Difference between revisions of "Civilisation/World Geography - South America"

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Mount Asphyxia forms the summit of Zavodovski Island, northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands
 
Mount Asphyxia forms the summit of Zavodovski Island, northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands
  
 
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<u><br />Various</u>
Borders
 
  
 
World’s most powerful hydroelectric dam – Itaipu, on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, on the Rio Parana, the second longest river in South America. Gravity dam, completed in 1982
 
World’s most powerful hydroelectric dam – Itaipu, on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, on the Rio Parana, the second longest river in South America. Gravity dam, completed in 1982
  
Chihuahuan desert – borders USA and Mexico
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Lake Titicaca is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, at 3,812 m above sea level. Located in the Altiplano high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia, Titicaca has a maximum depth of 281 m. The western part of the lake belongs to the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department
 
 
Sonoran desert – borders of Arizona and Mexico
 
 
 
Lake Titicaca is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, at 3812 m above sea level. Located in the Altiplano high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia, Titicaca has a maximum depth of 281 m. The western part of the lake belongs to the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department
 
  
Iguazu Falls located on the border of the Brazilian state of Parana and the Argentine province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The waterfall system consists of 275 falls, including The Devil’s Throat
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Iguazu Falls are located on the border of the Brazilian state of Parana and the Argentine province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The waterfall system consists of 275 falls, including The Devil’s Throat
 
 
The 49th parallel of north latitude forms part of the international boundary between Canada and the United States from Manitoba to British Columbia on the Canadian side and from Minnesota to Washington on the U.S. side. Its use as a border is a result of the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 and the Oregon Treaty of 1846
 
 
 
From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls of the Niagara Falls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The Horseshoe Falls lie mostly on the Canadian side and the American Falls entirely on the American side (New York state), separated by Goat Island. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also located on the American side, separated from the other waterfalls by Luna Island. The combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world
 
 
 
The Canadian Shield, also called the Precambrian Shield, Laurentian Shield, or Laurentian Plateau, is a large thin-soiled area over a part of the North American craton (a deep, common, joined bedrock region) in eastern and central Canada and adjacent portions of the US, composed of base rock dating to the Precambrian Era
 
 
 
Chilkoot Trail leads from Dyea, Alaska, to Bennett, British Columbia. It is part of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in the United States. It was a major access route from the coast to Yukon goldfields in the late 1890s
 
  
 
Gran Chaco – a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region
 
Gran Chaco – a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region
  
Continental Divide (or Great Divide) of the Americas is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean and 2) those river systems which drain into the Arctic Ocean
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Triple Frontier – Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Iguazu and Parana converge
  
Pan-American Highway measures 29,800 miles in total length. Except for a 54 mile rainforest break, called the Darien Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. Extends from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to the lower reaches of South America
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Tres Frontera – Brazil, Peru and Columbia. Upper Amazon
 
 
 
 
Rivers
 
  
 
Amazon River is the largest river by discharge of water in the world. The Amazon basin is the largest drainage basin in the world. Flows for 4,000 miles through Brazil, Colombia and Peru
 
Amazon River is the largest river by discharge of water in the world. The Amazon basin is the largest drainage basin in the world. Flows for 4,000 miles through Brazil, Colombia and Peru
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Parana River runs through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina
 
Parana River runs through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina
 
Longest rivers in North America – Missouri, Mississippi, Yukon, Rio Grande, Nelson
 
  
 
Longest rivers in South America – Amazon, Parana, Madeira, Purus, Sao Francisco
 
Longest rivers in South America – Amazon, Parana, Madeira, Purus, Sao Francisco
  
 
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Andes is the longest continental mountain range in the world, stretching for 4,300 miles through Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The Altiplano plateau is the worlds second-highest following the Tibetan plateau
Mountains
 
 
 
Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles from the northernmost part of British Columbia to New Mexico. Within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada which all lie further to the west
 
 
 
Andes is the longest continental mountain range in the world, stretching for 4,300 miles through Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The Altiplano plateau is the world's second-highest following the Tibetan plateau
 
  
 
Parinacota, a composite volcano, is located on the Chilean / Bolivian frontier and is one of two volcanoes that make up the Nevados Payachata range. The other older volcano, Pomerape, is located to the northeast of Parinacota and makes up the northern part of this volcanic range
 
Parinacota, a composite volcano, is located on the Chilean / Bolivian frontier and is one of two volcanoes that make up the Nevados Payachata range. The other older volcano, Pomerape, is located to the northeast of Parinacota and makes up the northern part of this volcanic range
  
 
Mount Roraima includes the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana
 
Mount Roraima includes the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana
 
Maya Mountains are in Belize and eastern Guatemala
 
 
Highest mountains in North America – McKinley, Logan, Pico de Orizaba
 
  
 
Highest mountains in South America – Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, Monte Pissis
 
Highest mountains in South America – Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, Monte Pissis
 
 
Seas and oceans
 
 
Sargasso Sea is an elongated region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by ocean currents. On the west it is bounded by the Gulf Stream; on the north, by the North Atlantic Current; on the east, by the Canary Current; and on the south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current
 
 
Beaufort Sea is in Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska
 
  
 
Drake Passage is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica
 
Drake Passage is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica
  
 
Beagle Channel is a strait separating islands of the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago. The Beagle Channel, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. Most commercial shipping is through the Drake Passage
 
Beagle Channel is a strait separating islands of the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago. The Beagle Channel, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. Most commercial shipping is through the Drake Passage
 
Strait of Juan de Fuca forms the principal outlet for the Georgia Strait and Puget Sound, connecting both to the Pacific Ocean. It provides part of the international boundary between the United States and Canada
 
 
Lomonosov Ridge – underwater ridge of continental crust in the Arctic Ocean. It spans 1800 km from the New Siberian Islands over the central part of the ocean to Ellesmere Island of the Canadian Arctic islands. Named in honour of Russian scientist and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov
 
 
Greenland Sea borders Greenland to the west, the Svalbard archipelago to the east, Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south. The Greenland Sea is often defined as part of the Arctic Ocean
 
 
Yucatan Channel separates Mexico from Cuba
 
 
Puerto Rico trench has a maximum depth of 8648 metres at Milwaukee Deep, which is the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean and the deepest point not in the Pacific Ocean
 
 
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, also known as the Great Mayan Reef, is a marine region that stretches over 1000 km from the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula down to Belize, Guatemala and Honduras
 
 
Milwaukee Deep is the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean and is part of the Puerto Rico Trench
 

Revision as of 13:25, 22 June 2021

Argentina

Flag-of-Argentina.png

Flag of Argentina was created by Manuel Belgrano in 1812. Features the Sun of May that is a national emblem of Argentina and Uruguay

Capital Buenos Aires
Largest cities Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Rosario
Currency Peso
Highest point Aconcagua

Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second-largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region beginning in 1512. Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. a Spanish overseas colony founded in 1776

Buenos Aires is served by Ministro Pistarini International Airport

Buenos Aires is known as “Paris of the South”. Spanish seaman Juan Diaz de Solís was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata, in 1516, but his expedition was cut short by an attack in which he was killed by the native Charrúa or Guaraní tribe. The city was first founded as the 'city of Good Air' (old Spanish for 'Fair Winds’) in 1536 by a Spanish gold-seeking expedition under Pedro de Mendoza

Buenos Aires was originally named City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds

Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego is the most southerly city in the world

Perito Moreno is a glacier in Patagonia

Aconcagua is the highest mountain (22,800’) outside of the Himalayas, in the province of Mendoza

Mendoza produces 70% of the wine from Argentina

Laguna del Carbon (Spanish: Coal Lagoon) is an endorheic salt lake in Argentina. At 105 metres (344 ft) below sea level, it is the lowest point of both the Western and Southern hemispheres

Straits of Magellan are between Argentina and Tierra del Fuego

Bolivia

Flag-of-Bolivia.png
Capital La Paz (see note below)
Largest cities Santa Cruz, El Alto, La Paz
Currency Boliviano
Highest point Nevado Sajama

Note: La Paz is the seat of government. Sucre is the constitutional capital

Boliviia is named after Simon Bolívar

Sucre is the constitutional capital of Bolivia

In the late 19th century, an increase in the world price of silver brought Bolivia relative prosperity and political stability. During the early 20th century, tin replaced silver as the country's most important source of wealth

Potosi was the major supply of silver for Spain during the period of the New World Spanish Empire

The US Geological Service estimates that Bolivia has 5.4 million cubic tonnes of lithium which represents 50% – 70% of world reserves

Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat. It is located in southwest Bolivia

Tiwanaku is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia. Tiwanaku is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important precursors to the Inca Empire

Brazil

Flag-of-Brazil.png

Flag of Brazil features a blue disc with 27 stars and the motto "Ordem e Progresso" (‘Order and Progress’)

Capital Brasilia
Largest cities Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Brasilia
Currency Real
Highest point Pico da Neblina

Brazil is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population. It is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile and occupies 47% of the continent of South America. The country's economy is the seventh largest by GDP. Brazil has been the world's largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years

The name of Brazil is shortened from Terra do Brasil "land of brazilwood"

Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Portugal in the 19th century

Corcovado, meaning ‘hunchback’ in Portuguese, is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro. It is known worldwide for the 38-meter (125 ft) statue of Jesus atop its peak, entitled ‘Christ the Redeemer’

Sugarloaf Mountain (in Portuguese, Pao de Acucar), is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay

Ipanema is a district of Rio de Janeiro

Rocinha is the largest favela in Rio and in Brazil

Rio de Janeiro International Airport is named after songwriter Tom Jobim

Petropolis was the official capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro between 1894 and 1903

Tijuca Forest is a mountainous hand-planted rainforest in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is the world's largest urban forest

President Kubitschek ordered the construction of Brasilia, enacting a long-forgotten article of the country's republican constitutions stating that the capital should be relocated from Rio de Janeiro. Its main urban planner was Lucio Costa. Oscar Niemeyer was the chief architect of most of the public buildings and Roberto Burle Marx was the landscape designer. The city plan was based on the ideas of Le Corbusier. Brasília was built in 41 months, from 1956 to 1960, when it was officially inaugurated

Brasilia is laid out in the form of an airplane

The Cathedral of Brasília in the capital of the Federative Republic of Brazil is an expression of the architect Oscar Niemeyer. This concrete-framed hyperboloid structure, seems with its glass roof to be reaching up, open, to heaven

The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, also known as the JK Bridge, crosses Lake Paranoá in Brasília. It is named for Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, former president of Brazil. It was designed by architect Alexandre Chan and structural engineer Mário Vila Verde. Chan won the Gustav Lindenthal Medal for this project

Sao Paulo is the largest city in Southern hemisphere and in Latin America. The name of the city honours Saint Paul of Tarsus

Salvador is the capital of the state of Bahia. Until 1763, Salvador was the capital of Brazil

Fortaleza is the fifth largest city in Brazil

Santos is a coffee-exporting port

Manaus is the largest city along the Amazon River

Opera house in Manaus was built in 1896

Londrina is a city in Parana state

Natal is the capital city of Rio Grande do Norte, a northeastern state in Brazil. It was founded on 25 December 1599

Recife is a major port on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Recife means ‘reef’ in Portuguese

Marajo is an island located at the mouth of the Amazon River. It is the largest island to be completely surrounded by freshwater in the world

Fordlandia is a now-abandoned, prefabricated industrial town established in the Amazon Rainforest in 1928 by American industrialist Henry Ford for the purpose of securing a source of cultivated rubber for the automobile manufacturing operations of the Ford Motor Company

Curitiba is the capital and largest city of Parana

Brazil has largest Japanese population outside of Japan

Pantanal is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul

Sao Francisco is the longest river entirely in Brazil

Brazil has the largest Arabic diaspora

Brazil is the only country on the Tropic of Capricorn and the Equator

Chile

Flag-of-Chile.png
Capital Santiago
Largest cities Santiago, Valparaiso, Concepcion
Currency Peso
Highest point Ojos del Salado

Chile declared its independence from Spain in 1818

Santiago was founded by conquistadors in 1541

Gran Torre Santiago is a 64-story tall skyscraper in Santiago. It is the tallest building in Latin America

Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernandez, Salas y Gomez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania

The Mapocho River flows from the Andes Mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two

Chile is world’s largest exporter of copper

Casablanca valley is in Chile

Loa is the longest river in Chile

Punta Arenas (English: ‘Sandy Point’) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antartica Chilena

Puyehue and Cordon Caulle are two coalesced volcanic edifices that form a major mountain massif in Puyehue National Park in the Andes of Ranco Province, Chile. Erupted in 2011

Nevado Ojos del Salaro is a massive stratovolcano in the Andes on the Argentina-Chile border and the highest volcano in the world at 6893 metres. It is also the second highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere and the highest in Chile

Cape Froward in Chile is the southernmost point in mainland South America

Cape Horn is named after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands

Colombia

Flag-of-Colombia.png
Capital Bogota
Largest cities Bogota, Cali, Medellin
Currency US dollar
Highest point Pico Cristobal Colon (see note below)

Note: Pico Simon Bolivar has almost the same elevation as Pico Cristobal Colon

Colombia is derived from the last name of Christopher Columbus

Bogota has been called "The Athens of South America”

Gold Museum (Spanish: El Museo del Oro) in Bogota displays the largest pre-Hispanic gold work collection in the world

Cali is the second largest city of Colombia

Medellin is the third largest city of Colombia

Punta Gallinas in Colombia is the northernmost point in mainland South America WikiMiniAtlas

Nevado del Ruiz is a stratovolcano in Colombia. Eruptions often cause massive lahars

Pico Cristobal Colon is named after Christopher Columbus

Ecuador

Flag-of-Ecuador.png


Coat of arms on the flag of Ecuador features a condor over Chimborazo

Capital Quito
Largest cities Guayaquil, Quito
Currency US dollar
Highest point Chimborazo

Ecuador takes its name from Spanish for ‘equator’

At an elevation of 2,800 meters above sea level, Quito is the highest official capital city in the world

Cotapaxi is the world’s highest active volcano

Chimborazo is a currently inactive stratovolcano located in the Andes. With a peak elevation of 6268 m, Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador. It is the highest peak in close proximity to the equator. While Chimborazo is not the highest mountain by elevation above sea level, its location along the equatorial bulge makes its summit the farthest point on the Earth's surface from the Earth's centre

Galapagos Islands were discovered by the Bishop of Panama. Darwin reached the islands in 1835 in the Beagle. Islands include Espanola (oldest) and Guy Fawkes

Galapagos – formerly known as Columbus Archipelago

Fernandina Island (formerly known in English as Narborough Island) is the third largest, and youngest, island of the Galapagos Islands. The island is an active shield volcano that last erupted in 2005

Isabela Island is the largest island of the Galapagos, nearly four times larger than Santa Cruz, the next largest of the islands. This island was named in honor of Queen Isabella of Spain who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. By the English, it was named Albemarle after the Duke of Albemarle. Shaped like a seahorse

Guyana

Flag-of-Guyana.png

Flag of Guyana is known as The Golden Arrowhead

Capital Georgetown
Largest cities Georgetown
Currency Dollar
Highest point Mount Roraima

Guyana was originally colonised by the Netherlands. Later, it became a British colony, known as British Guiana, and remained so for over 200 years until it achieved independence in 1966. In 1970, Guyana officially became a republic

Guyana is a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations and has the distinction of being the only South American nation in which English is the official language. The majority of the population speaks Guyanese Creole

Georgetown was named after George III in 1812

Kaieteur Falls is a waterfall on the Potaro River in Kaieteur National Park

Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana

Paraguay

Flag-of-Paraguay.png

Flag of Paraguay differs on its obverse and reverse sides: the obverse shows the national coat of arms, and the reverse shows the seal of the treasury

Capital Asuncion
Largest cities Asuncion, Ciudad del Este
Currency Guarani
Highest point Cerro Pero

Paraguay is sometimes to as the “Heart of America”

Paraguay's indigenous language and culture, Guaraní, remains highly influential

Asuncion is home to nearly a third of Paraguay's population

Atlantic forest is in Paraguay

Peru

Flag-of-Peru.png
Capital Lima
Largest cities Lima, Arequipa, Trujillo
Currency Sol
Highest point Huascaran

Peru was home to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua

Lima airport named after Jorge Chavez, the first person to fly across the Alps

Cuzco is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley (Sacred Valley) of the Andes. Cuzco was the capital of Inca Empire

Cuzco is said to have been originally designed in the shape of a jaguar

Machu Picchu is situated on a mountain ridge above the Sacred Valley which is 80 km northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas”

Arequipa is known as the “white city”. It is the second most industrialized and commercial city of Peru

Moray is a town in Peru approximately 50 km northwest of Cuzco that is noted for a large complex of unusual Inca ruins. These include most notably several enormous terraced circular depressions that were used to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops

Punta Parinas in Peru is the westernmost point in mainland South America

Yumbilla Falls is considered the world's fifth tallest waterfall

Huascaran is the highest mountain in Peru

Callao is the chief seaport of Peru

Suriname

Flag-of-Suriname.png
Capital Paramaribo
Largest cities Paramaribo
Currency Dollar
Highest point Julianatop

Suriname is the smallest sovereign state in South America (French Guiana, while less extensive and populous, is an overseas department of France)

In 1667 Suriname was captured by the Dutch, who governed Suriname as Dutch Guiana until 1954. Gained independence in 1975, but Dutch is still the official language

Most of the population lives on the country's north coast, in and around Paramaribo

Uruguay

Flag-of-Uruguay.png

Flag of Uruguay features the Sun of May

Capital Montevideo
Largest cities Montevideo, Salto
Currency Peso
Highest point Cerro Catedral

Uruguay is officially the Eastern Republic of Uruguay. It is ranked first in Latin America in democracy, peace, lack of corruption, and quality of living

Uruguay is geographically the second-smallest nation in South America after Suriname

Uruguay is home to 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Montevideo

Montevideo was first found by Juan Diaz De Solis in 1516

Montevideo is served by Carrasco International Airport

Venezuela

Flag-of-Venezuela.png

An eighth star was added to the flag of Venezuela in 2006

Capital Caracas
Largest cities Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia
Currency Bolivar
Highest point Pico Bolivar

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves

In 1499, an expedition led by Alonso de Ojeda visited the Venezuelan coast. The stilt houses in the area of Lake Maracaibo reminded the navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, of the city of Venice, so he named the region "Veneziola"

River Orinoco flows through Venezuela

Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America

Margarita Island is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated in the Caribbean Sea

Pico Humboldt is the second highest peak in Venezuela

Overseas territories

French Guiana

Officially called Guiana. An overseas department and region of France, on the north Atlantic coast of South America. A large part of the department's economy derives from the presence of the Guiana Space Centre, now the European Space Agency's primary launch site near the equator, at Kourou

Devil’s Island is the smallest and northernmost island of the three Iles du Salut located off the coast of French Guiana

Cayenne is the capital city

Falkland Islands

The islands took their English name from Falkland Sound, the channel between the two main islands, which was in turn named after Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland by Captain John Strong, who landed on the islands in 1690

Mount Pleasant airport serves the Falklands

Port Stanley was renamed Puerto Argentino, briefly, in 1982

Pebble Island is one of the Falkland Islands

Mount Usborne – highest point on Falkland Islands

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

British overseas territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean

Grytviken is the principal settlement of South Georgia

King Edward Point is the capital

Mount Paget on South Georgia is the highest peak in any territory under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom

Mount Asphyxia forms the summit of Zavodovski Island, northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands


Various

World’s most powerful hydroelectric dam – Itaipu, on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, on the Rio Parana, the second longest river in South America. Gravity dam, completed in 1982

Lake Titicaca is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, at 3,812 m above sea level. Located in the Altiplano high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia, Titicaca has a maximum depth of 281 m. The western part of the lake belongs to the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department

Iguazu Falls are located on the border of the Brazilian state of Parana and the Argentine province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The waterfall system consists of 275 falls, including The Devil’s Throat

Gran Chaco – a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region

Triple Frontier – Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Iguazu and Parana converge

Tres Frontera – Brazil, Peru and Columbia. Upper Amazon

Amazon River is the largest river by discharge of water in the world. The Amazon basin is the largest drainage basin in the world. Flows for 4,000 miles through Brazil, Colombia and Peru

Javary River is a tributary of the Amazon that forms the boundary between Brazil and Peru for more than 500 miles

In its upper stretches, above the confluence of the Rio Negro, the Amazon is called Solimoes in Brazil

Madeira River is one of the biggest tributaries of the Amazon, and flows through Brazil and Bolivia

Parana River runs through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina

Longest rivers in South America – Amazon, Parana, Madeira, Purus, Sao Francisco

Andes is the longest continental mountain range in the world, stretching for 4,300 miles through Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The Altiplano plateau is the worlds second-highest following the Tibetan plateau

Parinacota, a composite volcano, is located on the Chilean / Bolivian frontier and is one of two volcanoes that make up the Nevados Payachata range. The other older volcano, Pomerape, is located to the northeast of Parinacota and makes up the northern part of this volcanic range

Mount Roraima includes the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana

Highest mountains in South America – Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, Monte Pissis

Drake Passage is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica

Beagle Channel is a strait separating islands of the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago. The Beagle Channel, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. Most commercial shipping is through the Drake Passage