Languages: Country and Geography
Contents
Latin America
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations 13th EditionPresents easy-to-understand information on 194 countries and dependencies from around the world.
- Global Road Warrior This link opens in a new window
Features 174 country guides with 126 content modules each. Topics include culture & society, travel, education, history, holidays and festivals, language, media outlets, music, maps, money, national symbols, and religion. Contains downloadable illustrations with more than 30,000 photos, maps, and flag images.
Mexico and Central America
Mexico: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Culture and History by A concise overview of 20th- and 21st-century Mexico, this volume explores the political, economic, social, and cultural history of the world's largest Spanish-speaking country.
Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture by Presents a processual view of Mexican history, society and culture from ancient civilizations to the present day. MORE
- BelizeIndependent state situated on the Caribbean coast, forming the SE part of the Yucat n (Mexico) peninsula.
- Costa RicaOfficially Republic of Costa Rica, republic (2005 est. pop. 4,016,000), 19,575 sq mi (50,700 sq km), Central America.
- El SalvadorCountry in Central America, bounded north and east by Honduras, south and southwest by the Pacific Ocean, and northwest by Guatemala.
- GuatemalaCountry in Central America, bounded north and northwest by Mexico, east by Belize and the Caribbean Sea, southeast by Honduras and El Salvador, and southwest by the Pacific Ocean.
- HondurasOfficially Republic of Honduras, republic (2005 est. pop. 6,975,000), 43,277 sq mi (112,088 sq km), Central America.
- Mexico
country S North America S of the United States; a republic capital Mexico area 759,530 square miles (1,972,544 square kilometers), population 89,995,000. - NicaraguaOfficially Republic of Nicaragua, republic (2005 est. pop. 5,465,000), 49,579 sq mi (128,410 sq km), Central America.
- PanamaCountry in Central America, on a narrow isthmus between the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, bounded west by Costa Rica and east by Colombia.
The Caribbean
- Antigua and BarbudaA state in the Caribbean, comprising the islands of Antigua, Barbuda, and Redonda.
- BarbadosIsland country in the Caribbean, one of the Lesser Antilles. It is about 483 km/300 mi north of Venezuela.
- Cuba
Officially Republic of Cuba, republic (2005 est. pop. 11,347,000), 42,804 sq mi (110,860 sq km), consisting of the island of Cuba and numerous adjacent islands, in the Caribbean Sea. Havana is the capital and largest city. - DominicaIsland in the eastern Caribbean, between Guadeloupe and Martinique, the largest of the Windward Islands, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the west.
- Dominican RepublicRepublic (2005 est. pop. 8,950,000), 18,700 sq mi (48,442 sq km), West Indies, on the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola.
- GrenadaIsland country in the Caribbean, the southernmost of the Windward Islands.
- HaitiA republic occupying the W part of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, the E part consisting of the Dominican Republic: ceded by Spain to France in 1697 and became one of the richest colonial possessions in the world, with numerous plantations.
- Jamaica
An island and state in the Caribbean: colonized by the Spanish from 1494 onwards. - St. Kitts and NevisFrom CIA World Factbook
Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago. - St. Lucia
Country in the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea, one of the Windward Islands. - Trinidad and Tobago
An independent republic in the Caribbean, occupying the two southernmost islands of the Lesser Antilles.
South America
- ArgentinaFederal republic in the extreme S of South America. Second largest country in South America, but only a third of the size of Brazil.
- BoliviaOfficially Republic of Bolivia, republic (2005 est. pop. 8,858,000), 424,162 sq mi (1,098,581 sq km), W South America.
- BrazilPort. Brasil, officially Federative Republic of Brazil, republic (2005 est. pop. 186,113,000), 3,286,470 sq mi (8,511,965 sq km), E South America.
- ChileA country of southwest South America with a long Pacific coastline.
- Colombia
Officially Republic of Colombia, republic (2005 est. pop. 42,954,000), 439,735 sq mi (1,138,914 sq km), NW South America. - EcuadorRepublic on the NW coast of South America, bounded by Colombia in the N, Peru in the E and S and on the W is the Pacific Ocean.
- French GuianaFrench Guiana is a French overseas department and the smallest country in mainland South America.
- GuyanaOfficially Co-operative Republic of Guyana, republic (2005 est. pop. 765,000), 83,000 sq mi (214,969 sq km), NE South America.
- ParaguayLandlocked country in South America, bounded northeast by Brazil, south by Argentina, and northwest by Bolivia.
- PeruCountry in South America, on the Pacific, bounded north by Ecuador and Colombia, east by Brazil and Bolivia, and south by Chile.
- SurinameOfficially Republic of Suriname, republic (2005 est. pop. 438,000), 63,037 sq mi (163,266 sq km), NE South America, on the Atlantic Ocean.
- UruguayThe Oriental Republic of Uruguay, as Uruguay is officially known, is South America's second smallest independent nation after Suriname.
- VenezuelaOfficially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, republic (2005 est. pop. 25,375,000), 352,143 sq mi (912,050 sq km), N South America.
Major Cities
- AtoZ World Travel This link opens in a new window
Contains 202 world city travel guides. These illustrated guides cover travel essentials, attractions, insiders’ information, excursions, nightlife, shopping, culture, cuisine, health, security, language, maps,
- BogotáThe capital of Colombia, on a central plateau of the E Andes: originally the centre of Chibcha civilization; founded as a city in 1538 by the Spaniards. Population: 6 004 782 (1997 est.).
- Buenos AiresThe capital of Argentina, a major port and industrial city on the Río de la Plata estuary: became capital in 1880; university (1821). Population: 2 988 006 (1995 est.).
- CaracasThe capital of Venezuela, in the north: founded in 1567; major industrial and commercial centre, notably for oil companies.
- CuzcoCapital of Cuzco department, south-central Peru, 560 km/350 mi southeast of Lima.
- HavanaThe capital of Cuba, a port in the northwest on the Gulf of Mexico: the largest city in the Caribbean; founded in 1514 as San Cristóbal de la Habana by Diego Velásquez. Population: 2 241 000 (1995 est.).
- Mexico City
Capital, industrial, and cultural centre of Mexico, 2,255 m/7,400 ft above sea level on the southern edge of the central plateau; population (2000 est) 8,605,200 (city), 18,327,000 (urban area; the largest urban agglomeration in the world). - Rio de JaneiroPort and resort in southeast Brazil; capital of Rio de Janeiro federal unit (state), and former national capital (1763-1960); population (2000 est) 5,850,500; metropolitan area (2000 est) 10,389,400.
Natural Geography
- Geo-Data: The World Geographical EncyclopediaBasic information on climatic regions of each country, mountains, lakes, rivers, vegetation, and natural resources.
- Amazon
River in South America, the second longest in the world, after the Nile; length 6,516 km/4,050 mi. - AndeMountain system, more than 5,000 mi (8,000 km) long, W South America.
- Orinoco RiverRiver of Venezuela, estimated to be from 1,500 to 1,700 mi (2,410–2,735 km) long.
- Atacama Desert
Arid region, c.600 mi (970 km) long, N Chile, extending south from the border of Peru. - Guiana HighlandsMountainous tableland, c.1,200 mi (1,930 km) long and from 200 to 600 mi (322–966 km) wide, N South America, bounded by the Orinoco and Amazon river basins, and by the coastal lowlands of the Guianas.
- Patagonia
The southernmost region of South America, in Argentina and Chile extending from the Andes to the Atlantic. Area: about 777 000 sq. km (300 000 sq. miles). - Caribbean SeaAn almost landlocked sea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, bounded by the Caribbean islands, Central America, and the N coast of South America. Area: 2,718,200 sq. km (1,049,500 sq. miles).
- West IndiesAn archipelago off Central America, extending over 2400 km (1500 miles) in an arc from the peninsula of Florida to Venezuela, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean: consists of the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas; largest island is Cuba.