Globalization and Diversity, 5e (Rowntree et al.)
Chapter 4 Latin America
1) What are the boundaries of Latin America?
A) Panama in the north to Argentina in the south
B) the Rio Grande in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south
C) San Salvador in the north to Montevideo in the south
D) the Amazon River in the north to Puntas Arenas in the south
E) Tijuana in the north to the La Plata River in the south
2) What is the name of the mountain chain that extends the length of South America’s west
coast?
A) Alps
B) Sierra Nevada
C) Andes
D) Himalayas
E) Alta
3) What major change occurred to the Panama Canal in 2016?
A) The canal was sold to the Chinese who then halted construction of the Nicaraguan Canal.
B) A new set of locks was added thereby allowing larger ships to pass through.
C) Control of the canal was given back to the United States as part of NAFTA.
D) The canal was closed as a result of the opening of the Nicaraguan Canal.
E) The Panamanian government restricted the passage of oil tankers because of environmental
concerns.
4) The Andes Mountains were formed by the collision of what two tectonic plates?
A) Cocos Plate and Pacific Plate
B) Nazca Plate and South American Plate
C) South American Plate and Scotia Plate
D) Pacific Plate and Caribbean Plate
E) South American Plate and Caribbean Plate
5) What is the greatest threat to biodiversity in Latin America?
A) deforestation
B) grassification
C) farmland degradation
D) air pollution
E) desertification
6) Over the last 40 years, approximately what percentage of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has
been destroyed?
A) 5%
B) 10%
C) 20%
D) 30%
E) 40%
7) What city in Latin America was designed to be, and is an example of a sustainable city?
A) Mexico City, Mexico
B) Buenos Aires, Argentina
C) Quito, Ecuador
D) Curitiba, Brazil
E) Santiago, Chile
8) What is El Niño?
A) a political party in Peru
B) the president of Mexico
C) a distinctive weather pattern
D) a lake in Nicaragua
E) the highest peak in the Andes Mountains
9) The urban environment of Bogota, Colombia, is being transformed by the introduction of
A) thousands of new trees.
B) the building of a massive new public park.
C) TransMilenio.
D) very harsh penalties for polluting cars.
E) the relocation of Colombia’s oil refineries to the coast.
10) What climatic occurrence contributes to the pollution problems faced by Santiago, Chile?
A) proximity to the coast
B) desert–like climate conditions
C) thermal inversions
D) very harsh penalties for polluting cars
E) the relocation of Colombia’s oil refineries to the coast
11) Which Latin American country is most closely associated with deforestation?
A) Colombia
B) Brazil
C) Ecuador
D) Peru
E) Chile
12) What percentage of the world’s plant and animal species are found in the Amazon rainforest?
A) 50%
B) 40%
C) 30%
D) 20%
E) 10%
13) What is grassification?
A) the depletion of native grasses on the Argentine prairie
B) the conversion of tropical forest into pasture
C) the Latin American term for suburbanization
D) a project by the Bolivian government to protect further soil erosion on mountain slopes by
planting native grasses
E) the conversion of the Altiplano of Latin America into grasslands
14) Which of the following is NOT one of the environmental challenges facing Latin American
cities?
A) air pollution
B) water availability
C) water quality
D) garbage removal
E) tourism
15) What makes the Amazon River distinctive?
A) It is the world’s longest river.
B) It is the world’s largest river by volume.
C) It is the world’s muddiest river.
D) It is the world’s widest river.
E) It is the world’s fishiest river (has the most fish).
16) How long are the Andes Mountains?
A) about 500 miles
B) about 2,000 miles
C) about 3,000 miles
D) about 5,000 miles
E) about 10,000 miles
17) Which of the following environmental problems is associated with Mexico City and
Santiago?
A) deforestation
B) degradation of farmlands
C) desertification
D) air pollution
E) grassification
18) Historically, these places have been underused as areas of settlement in Latin America,
especially compared to settlement patterns in other regions.
A) on shields
B) on plateaus
C) in intermontane basins
D) along major rivers
E) in the highlands
19) What material(s) provided the initial wealth of many countries in the Andes Mountains?
A) silver
B) gold
C) copper
D) iron
E) all of the above
20) What is the name of the high-altitude plateau where the Andes Mountains reach their greatest
width.
A) shield
B) pampas
C) altiplano
D) llanos
E) basin
21) The sparsely settled tropical grasslands of southern Venezuela and eastern Colombia are
called
A) shield
B) pampas
C) altiplano
D) llanos
E) basin
22) European settlement of Latin America was accomplished by what two countries that make up
the Iberian Peninsula?
A) Spain and Portugal
B) Great Britain and France
C) Italy and Greece
D) Spain and Great Britain
E) France and Portugal
23) How many residents does a city need in its metropolitan area to qualify as a megacity?
A) 1 million
B) 5 million
C) 10 million
D) 15 million
E) 20 million
24) What is the source of approximately 70% of Mexico City’s water?
A) aquifers
B) lakes
C) atmospheric condensers
D) rivers surrounding the basin
E) exotic rivers
25) Which of the following statements about squatter settlements in Latin America is NOT true?
A) They are unplanned.
B) They do not have utilities.
C) They are especially vulnerable to natural hazards.
D) They provide adequate housing.
E) Many urban dwellers (especially poor people) live there.
26) Curitiba (Brazil’s “green city”) has been successful in reducing pollution via all of these
elements EXCEPT
A) stopping rural to urban migration.
B) better urban planning.
C) public transportation.
D) open space.
E) a low–tech, but effective recycling program.
27) What are the three largest cities in Latin America?
A) Bogota, Colombia, Santiago, Chile and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
B) Mexico City, Mexico, Buenos Aries, Argentina and Sao Paulo, Brazil
C) Quito, Ecuador, Mexico City, Mexico and Caracas, Venezuela
D) Buenos Aires, Argentina, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Santiago, Chile
E) Lima, Peru, Quito, Ecuador and Manaus, Brazil
28) What is urban primacy?
A) the largest city in a country
B) a country’s capital city
C) a condition in which a country contains a city that is three to four times larger than any other
city in the country
D) the city within a country that is the primary center of economic activity
E) all of the above
29) Urban primacy occurs when
A) a country’s population is greater than 80% urban.
B) a country implements a policy to reduce urban sprawl.
C) a country has a city three to four times larger than any other city in the country.
D) the number of people residing in cities has exceeded that of those residing in rural areas.
E) people in cities receive lower tax rates.
30) Throughout most of the twentieth century, Latin America experienced ________ population
growth rates.
A) high
B) increasing
C) stagnant
D) plummeting
31) The average number of children born to women in Latin America has been decreasing over
the last two decades for all of the following reasons, EXCEPT
A) increased participation of women in the workforce.
B) rural–to-urban migration.
C) greater availability of birth control.
D) promotion of family planning programs.
E) government-imposed financial penalties for large families.
32) Which country in Latin America sends the largest number of legal immigrants to the United
States?
A) Chile
B) Colombia
C) El Salvador
D) Mexico
E) Brazil
33) What is a mestizo?
A) a person of mixed European and Indian ancestry
B) a member of the majority ethnic group in Peru
C) a Portuguese word for peasant
D) a member of the working class in Bolivia
E) an immigrant to Latin America
34) Which of the following is NOT a primate city in Latin America?
A) Lima
B) Bogota
C) Mexico City
D) Panama City
E) Santiago
35) Where are the people of Latin America concentrated?
A) in cities and on the coasts
B) in cities
C) along river valleys
D) on the coasts
E) along river valleys and on the coasts
36) Four countries in Latin America have more than 75% of the region’s population. Which of
the following is NOT one of the four?
A) Venezuela
B) Brazil
C) Mexico
D) Colombia
E) Argentina
37) What country of Latin America has the region’s largest population?
A) Argentina
B) Colombia
C) Mexico
D) Bolivia
E) Brazil
38) In the Latin American city model, what land use is located along the “spine”?
A) squatter settlements
B) superior services, roads, and transportation
C) the colonial core of the city
D) a ring road or beltway surrounding the city
E) unpaved roads
39) What is the major reason for the preference for urban life in Latin America?
A) The indigenous peoples of Latin America left a legacy of urban life.
B) Governments provide tax breaks for city dwellers.
C) Under the colonial rule of Spain and Portugal, people living in cities had higher social status
and greater economic opportunity.
D) The cost of farmland is very high.
E) The governments of Latin America prohibit living outside of cities as a way to limit urban
sprawl.
40) A system wherein peasants farm small plots of land for their own subsistence is referred to as
A) encomienda.
B) ejidos.
C) latifundia.
D) minifundia.
E) plantations.
41) In Latin America, what did agrarian reform accomplish?
A) Toxic wastes were cleaned up from the land.
B) A new system for planning and land use was established.
C) A township and range system for administering the land was instituted.
D) Land was redistributed, giving some to peasants.
E) Land was annexed for cities.
42) Which of the following was NOT a major reason for the rural-to–urban migration in Latin
America?
A) increased mechanism of agriculture
B) increased population pressure
C) equal rights for women
D) consolidation of agricultural lands
E) disappearance of jobs in rural areas
43) Why did Japanese people migrate to Latin America?
A) to flee a famine after a major failure of the rice crop in Japan
B) to work in the coffee and sugar plantations and mines
C) to establish a rice industry in Peru
D) to establish a colony in the region
E) to convert Latin Americans to the Shinto faith
44) Which of the following is NOT found in the Latin American city model?
A) zone of workers’ housing
B) CBD
C) periférico
D) spine
E) market
45) Which of the following was NOT an element of the effort to open the Brazilian Amazon for
settlement?
A) highway construction
B) a new capital
C) state-sponsored mining operations
D) subsidies to large cattle ranches
E) quick distribution of land titles to small farmers
46) Which country in South America has long attracted Bolivian and Paraguayan laborers?
A) Brazil
B) Chile
C) Argentina
D) Colombia
E) Peru
47) In the Latin American City model, what would most likely be found straddling the periferico
(beltway highway)?
A) markets
B) industrial parks
C) gentrified housing
D) elite residential sector
E) squatter settlements
48) What factor was most crucial to the survival of the remaining indigenous people of Latin
America?
A) land
B) water
C) energy
D) education
E) jobs
49) What is the ethnicity of the majority of people in Latin America?
A) blanco (European)
B) mestizo (mixed race)
C) indo (Indian)
D) negro (black)
E) Asian
50) What language is the second-most common in Latin America?
A) Portuguese
B) Spanish
C) English
D) Quechua
E) Aymara