert
Atacama-spring
In the desert less than 100 mm falls
precipitation, and in some places less than 25 mm.

Atacama Desert
There are areas in the Atacama Desert where there is never
it rains, but the only moisture is
fogs and dew.

5. Moving west, where do we end up?
Andes Mountains.
-What factors influence the diversity of altitudinal zones in
in the mountains?
- Mountain height
- The latitude at which they are located.
Areas of the Andes lying at different latitudes differ
number and composition of altitudinal zones. The higher the ridges
, the closer they are to the equator, the more
observed in natural belts when rising from the foothills to
top.(slide-34,35)
The Andes mountain belts are home to:
- potatoes
- tomatoes
-cotton

Altitudinal zone

Andean fauna
condor
Spectacled bear

Our gift

The Spaniards brought this plant from South
America and tried to cook from its seeds
coffee. Unfortunately, no one drinks this coffee
became, but now the oil comes from it
plants are used in cooking
salads, mayonnaise, baked goods, sweets.
Guess what it is?

And again, a development for conducting geography lessons, provided to our website World of Geography by Elena Ivanovna Laricheva, who works as a geography teacher in Nizhny Novgorod, at Municipal Educational Institution Secondary School No. 27! What can this presentation on 7th grade geography give to a teacher when teaching a lesson on the subject of South America? Everything in development is simple and clear - there is no text material, however, you can find photographs of landscapes and the organic world about each natural area of ​​​​South America.



The mountainous regions of South America are the Andes, and we know that these are the longest mountains in the world and the highest mountains in the southern hemisphere. The mountains have their own special world, and the face of the Andes is, of course, the Condor bird. Mountains, plains, dry steppes, semi-deserts and jungles - the nature of the continent is really so diverse that devoting one lesson to this topic using a presentation on geography will be just right for the topic.


Each continent needs to be studied, and to do this, you need to take powerpoint presentations for geography lessons and show them to your children in school. How to supplement the lesson with material on the topic? There is a way - you need to take presentations on 7th grade geography and come to class with them, having prepared computer equipment in advance - a computer, a projector and an interactive board. And your children and students will be happy to show the presentation and tell the teacher about this continent. South America is far away, and we can only visit it virtually in a lesson if we take geography presentations for geography lessons to enhance the cognitive activity of students in order to get an effective return from the geography lesson.

How and why to use powerpoint presentations in geography lessons?

Of course, you can understand that not every school can yet provide every teacher with an interactive whiteboard, but still, in many schools today, many teachers can at least sometimes get access to equipment for demonstrating a presentation on geography, and this only makes us happy. It is necessary to use presentations, because this is not just the desire of an individual teacher, this is already a real dictate of the times. It is necessary to use interactive learning technologies, and then the positive effect from the lesson will not be long in coming.

• Using a geography presentation in the classroom is the principle of an advanced, active teacher who wants to work creatively and with an interest in the result.
• Pupils in those lessons in which powerpoint presentations on geography are used are very interesting to the students and force them to think and act for the benefit of learning
• The lesson itself as a whole becomes very attractive and interesting, and such a lesson is not a shame to show even to an authoritative commission

South America.

Natural areas

Prepared by: Zadylyak L.M.,

Kaliningrad

• .
• In what sequence should a natural area be characterized?
• Name the main features of the zone of equatorial forests, savannas, deserts .

Organic world South America, as well as Australia, very unique.

 Explain why.

Along with the plants that grow in Africa and in Australia(e.g. palms, acacias, bottle trees), in South America there are their own species - the rubber plant Hevea, the cocoa tree, the cinchona tree, from the bark of which medicine is obtained. South America- the birthplace of many cultivated plants (?).

cinchona

Hevea is the main source of natural rubber. The rubber content in the milky sap of this rubber tree reaches 40-50%

The animal world is also unique.

Some animals (anteaters, armadillos, pumas) are found in almost all natural areas of the mainland.

Before getting acquainted with the features of individual natural areas South America, do a little research on the map.

• What natural areas are there on the mainland? Which ones occupy the largest area? Why?
• How does latitudinal zonation manifest itself in South America?

A characteristic feature of the continent is the presence of rugged, moist evergreen equatorial forests growing on red-yellow ferrallite soils. They are called here selva , which means “forest” in Portuguese. The selva is wetter than African forests and richer in plant and animal species. Here grow trees such as ceiba, reaching a height of 80 m, various types of palm trees, melon tree (papaya), cocoa, hevea, entwined with vines. There are many beautifully blooming orchids in the forest. Many selva plants produce not only valuable wood, but also fruits, juice, and bark for use in technology and medicine.

The fauna of the selva is especially rich. Many animals are adapted to life in trees: prehensile-tailed monkeys, sloths. Even frogs and lizards live in trees, there are many snakes, including the largest snake on Earth - the anaconda. The water is home to ungulates - tapirs and the largest rodent on Earth - the capybara weighing up to 50 kg. There are few predators, the most famous among them being the jaguar.

capybara capybara

Marmosets are among the smallest primates on our planet. Their habitat is Latin America. An adult weighs no more than 100 g with a body length of up to 23 cm. The length of the tail always exceeds the length of the body and can reach 30 cm. The smallest among marmosets, smaller than a person’s thumb, is the Swiss Lilliputian marmoset.

The howler monkey is the largest in South America, its loud roar can be heard at a distance of 5 km

Pygmy marmosets weigh on average about 120 g and body length does not exceed 15 cm. These primates are considered the smallest on Earth. Their second name is pocket monkeys.

The world of birds is also rich: tiny hummingbirds feeding on the nectar of flowers, parrots, toucans. Lots of different butterflies, beetles and other insects. A lot of ants live in the lower layer of the forest and in the soil, many of which lead a predatory lifestyle. Some of the ants reach 3 cm in length.

Equatorial forests are replaced by tall grass palm savannas. On the plains Orinoco they alternate with green strips of evergreen gallery forests in river valleys.

In the savannas of the Southern Hemisphere, tree vegetation is poorer. In the tropical center of the continent, where many months are dry and hot, they grow twisted, studded with thorns and thorns, low-growing trees and shrubs. Among them, the best known is kebracho, the bark of which contains tannins necessary for tanning leather.

Quebracho is the strongest tree in South America, called “break the axe”

Compared to African savannas, savannah fauna South America poorer. Small deer, wild peccary pigs, armadillos with a shell made of horny scutes, anteaters, and birds such as the rhea ostrich live here.

baker pigs

To the south of the savannas lie subtropical steppes, which South America called pump , which translated from the Indian language means “space devoid of woody vegetation.” Under the conditions of a humid subtropical climate, fertile chernozem-like and meadow soils were formed in the eastern steppes, so they are currently fully plowed and are the largest grain-producing region in Argentina. The vegetation of the wild steppes is grasses, among which feather grass, wild millet, etc. predominate.

The open spaces of the pampas were once characterized by fast-running animals: Pampas deer, Pampas cat, llamas.

pampas cat

pampas deer

In the south of the continent, in a temperate climate with little precipitation, a semi-desert zone has formed. This harsh edge of the continent is called Patagonia. Turf grasses and thorny evergreen shrubs form dense thickets here on infertile brown soils. Currently, Patagonia is the main sheep-raising region of Argentina. Strong southern Antarctic winds are observed here. Locals say: “If you want to see Patagonia, stop for a moment and it will rush past you.”

beauty of Patagonia

In semi-deserts, as well as in the steppes lying to the north, there are many rodents. Among them, viscacha is a rodent whose body length is 60-70 cm. Nutria (swamp beaver) lives along the banks of reservoirs. There are many small armadillos that burrow into the ground when in danger.

Many species of plants, fertile soils, domesticated and wild llamas, fur-bearing animals (nutria, etc.) have great economic value. There are a lot of fish in the rivers and coastal waters of the oceans.

Altitudinal zone in Andes

Nowhere on the continents that we have already studied are there such high mountains as Andes. Therefore, we will get acquainted with the nature of mountains in this topic.

• Remember what is called altitudinal zonation. What does it depend on?
• What components of nature change most noticeably as you rise from the foothills of the mountains to the peaks?
• Through what climatic zones do the Andes stretch?

Sites Andes, lying at different latitudes, differ in the number and composition of altitudinal belts. The higher the ridges Andes and the closer they are located to the equator, the more natural zones are observed when rising from the foothills to the peaks. So, the foothills Andes near the equator are covered with dense equatorial forests, not much different from the forests Amazonia .

Another change of belts in Andes at the latitude of the South Tropic. Here, in a subtropical climate, at the foot of the mountains there are semi-deserts, which transform into hard-leaved evergreen forests and shrubs as they rise. Deciduous forests of southern beech trees grow even higher, and alpine meadows appear even higher.

Yareta grows at altitudes between 3200 and 4500 m. It is a colony of thousands of individual tiny sprouts. To reduce heat loss during extremely cold dawns at this altitude, the leaves of the plant fit very tightly together. In addition, it is pressed as close to the ground as possible, where the air temperature is a couple of degrees higher.

On the plateaus Central Andes, isolated by mountain ranges from the influence of the oceans, there are dry mountain steppes and semi-deserts.

Among the animals living in Andes, there are very ancient species, for example the spectacled bear. Among rodents, the chinchilla is remarkable for its valuable fur. In some places, wild llamas have been preserved - large and strong animals of the camelid family. The largest birds of prey on our planet, condors, with a wingspan of up to 3 m, nest on mountain ledges.

spectacled bear

chinchilla

Changing the nature of the continent under influence of human activity.

Human impact on nature in South America began when the indigenous population, engaged in agriculture, burned out areas of forests and drained swamps for this purpose. However, these changes were not so great in comparison with those that arose with the arrival of Europeans on the mainland. From the 16th century predatory use of natural resources began. Plowing of land, deforestation, grazing, and the appearance of new plants imported from other continents led to a weakening or complete destruction of connections between the components of nature and to major changes in natural complexes.

For example, much of the pampa is plowed or used for grazing. The pastures are overgrown with weeds.

Pampa has lost its original appearance. It has been turned into endless fields of wheat and corn, and paddocks for grazing cattle. The most valuable forests of araucaria - coniferous trees growing in the east - have been almost destroyed Brazilian plateaus. In place of tropical forests and savannas, coffee plantations have long existed, brought here from Africa, and cocoa plantations, wild species of which grow in the forests Amazonia .

araucaria cone

Forests are being destroyed very quickly Amazonia. The construction of the Trans-Amazonian Highway (5 thousand km) opened the way to the jungle. At the current rate of use, according to scientists’ forecasts, these forests will be destroyed in the 21st century. may disappear. The problem of nature conservation South America arose at the beginning of the 20th century. But only quite recently did they take it seriously: a program was outlined, lists of animals and plants were drawn up, for the conservation of which it was necessary to take urgent measures.

About a hundred species of mammals and birds are now included in the Red Book. The area of ​​protected areas on the entire continent is only about 6%.

Many countries South America they create nature reserves and national parks, which at the same time serve as tourism centers (see atlas map).

QUESTIONS AND TASKS

• Name the similarities and differences between the natural areas of South America and Africa. Give reasons.
• Take an imaginary journey to the jungle, savannah or pampa and prepare a story in the form of a diary, report, memoir, letter.
• What determines the number of altitude zones in the mountains?
• In what part of the Andes does the ocean greatly influence altitudinal zones? What is this influence?
• Give examples of changes in the nature of South America by humans.
• In which natural areas are these changes especially great? Why?
• In which natural areas are national parks located? Where are they most? Why?

Sources:

• EFU. Geography of continents and oceans. 7th grade. V.A. Korinskaya, I.V. Dushina, V.A. Shchenev. M., Bustard. 2015
• Textbook. Geography. Continents and oceans. O.V. Krylova. M., Enlightenment. 1999
• Atlas. Geography. 7th grade M. Bustard.2015
• Internet illustrations