noun. Definition of Latin (Entry 2 of 2) 1 : the Italic language of ancient Latium and of Rome and until modern times the dominant language of school, church, and state in western Europe — see Indo-European Languages Table. 2 : a member of the people of ancient Latium. 3 : a Catholic of the Latin rite.

Latin America encompasses a vast and very diverse area of the world. The main natural features of the region include the pampa grasslands of the southern cone, the Andean mountain range, the Amazonian rainforest, the forests and volcanoes of Central America and some of the tropical islands of the Caribbean.

With an unparalleled number of plant and animal species, South America’s rich biodiversity is unique among the world’s continents. South America’s primary mountain system, the Andes, is also the world’s longest. The range covers about 8,850 kilometers (5,500 miles).

Marczak: Latin America is important to the United States first due to geography. Prosperity in our own hemisphere is critical to US stability. It is a huge opportunity for US trade and, specifically, US exports. The US has more free trade partners in Latin America than in any other region of the world.

The region consists of people who speak Spanish, Portuguese and French. These languages (together with Italian and Romanian) developed from Latin during the days of the Roman Empire and the Europeans who speak them are sometimes called ‘Latin’ people. Hence the term Latin America.

Latino—which in Spanish means “Latin” but in English is probably a shortening of the Spanish word latinoamericano—refers more exclusively to persons or communities of Latin American Spanish-speaking origin.

Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the North by the Atlantic Ocean, through the Caribbean Sea; and to the west by Panama and the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is the only country in South America that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Brazil

Overall the paper found that 80 percent of deforestation occurred in just four countries — Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia — and was most closely associated with export-oriented agriculture.

Biggest threats to biodiversity, by region In Latin America and Caribbean, climate change has been a bigger biodiversity threat than in other regions, and this is possibly linked to an increase in natural disasters.

Portuguese