My 2nd Blog Post

Physical Geography is very important because not only does it (quite literally) shape the way Latin America and the Caribbean is, it also is a big determiner on culture and different, maybe even notorious, activities that are the most common in different places. In terms of culture, there is a widespread diversity in both Latin America and the Caribbean but the more interesting facts lie in how these specific and different activities are impacted by geography. Not many people know this but drug trafficking is common in Colombia and Mexico, not because of government corruption(although that is an underlying factor), but it’s really because of the geography of these places that make it easy for drug lords and traffickers to transport and grow everything so easily. Another example of geography and how it influences activity is that in El Salvador, around the 1870’s, the geography of the country was put to good use and this was seen in economical growth due to the intensive coffee productions that continue to flourish even in the present day on modern plantations(Chasteen, 2016)

Now if someone were to try and define Latin America and the Caribbean region with just one geographical feature because everyone has a different view on what these regions are. However the region can be defined by it’s similar, maybe even completely different, cultures that exist within it’s countries. There’s also the fact that some of these countries’ history tie into each other at some point in time. An example of this is how in Colonial Central America El Salvador’s dense population had made it one of the biggest competitors Guatemala had. Even after independence, El Salvador became a liberal stronghold that still continued to compete with the conservative stronghold in Guatemala(Chasteen, 2016). And as said previously, the Caribbean can’t be defined by one thing and is actually made up of a swirl of influences, including English, Dutch, and East Indian, as well as Spanish and African(Chasteen, 2016)

Latin America and the Caribbean are also just a great place to go when you want to take some time to relax and see something new. Latin America and the Caribbean are endowed with great scenic beauty and physical diversity. There’s different types of beauty that insist of powerful, yet calm, rivers. Endangered, yet beautiful, tropical rain forests and the world’s most most extensive grasslands. There is one more geographical feature that is common in all parts of Latin America and the Caribbean that is quite the sight to see(when dormant) are the towering snow-capped volcanoes(Clawson, Tillman). Now there aren’t many inactive volcanoes due to the fact that most of these volcanoes are part of the Ring of Fire(Please don’t be mad, the ladies voice is creepy but its the most educational video on the Ring of Fire. Besides that, don’t be scared…Just click it, it can’t be that hard). There’s so much more to talk about and I would go on and on, but that would take too much time. Basically the geography of Latin America and the Caribbean identifies a swirl of influences and a striking amount of diversity in culture.