Latin America
The term Latin America usually refers to the countries and territories of the Americas which speak Romance Languages such as French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The use of Latin America on this website has been extended to include the continent of South America and the southern part of the continent of North America, which in turn includes Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, thereby also including countries and territories south of the US and Canada which speak English and Dutch.
The West Indies includes three island groups: (1) Lucayan Archipelago – including the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands (UK); (2) Greater Antilles – including Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico (US), and the Cayman Islands (UK); and (3) Lesser Antilles – including eight countries and several island territories of the US, UK, France, and Netherlands.
This website extends the reach of the term Latin America to also include Bermuda (UK) in the North Atlantic Ocean, as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (UK) in the South Atlantic Ocean, plus the Falkland Islands (UK) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK) at the edge of the Southern Ocean and the South Atlantic Ocean.
Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, plus Navassa Island (no permanent population), are all U.S. Territories in the Caribbean; they are grouped with the United States on this website.
Regions of Latin America:
1. Andes Mountains
Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia
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- Machu Picchu and Cusco, Peru
- Uros Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca, Peru-Bolivia
- Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
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Note: Amazon Rainforest is listed below under Brazil, but reaches into Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and other countries.
2. Mexico
Northern Mexico, Greater Bajio Mexico, Central Mexico, Pacific Coast Mexico, and Yucatán Peninsula Mexico
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- Mexican Maya archaeological sites (Chichén Itzá, Palenque, Uxmal, etc.)
- Valley of Mexico (Mexico City, Teotihuacan, and Popocatépetl and its monasteries)
- Copper Canyon, Mexico
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3. Greater Antilles
Cuba, Jamaica, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Haiti
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- Havana, Cuba
- Jamaica’s island culture
- Andros Island Reef, Bahamas
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Note: This Greater Antilles page includes Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola, and Jamaica, plus the Lucayan Archipelago country of the Bahamas; the Lucayan Archipelago UK territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Greater Antilles UK territory of the Cayman Islands are covered in British Atlantic – similarly the Greater Antilles US territory of Puerto Rico is also covered separately.
4. Brazil
North Brazil, Northeast Brazil, Central-West Brazil, Southeast Brazil, and South Brazil
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- Amazon Rainforest (Brazilian, Peruvian, Bolivian, etc.)
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Pantanal Matogrossense National Park, Brazil
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Note: Iguazú Falls is listed under Argentina, but is shared with Brazil.
5. Southern Cone
Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay
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- Patagonia, Argentina-Chile
- Iguazú Falls, Argentina-Brazil
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
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6. Central America
Northern Triangle—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras; Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama
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- Tikal, Guatemala (Central American Maya archaeological site)
- Belize Barrier Reef, Belize
- Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica
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7. Lesser Antilles
Leeward Islands—Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica;
Windward Islands—Saint Lucia, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago
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- Bridgetown, Barbados
- Pitons, Saint Lucia
- Port of Spain, Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago
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8. British West Indies & Atlantic Islands
British West Indies—Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, and Montserrat; British Atlantic Islands—Bermuda; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Falkland Islands; and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (all territories of the UK)
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- Historic Town of St George, Bermuda (UK)
- The Baths National Park, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands (UK)
- Anguilla (UK)
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9. French & Dutch Caribbean
French Caribbean—Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, and Saint Martin (all territories of France)
Dutch Caribbean—Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (territories of Netherlands)
10. Guiana Highlands
Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guinea (France)
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- Angel Falls, Venezuela
- Mount Roraima (shared between Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil)
- Los Llanos, Venezuela
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