South America
South America is the continent to the south of North America.[1][2] These two continents are separated by the Panama Canal. There are seven continents which make up the globe, South America being the 4th largest. South America includes 13 countries and 6 dependencies: Argentina, Aruba (Netherlands), Bolivia, Bonaire (Netherlands), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Curazao (Netherlands), Ecuador, Falkland Islands (United Kingdom), French Guiana (France), Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom), Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.
South America is attached to Central America at the boundary of Panama.[3] Geographically[4] all of Panama – including the part east of the Panama Canal is usually included in North America alone,[5][6][7] among the countries of Central America.[8][9]
List of Countries
| Flag | Official name(s) | Area (km2 or sq mi) | Population | Density (pop. km2) | Capital | Official language(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Argentina Argentine Republic | 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi) | 46,621,847 | 16 | Buenos Aires | Spanish |
 | Aruba | 180 km2 (69 sq mi) | 123,702 | 826 | Oranjestad | Dutch |
 | Bolivia Plurinational State of Bolivia | 1,098,581 km2 (424,164 sq mi) | 12,186,079 | 11 | Sucre | Spanish Quechua Aymara |
 | Bonaire | 288 km2 (111 sq mi) | 25,000 | 88 | Kralendijk | Dutch |
 | Brazil Federative Republic of Brazil | 8,515,770 km2 (3,287,960 sq mi) | 218,689,757 | 17 | Brasillia | Portuguese |
 | Chile Republic of Chile | 756,102 km2 (291,933 sq mi) | 18,549,457 | 22 | Santiago | Spanish |
 | Colombia Republic of Colombia | 1,138,910 km2 (439,740 sq mi) | 49,336,454 | 23 | Bogota | Spanish |
 | Curaçao | 444 km2 (171 sq mi) | 152,829 | 633 | Williemstad | Dutch |
 | Ecuador Republic of Ecuador | 283,561 km2 (109,484 sq mi) | 17,483,326 | 44 | Quito | Spanish |
 | Falkland Islands | 12,173 km2 (4,700 sq mi) | 3,662 | 0.3 | Stanley | English |
 | French Guiana | 83,534 km2 (32,253 sq mi) | 306,632 | 4 | Cayenne | French |
 | Guyana Co-operative Republic of Guyana | 214,969 km2 (83,000 sq mi) | 791,739 | 4 | Georgetown | English |
 | Paraguay Republic of Paraguay | 406,752 km2 (157,048 sq mi) | 7,439,863 | 18 | Asuncion | Spanish Guarani |
 | Peru Republic of Peru | 1,285,216 km2 (496,225 sq mi) | 32,440,172 | 17 | Lima | Spanish Aymara |
 | South Georgia and the South Ssndwich Islands | 3,903 km2 (1,507 sq mi) | 43 | 0.01 | King Edward Point | English |
 | Suriname Republic of Suriname | 163,820 km2 (63,250 sq mi) | 639,539 | 4 | Paramaribo | Dutch |
 | Trinidad and Tobago Republic of Trinidad and Tobago | 5,128 km2 (1,980 sq mi) | 1,407,460 | 522 | Port of Spain | English |
 | Uruguay Republic of Uruguay | 176,215 km2 (68,037 sq mi) | 3,416,264 | 33 | Montevideo | Spanish |
 | Venezuela Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | 912,050 km2 (352,140 sq mi) | 30,518,260 | 20 | Caracas | Spanish |
Natural resources
The soil in Argentina's Pampas is among the best in the world. Brazil's soil is very good for growing coffee.[3] A great number of minerals have been found. Few, however, have been mined.[3] Among those that were mined are iron, manganese, gold, and gemstones.[3] The tropical forests are rich in valuable trees, like mahogany, ebony, and rubber.[3] Oil is also a resource in some places.[3]
Wildlife
South America is home to a large variety of animal life. These include animals such as jaguars, macaws, monkeys, anacondas, llamas, piranhas, toucans, rheas, tapirs, cougars, condors and chinchillas.
Tourist attractions
The most popular attractions are:
- Machu Picchu, a historic site in Peru which is a city made of stone and has an over 26 mile marathon.
- The Iguazu Falls, a waterfall on the border between Argentina and Brazil
- The Angel Falls, the world's tallest waterfall, in Venezuela
- Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is a huge city, famous for its extravagant (overly expensive) carnival, beaches (Copacabana and Ipanema), and 38m statue of Jesus Christ.
- The Patagonia region in Argentina and Chile
The Amazon rain forest
The amazon rain forest is a moist grassy land where many wild animals live and contains the amazon river which is the 2nd longest river in the world and has the largest volume of water. The world's longest river is the Nile in Africa. The forest is known as a rain forest as it rains very often but due to the dense surroundings not every droplet reaches the bottom. The Amazon is shared by eight countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname) and stretches for 6.7 million kilometers2. In the amazon rain forest, hundreds of thousands of trees have been cut down for wood and paper, meaning that the forest is endangered. Unlike the Boreial forest in Canada the trees are not getting replanted.
