Middle America:
Defining the Realm

• Where?
• Why Not "Latin America"?
• Middle America vs. Central America
• Regional Criteria

WHERE? [mmwor]

Middle America [map] includes all the land between the United States and South America including the islands of the Caribbean Sea.

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WHY NOT LATIN AMERICA? [latinam]
Many geographers and geography textbooks define "Latin America" [latinam ] as a realm, combining Middle America and South America into one realm. Our authors do NOT do this for the following reasons:

• Iberian heritage [Iberia] (language) and Catholic religion apply more strongly to South America
• More cultural diversity in Middle America.
  • Middle America has large populations of people with African, Asian, and European ancestries.
  • More colonial powers [mmcol50] left their imprint in Middle America (languages, architecture,).
  • The Caribbean has a variety of political structures (independent states, colonies, colonies in transition).
• Amerindian cultural impact is greater in Middle America (especially Mexico and Guatemala).
• Middle America is physically divided and fragmented [mmcarib] [map].
• Compare measures of econ. development.

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MIDDLE AMERICA vs. CENTRAL AMERICA [mmreglb]

Do not confuse the terms "Middle America" and "Central America". Middle America is a REALM composed of three regions [mmreglb]: (1) Mexico, (2) Central America, and (3) the Greater and Lesser Antilles (the Caribbean area).

Central America [mmctraml] is just one of the three regions composed of seven States: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Belize. (Sometimes Panama and Belize are not included and you will hear of the five Central American States.)

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REGIONAL CRITERIA
Study the following maps to identify the characteristics of the Middle American realm. Be sure to compare Middle America with its neighbors and identify the differences that explain why the realms are divided as they are.

physical geography and barriers [map] [mmclimat] [mmphys] [wwclimat]

cultural geography [mmethnic] [wwrelig]

economic geography[mmmeasur] [wbgnpmap]

historical geography

• [mmmesoam]
• [mmlacol]
• optional- Voyages of Columbus:
  It is a large file and it will open in a new window -[voycol]

population clusters [wwecumen]

Boundaries of the realm

• North:
  economic differences [wbgnpmap]
  cultural differences [wwrelig]
  physical barrier-dry/desert and sparesly populated [mmclimat] [mmpopden]
  historical differences
• East and West: oceans / seas
• South: physical barrier
  The Darien [map] and the Andes [mmeleves] form a formidable barrier between Central America and South America

  The Darien is a dense swamp/tropical rain forest that forms a barrier between Middle America and South America. [mmwor] . The Pan-American Highway running from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America does NOT pass through the Darien. 

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