11. Steppes and Deserts. The Andes Region.

Steppes. Farther south the savannahs give way to the steppes. Steppes, or pampas (the Spanish name for the vast treeless grass-lauds of South America south of the Amazon), occupy the southern part of the La Plata Lowlands along the lower course of the Parana River The pampas have a warm climate. The average winter temperature is about 10° С above zero However, cold and dry winds blowing from the south often cause a drop in the temperature. Here grow feather, pampa and other types of grass. Rushy marshes are found in the lower places.

There are great numbers of rodents in the pampas. Along the shores of the rivers and lakes there is nutria, a kind of beaver, important for its fur.

The greater part of the steppes is now under cultivation. The chief crops are wheat and corn. Great numbers of cattle and sheep are grazed. Enormous manors are scattered here and there, often containing thousands of hectares of land.

The regions lying in the temperate zone in the south and west closer to the Andes are dry steppes and semideserts covered with thin grass and prickly scrub.

The Pacific Coast. The northern portion of the Pacific coast-lands in South America is an equatorial forest area. South of the Equator the climate becomes markedly drier, and the desert begins.

Along the Pacific coast near the Tropic of Capricorn lies the A t а с a m a Desert. A cold current flows along the coast and summers in Atacama are, therefore, not very hot. Temperatures are about the same throughout the year. The Atacama receives almost no rain, years passing without a drop.

South of Atacama along the Pacific coast the rainfall increases. This is a region of evergreen subtropical vegetation.

On the very south of the coast blow cold winds from the ocean that often turn into storms and bring ceaseless rains. This is a kingdom of dampness and foul weather. The climate is maritime. Summers are cool, winters mild, with temperatures above freezing-point. The slopes of the Andes are covered with dense deciduous and mixed forests consisting of huge trees and numerous ferns and mosses. Down the slopes move glaciers coming to abrupt ends at the shores of the winding gulfs (fjords). This wet forest region is almost entirely uninhabited.

The Andes. Nature in the Andes is very peculiar. Owing to the altitude the weather is cool. The temperatures, though, are almost the same throughout the year, as the Equator is close. On the high plateaus among the mountains the average temperature ranges from 8° to 12° С all the year round. The weather, nevertheless, is very changeable. Though bright and sunny at the moment, chilling winds may arrive instantly, bringing rain or snow (flurries). Thunderstorms and snow-storms are frequent.

There are many grass-eating animals in the Andes: various kinds of lama. These are partly tame and used as pack animals. High up in the mountains there is chinchilla, a kind of rodent, highly prized for its fur. Condors nest here, great birds with wingspreads reaching 2.75 metres.

The climate in the Andes is healthier than in the hot and wet lowlands. The region is quite densely populated and has been so from ancient times. This is the home of the potato, which was brought to Europe soon after the discovery of America. Many metals are mined in the mountains: copper tin and others.

Questions and Assignments.

1. Study the map in your Atlas and trace from north to south the changes in the natural features along the Pacific coast.

2. How did it happen that the Atacama Desert was formed at the very shores of the ocean?

1. Use the textbook and maps to describe the natural features

of the La Plata Lowlands.

4. Mark on the outline map the natural zones of South America.

POPULATION OF NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA.

Quantity and Density of Population. The total population of America amounts to over 700,000,000, of which over 460,000,000 inhabit North America and the West Indies and250,000,000 South America. Though America is almost as large as Asia, it has only one-fourth as many people.

The average density of population is 9 persons to the square kilometre, North America having the densest population.

Very thinly populated are Greenland and the other Arctic islands of North America, some being almost uninhabited.

Other thinly populated regions are the tundra and taiga in the north of the continent and the arid highlands in the west. In South America the interior of the Amazon lowland ami Brazilian highland regions and the deserts of the south are very thinly populated.

More densely populated is the eastern part of North America between the Atlantic Ocean, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, certain parts of Central America and the West Indies, parts of the Atlantic coast in South America and parts of the Andes.

Ethnic Structure. America is inhabited by many different peoples.

The original inhabitants of America are the Indians (also called red Indians) with yellowish-brown, reddish-tinted skins. During the 400 years that followed the discovery of America they were deprived of their lands and either enslaved or destroyed. There are very few Indians left today, especially in North America, where some remain in the tundras and taigas of the north and on the arid plateaus of the west. They are more numerous in Central and South America, where they inhabit the Andes region, the Amazon Lowlands and the western part of the Brazilian Highlands. The Eskimoes are also natives of North America. Few in number, they inhabit the coast of the Arctic Ocean and the southern coast of Greenland and hunt the seal and walrus.

The greater part of the present-day population of America are descendants of settlers from different countries of Europe.

There are many people in America, besides, of mixed European and Indian or Negro descent. The offspring of a European and Indian is called a half-breed, or metis; of a European and Negro — a mulatto.

North America differs greatly from South America in ethnic structure. In North America, the majority of the inhabitants are descendants of settlers from Northern, Western and Central Europe: Englishmen, Irishmen, Frenchmen, Germans, Jews, Poles and Ukrainians. English is the common language, except along the lower course of the St. Lawrence River, where French is spoken. There are very few Indians and half-breeds in North America.

Starting from the Mexican Plateau and the West Indies in the south of North America and throughout South America the ethnic structure changes entirely. These lands were conquered by the Spaniards and Portuguese. Later came settlers from Italy, Germany and other countries. The spoken language is Spanish, and in the Brazilian Highlands and Amazon Lowlands—Portuguese. There are many half-breeds and Indians among the population. This part of America is called Latin A m e r i с a, as both the Spanish and Portuguese languages are descendants of Latin, the language of the Romans.

Questions and Assignments.

1. Where are there more people, in America or Europe?

2. Compare the population and zonal maps of North and South America and point out the zones that are especially thinly populated.

3. Mark on the outline map the places in America where the spoken languages are either English or French, Spanish or Portuguese.