Major Mountain Ranges, Rivers, and Deserts: Locations & Facts

Rockies

• Location: North America, extending from Alaska to Mexico
• Economic Activity: Significant gold and oil reserves. Includes Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks.
• Population: Diverse ethnic backgrounds. Major cities include Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Denver, Colorado.

Andes

• Location: From the Caribbean to Patagonia, forming the world's longest mountain range.
• Economic Activity: Agriculture, including potato tuber farming, as well as cultivation of chili, corn, squash, beans, and fruit.
• Population: Inhabitants often reside at high altitudes. Major cities include Lima, Quito, and La Paz.

Alps

• Location: Stretching across France, Italy, Switzerland, and other countries near the Mediterranean.
• Economic Activity: Industry, energy production, and logging.
• Population: Major cities in France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany.

Himalayas

• Location: From northern Pakistan along the border with China. Part of a newer land system.
• Economic Activity: Agriculture, with cultivation of cereals and vegetables.
• Features: Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth at 8,848 meters.
• Population: Sparsely populated.

African Solid

• Location: East Africa.
• Economic Activity: Coffee plantations.
• Population: Includes countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya.

Mississippi River

• Location: Originates at Lake Itasca and flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
• Economic Activity: Agriculture, including cereals, sugarcane, rice, oats, and tobacco.
• Population: Concentrated in cities like Memphis and New Orleans.

Plate River

• Location: South America, formed by the Uruguay and Paraná River basins.
• Economic Activity: Agriculture and livestock.
• Population: Major cities include Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

Amazon River

• Location: Shared by Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and other countries.
• Economic Activity: Latex exploitation.
• Population: Indigenous inhabitants. Diseases such as malaria and yellow fever are prevalent.

Rhine River

• Location: Originates in the central Alps, flows through Germany and the Netherlands, and empties into the North Sea.
• Economic Activity: Metallurgy, steel, electronics, and chemical industries.
• Population: Major cities include Koblenz, Bonn, and Cologne.

Volga River

• Location: Originates in the Valdai Plateau and flows into the Caspian Sea.
• Economic Activity: Water is used for transportation of raw materials. Sturgeon eggs are used to produce caviar.
• Population: Includes Moscow and 15 other cities of the Russian Federation.

Congo River

• Location: Central Africa.
• Economic Activity: Cultivation of cassava, maize, and rice for domestic consumption, as well as coffee, peanuts, and palm.
• Population: Predominantly Black ethnic groups, including Bantu, Kaffirs, and Pygmies.

Nile River

• Location: Originates at Lake Victoria and flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
• Economic Activity: Agriculture, including wheat, cotton, corn, and dates. The Aswan Dam is a significant feature.
• Population: Includes Eastern populations and descendants of Arab tribes (Job-Arab Berber).

Yangtze Kiang River

• Location: An important river that irrigates the plains of China. Originates in southern Tibet and flows to Tsinghari Island.
• Economic Activity: Production of rice, barley, beans, fruits, and vegetables.

Deserts

Regions with very little water and vegetation, characterized by specific relief, altitude, and latitude.

Hot Deserts

Sahara Desert - Africa

• Location: Between the Atlas Mountains and the Atlantic Ridge and the Red Sea.
• Characteristics: The world's largest desert, formed by plateaus and plains. Features dunes and the Ahaggar Plateau.

Atacama Desert - America

• Location: Northern Chile to the arid coast of Peru.
• Characteristics: The driest desert in the world. Also known as the Atacama Tip. Large mining deposits of copper, sodium nitrate, and iron are exploited. Exports are shipped through the port of Antofagasta.

Patagonia - America

• Location: South America.
• Characteristics: Strong winds. Sheep farming and oil wells are present.