NET, IAS, State-SET (KSET, WBSET, MPSET, etc.), GATE, CUET, Olympiads etc.: World Regions of South America

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5 Causes, 3 Hazards & 3 Prediction

Rice

Brazil

1. Greatest rice growing nation in the southern continents.

2. Growing in SE Brazil (heavy precipitation, swampy coastal lowlands and abundant sunlight)

Wheat

Argentina

1. Method of cultivation similar to USA and Canada

2. Greatest concentration in the wheat crescent of the Pampas from Rosario to Bahia Blanca

3. Dense network of railway supports transportation to costal ports of Buenos Aires and Bahia Blanca. Outside Argentina, only Uruguay and Central Chile have considerable wheat cultivation

Maize

Argentina, Brazil and Mexico Coffee Brazil Factors for the Rise of the Brazilian Coffee Industry

  1. Land (well drained and rolling plateau)
  2. Climate (Warm and Humid) The prevailing S. E. trade winds from the S. Atlantic Ocean blow onshore and are favorable.
  3. Fazendas (or coffee estates) are usually located at some elevation, away from the cold valley bottoms. This is to avoid chilling frosts.
  4. Soil: Variable soils of SE. Brazil are suitable for coffee production (Terra Rossa is the best among them)
  5. Labour and land tenure Most of the land in Brazil is owned by rich land owner, comparatively little land is in small holdings.
  6. Accessibility Intricate system of roads and railways. -Sao Paulo is the centre ofthe coffee trade (Its outport is Santos)
  7. Sao Paulo, Santos and Rio De Janeiro (all in SE) are the most prosperous in Brazil. Now it is increasingly grown further north in Minas Gerais.

Columbia

  • Chief coffee centers Medellin, Manizales and Tolima
  • Columbian coffee has an excellent flavor and fetches higher prices than Brazilian one.
  • Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru are the chief producers
  • In Central America coffee is the chief crop having high yields. Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala are the major coffee producers (Also in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica)

Cocoa

Brazil

  • Growing region Bahia and Esparto Santo
  • The red clay soils of the crystalline rocks are ideal for the crop

Ecuador

  • On Guayaquil Lowlands Other producers Venezuela, Peru, Columbia, and Trinidad and Tobago
  • Central America W. Indies grown on abandoned banana lands (e. g. Costa Rica) Other producers in Central America are Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica

Wine

Chile Central valley around Santiago Argentina Around Mendoza and San Juan

Cotton

Brazil

  • Production mainly from North East and South East of the country.
  • Plantations have also been established in the Chaco.
  • Not a major textile producer.

Peru

  • Has a long cotton growing tradition (Mainly in the oasis settlements in the Atacama Desert)
  • Other Producers Mexico, Columbia, Nicaragua, other C. American states and W. Indies Wool Argentina
  • In the dry windy plateau country of Patagonia
  • Majority of Argentina՚s production is of medium and poor grade wools
  • Uruguay Fairly important wool producer
  • Other producers Brazil and Chile. There is little woolen textile manufacture in Latin America.

Fisheries

  • Fisheries are less developed in the temperate waters of the southern hemisphere.
  • In Argentina, S. Africa, Australia and New Zealand meat is more popular.
  • Tropical waters have less potential for fishing in general because fish of commercial species are fewer.
  • Well developed in regions off Peru and Chile.
  • Anchovies are common.
  • Upwelling cold waters help Plankton development.
  • Bulk of fish caught not used for food but for fertilizers.
  • The rise of fishing industry has endangered the Guano (bird droppings rich in phosphate) industry because the birds can no longer find sufficient food in coastal waters.
  • Chile՚s catch is mainly used for industrial purposes rather than food.

Forestry

  • Huge reserves exist but relatively unimportant producing area.
  • Brazil is the only major commercial timber producer (but wood comes from Parana pine rather than Amazonian forests. This is because of difficulties in transporting the logs to the main industrial and population centers in the south east and also because of the greater versatility of conifers for industrial use.)
  • Columbia and Haiti produce timber mainly for fuel.
  • Chile and Argentina have mall production of industrial woods.
  • Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay are major producers of Quebracho wood