COPYRIGHT
105
PENNSVALLEY
Lesson 53:
Political Features of Central America
In Lesson 47, you learned that Middle America includes Mexico, Central America, and the
Caribbean Islands.Now that we have studiedMexico, let’s travel toCentral America.
ACTIVITY:
Because of the mountains and tropical rain forests in Central America, we will
need a helicopter for our tour.You may use Lesson 47 or your
Atlas Buddy
(AB)
asa resourceand travel guide.Start at theYucatanPeninsula inMexico
and follow thedirections below.A) Aswe fly through the isthmus, label each
country and trace its boundaries on the activity map on the next page. B)
Label its capital city by the starred location.
Countries
Capital Cities
Fly south toBelize.
Belmopan
Next, fly southwest toGuatemala
GuatemalaCity
Then, fly southeast toEl Salvador
SanSalvador
Next, fly northeast toHonduras
Tegucigalpa
Then, fly southeast toNicaragua
Managua
Onward southeast toCostaRica
San Jose
Last, fly southeast toPanama
PanamaCity
Lesson 54:
Physical Features of Central America
Central America isa verymountainousarea.Mountains stretch fromMexico’sSierraMadre ranges
through Central America and into South America. Much of this region is covered by dense
vegetation called a tropical rain forest. Along the coastlines are the Pacific Coastal Plain and the
Caribbean lowlands.
The mountains of Central America are part of a large horseshoe-shaped band that follows the
edge of thePacificOcean.This band is called the
Ringof Fire
. In your study of thePacificRegion of
the United States
(LLB=Lesson 39)
, you learned that there are
faults
, or weak points, in the layers
of rock beneath the earth’s crust that occur along theRing of Fire.These faults produce earthquakes
and active volcanoes inCentral America.
Central America
If youwere
to climb to the
top of Irazu, an active
volcano located in the
middle of Costa Rica, you
would be able to view the
Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans on a cloudless
day.
Using the Internet, find out more about theRing of Fire.
• Create and color amap to illustrate theRing of Fire.
• Include the following physical features on your map.
a.Continents and oceans that are affected by theRing of Fire
b.The earth’s plates that collide to create theRing of Fire
c.Create red symbols to show earthquakes and volcanoes
Click
&
Learn
