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

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South America
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[[File:Map of South America.png|none|thumb|alt=|487x487px]]
  
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'''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
+
== Argentina ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Argentina.png|none|thumb]]
 +
Flag of Argentina was created by Manuel Belgrano in 1812. Features the Sun of May that is a national emblem of Argentina and Uruguay
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|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 country in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country has its roots in Spanish colonisation 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 served by Ministro Pistarini International Airport
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Buenos Aires was originally named City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds
 
Buenos Aires was originally named City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds
  
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Cordoba is the second largest city
+
La Boca is a district of Buenos Aires
  
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Rosario is the third largest city
+
Teatro Colon is an opera house in Buenos Aries
 +
 
 +
July 9 Avenue in Buenos Aires honours Argentina's Independence Day, 9 July 1816
 +
 
 +
Inhabitants of Buenos Aires are known as portenos
 +
 
 +
Plaza de Mayo is a city square in Buenos Aires
 +
 
 +
Buenos Aires is served by Ministro Pistarini International Airport
 +
 
 +
MALBA is the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires
  
 
Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego is the most southerly city in the world
 
Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego is the most southerly city in the world
  
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Perito Moreno is a glacier in Patagonia
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Perito Moreno is a glacier in Patagonia. Named after the explorer Francisco Moreno
  
 
Aconcagua is the highest mountain (22,800’) outside of the Himalayas, in the province of Mendoza
 
Aconcagua is the highest mountain (22,800’) outside of the Himalayas, in the province of Mendoza
  
 
Mendoza produces 70% of the wine from Argentina
 
Mendoza produces 70% of the wine from Argentina
 +
 +
Monte Pissis is an extinct volcano
 +
 +
A villa miseria is a type of shanty town or slum found in Argentina
 +
 +
Cueva de las Manos (Spanish for ‘Cave of Hands’) is a cave and complex of rock art sites in the province of Santa Cruz
  
 
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
 
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
  
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Straits of Magellan are between Argentina and Tierra del Fuego
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Straits of Magellan lie between Argentina and Tierra del Fuego
  
 +
== Bolivia ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Bolivia.png|none|thumb]]
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|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
  
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'''Bolivia''' is named after Simon Bolívar
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Bolivia is named after Simon Bolívar
  
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Sucre is the constitutional capital of Bolivia
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In 2009, a new constitution changed the country's official name to ‘Plurinational State of Bolivia’
 +
 
 +
Bolivia became a landlocked country after Chile seized the province of Litoral in the War of the Pacific in 1884. Bolivia is the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere
  
 
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
 
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
  
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Potosi was the major supply of silver for Spain during the period of the New World Spanish Empire
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La Paz is, ''de facto'', the world's highest administrative capital. Towered over by Mount Illimani
 +
 
 +
El Alto International Airport in La Paz is the highest international airport in the world. Until 1999, El Alto was known as John F. Kennedy
 +
 
 +
Mi Teleferico is an aerial cable car urban transit system serving the La Paz–El Alto metropolitan area
 +
 
 +
Potosi was the major supplier 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
 
The US Geological Service estimates that Bolivia has 5.4 million cubic tonnes of lithium which represents 50% – 70% of world reserves
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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
 
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
  
 +
Lake Poopo is a dried-up saline lake
  
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'''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
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Sajama Lines are a network of thousands of geoglyphs
  
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'''Rio de Janeiro''' was the capital of Portugal in the 19th century
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Yungas Road is a cycle route which links the city of La Paz and the Yungas region. Nicknamed the "Road of Death"
 +
 
 +
== Brazil ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Brazil.png|none|thumb]]
 +
Flag of Brazil features a blue disc with 27 stars and the motto "Ordem e Progresso" (‘Order and Progress’)
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|Capital
 +
|Brasilia
 +
|-
 +
|Largest cities
 +
|Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Salvador, Fortaleza
 +
|-
 +
|Currency
 +
|Real
 +
|-
 +
|Highest point
 +
|Pico da Neblina
 +
|}
 +
Brazil is the world's fifth largest country by area and the seventh largest 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"
 +
[[File:Brazil regions.png|center|thumb|600x600px]]
 +
 
 +
Largest states by area – Amazonas, Para, Mato Grosso
 +
 
 +
Largest states by population – Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro
 +
 
 +
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’
 
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’
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Petropolis was the official capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro between 1894 and 1903
 
Petropolis was the official capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro between 1894 and 1903
 +
 +
Carioca is a demonym used to refer to anything related to the City of Rio de Janeiro
  
 
Tijuca Forest is a mountainous hand-planted rainforest in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is the world's largest urban forest
 
Tijuca Forest is a mountainous hand-planted rainforest in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is the world's largest urban forest
  
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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
+
Petropolis was the official capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro between 1894 and 1903
 +
 
 +
Fluminense is a demonym for people indigenous to the state of Rio de Janeiro
 +
 
 +
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
 
Brasilia is laid out in the form of an airplane
  
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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
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The Cathedral of Brasilia 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
  
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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
+
The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, also known as the JK Bridge, crosses Lake Paranoa in Brasília. It is named for Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, former president of Brazil. It was designed by architect Alexandre Chan
  
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'''Sao Paulo''' is the largest city in Southern hemisphere and in Latin America. The name of the city honours Saint Paul of Tarsus
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Sao Paulo is the largest city in the southern hemisphere and in Latin America. The name of the city honours Saint Paul of Tarsus
  
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Salvador is the capital of the state of Bahia, and the third largest Brazilian city, ahead of Brasilia. Until 1763, Salvador was the capital of Brazil
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Salvador is the capital of the state of Bahia. Until 1763, Salvador was the capital of Brazil
  
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Fortaleza is rthe fifth largest city in Brazil
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Belo Horizonte was the second planned city in Brazil, after Teresina
  
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Santos is a coffee-exporting port
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Santos is a coffee-exporting port and is the busiest container port in Latin America
  
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Manaus is the largest city along the Amazon River
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Manaus is the largest city along the Amazon River. It is the capital of the state of Amazonas
  
 
Opera house in Manaus was built in 1896
 
Opera house in Manaus was built in 1896
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Curitiba is the capital and largest city of Parana
 
Curitiba is the capital and largest city of Parana
 +
 +
Oscar Niemeyer Museum is located in Curitiba
 +
 +
Belem was founded in 1616 by the Kingdom of Portugal and was the first European colony on the Amazon
  
 
Brazil has largest Japanese population outside of Japan
 
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
 
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
 +
 +
Cerrado is a tropical savanna ecosystem
  
 
Sao Francisco is the longest river entirely in Brazil
 
Sao Francisco is the longest river entirely in Brazil
 +
 +
Brazil has the largest population of Japanese ancestry outside of Japan
  
 
Brazil has the largest Arabic diaspora  
 
Brazil has the largest Arabic diaspora  
  
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'''Chile''' declared its independence from Spain in 1818
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Brazil is the only country on the Tropic of Capricorn and the Equator
 +
 
 +
== Chile ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Chile.png|none|thumb]]
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|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
 
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
+
Gran Torre Santiago is a 64-story tall skyscraper in Santiago. It is the tallest building in Latin America and the second tallest building in Latin America (behind Mexico's T.Op Torre 1)
−
 
 
−
Valparaiso is the second largest city of Chile
 
  
−
Concepcion is the third largest city of Chile
+
Puente Alto is located at the south of the Great Santiago conurbation and is the most populous commune in Chile
  
 
Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernandez, Salas y Gomez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania
 
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
+
Mapocho River flows from the Andes Mountains and divides Santiago in two
  
 
Chile is world’s largest exporter of copper
 
Chile is world’s largest exporter of copper
  
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Casablanca valley is in Chile
+
33 miners were rescued from the San Jose copper–gold mine north of Copiaco in 2010
  
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Loa is the longest river in Chile
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Loa is the longest river in Chile and the main watercourse in the Atacama Desert
  
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Punta Arenas (English: ‘Sandy Point’) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antartica Chilena
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Punta Arenas (English: ‘Sandy Point’) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena
  
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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
+
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile. It was part of Bolivia but was captured by Chile in 1879, triggering the War of the Pacific
  
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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
+
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. Erupted in 2011
  
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Cape Froward in Chile is the southernmost point in mainland South America
+
Nevado Ojos del Salado 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
  
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Cape Horn is named after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands
+
Calbuco volcano erupted in 2015
  
 +
Torres del Paine National Park is in Patagonia
  
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'''Colombia''' is derived from the last name of Christopher Columbus
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Cape Froward is the southernmost point in mainland South America
  
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Bogota has been called "The Athens of South America”
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Diego Ramirez Islands are a small group of subantarctic islands. Most southerly point of South America
  
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Gold Museum (Spanish: El Museo del Oro) in Bogota displays the largest pre-Hispanic gold work collection in the world
+
Juan Fernandez Islands are composed of three main volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe, Alejandro Selkirk and Santa Clara. The islands are named after Juan Fernandez, the explorer who discovered them in the 1570s
  
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Cali is the second largest city of Colombia
+
Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is an island near the southern tip of South America from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan. The western portion of the island is in Chile, while the eastern portion is in Argentina
  
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Medellin is the third largest city of Colombia
+
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. It is named after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands
  
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Punta Gallinas in Colombia is the northernmost point in mainland South America WikiMiniAtlas
+
== Colombia ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Colombia.png|none|thumb]]
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|Capital
 +
|Bogota
 +
|-
 +
|Largest cities
 +
|Bogota, Cali, Medellin, Barranquilla
 +
|-
 +
|Currency
 +
|US dollar
 +
|-
 +
|Highest point
 +
|Pico Cristobal Colon (see note below)
 +
|}
 +
Note: Pico Simon Bolivar has almost the same elevation as Pico Cristobal Colon
  
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Nevado del Ruiz is a stratovolcano in Colombia. Eruptions often cause massive lahars
+
Colombia derives its name from the last name of Christopher Columbus
  
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Pico Cristobal Colon is the highest mountain in Colombia. The peak is named after Christopher Columbus
+
Bogota has been called the ‘Athens of South America’
  
 +
El Dorado International Airport serves Bogota
  
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'''Ecuador''' also includes the Galapagos Islands
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Gold Museum (Spanish: El Museo del Oro) in Bogota displays the largest pre-Hispanic gold work collection in the world
  
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At an elevation of 2,800 meters above sea level, Quito is the highest official capital city in the world
+
Cartagena is a major port. It is named after the city of Cartagena in Spain
  
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Guayaquil is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador
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Punta Gallinas is the northernmost point in mainland South America
  
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Cotapaxi is the world’s highest active volcano
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Nevado del Ruiz is a stratovolcano. Eruptions often cause massive lahars
  
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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
+
Galeras is considered the most active volcano in Colombia
  
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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
+
Pico Cristobal Colon is named after Christopher Columbus
  
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Galapagos – formerly known as Columbus Archipelago
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Magdalena river is the principal river of Colombia
  
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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
+
Chiribiquete National Natural Park is the largest natural park and the largest tropical rainforest national park in the world
  
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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
+
== Ecuador ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Ecuador.png|none|thumb]]
  
 +
Coat of arms on the flag of Ecuador features a condor over Chimborazo
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|Capital
 +
|Quito
 +
|-
 +
|Largest cities
 +
|Guayaquil, Quito
 +
|-
 +
|Currency
 +
|US dollar
 +
|-
 +
|Highest point
 +
|Chimborazo
 +
|}
 +
Ecuador takes its name from the Spanish for ‘equator’
  
−
'''French Guiana''', officially called simply, is 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
+
At an elevation of 2,800 meters above sea level, Quito is the highest official capital city in the world
  
−
Devil’s Island is the smallest and northernmost island of the three Iles du Salut located off the coast of French Guiana
+
Quito is located on the slopes of Pichincha volcano
  
 +
Guayaquil is the main port of Ecuador
  
−
'''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
+
Guayas River is the most important river in South America that does not flow into the Atlantic Ocean or any of its marginal seas
  
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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
+
Cotopaxi is the world’s highest active volcano
  
−
Kaieteur Falls is a waterfall on the Potaro River in Kaieteur National Park, Guyana
+
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
  
−
Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana
+
Cayambe is a volcano with permanent snow cover
 +
[[File:Galapagos Island Names.svg|center|thumb]]
  
−
'''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
+
Galapagos Islands were discovered by the Bishop of Panama. Charles Darwin reached the islands in 1835 in HMS ''Beagle''
  
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Atlantic forest is in Paraguay
+
Galapagos Islands were formerly known as the 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
  
−
'''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
+
Isabela Island is the largest island of the Galapagos, nearly four times larger than Santa Cruz, the next largest of the islands. The island was named in honour of Queen Isabella of Spain who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. The former English name was Albemarle Island. The island is shaped like a seahorse
  
−
Lima airport named after Jorge Chavez, the first person to fly across the Alps
+
Wolf Volcano is the highest peak in the Galapagos Islands, and is situated on Isabela Island
  
−
Cuzco is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley (Sacred Valley) of the Andes. Cuzco was the capital of Inca Empire
+
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the capital of Galapagos Province. It is located on the island of San Cristobal
  
−
Cuzco is said to have been originally designed in the shape of a jaguar
+
== Guyana ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Guyana.png|none|thumb]]
  
−
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”
+
Flag of Guyana is known as The Golden Arrowhead
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|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
  
−
Arequipa is known as the “white city”. Third largest city. Arequipa is the second most industrialized and commercial city of Peru
+
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
  
−
Trujillo is the second largest city
+
Georgetown was named after George III in 1812
  
−
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
+
Kaieteur Falls is a waterfall on the Potaro River in Kaieteur National Park and is the world's largest single drop waterfall
  
−
Punta Parinas in Peru is the westernmost point in mainland South America
+
Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana
  
 +
Essequibo is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon
  
−
'''Suriname''' is the smallest sovereign state in South America (French Guiana, while less extensive and populous, is an overseas department of France)
+
== Paraguay ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Paraguay.png|none|thumb]]
 +
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
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|Capital
 +
|Asuncion
 +
|-
 +
|Largest cities
 +
|Asuncion, Ciudad del Este
 +
|-
 +
|Currency
 +
|Guarani
 +
|-
 +
|Highest point
 +
|Cerro Pero
 +
|}
 +
Paraguay is sometimes to as the “Heart of America”
  
−
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
+
Paraguay's indigenous language and culture, Guaraní, remains highly influential
  
−
'''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
+
Paraguay has ports on the Paraguay and Parana rivers that give exit to the Atlantic Ocean
  
−
Uruguay is geographically the second-smallest nation in South America after Suriname
+
The majority of Paraguay's 7 million people are mestizo
  
−
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
+
Asuncion is home to nearly a third of Paraguay's population
  
−
Montevideo was first found by Juan Diaz De Solis in 1516
+
== Peru ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Peru.png|none|thumb]]
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|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
  
−
Montevideo is served by Carrasco International Airport
+
Lima airport named after Jorge Chavez, the first person to fly across the Alps
  
−
Salto is the second largest city
+
Cuzco is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley (Sacred Valley) of the Andes. Cuzco was the capital of the Inca Empire, and is said to have been originally designed in the shape of a puma
  
 +
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”. Hiram Bingham made public the existence of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911 with the guidance of local indigenous farmers
  
−
'''Venezuela''' has the world's largest oil reserves
+
Arequipa is known as the “white city”. It is the second most industrialized and commercial city of Peru
  
−
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"
+
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 several enormous terraced circular depressions that were used to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops
  
−
Maracaibo is the second largest city
+
Punta Parinas in Peru is the westernmost point in mainland South America
  
−
Valencia is the third largest city
+
Yumbilla Falls is considered the world's fifth tallest waterfall
  
−
River Orinoco flows through Venezuela
+
Huaynaputina is a volcano that erupted in Peru in 1600, which is the largest eruption ever recorded in South America
  
−
Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America
+
Callao is the chief seaport of Peru
  
−
Margarita Island is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated in the Caribbean Sea
+
Chan Chan was the largest city of the pre-Columbian era in South America. It was the capital of the historical empire of the Chimor from 900 to 1470, when they were defeated and incorporated into the Inca Empire
  
 +
== Suriname ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Suriname.png|none|thumb]]
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|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
  
−
Central America
+
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
  
−
'''Belize''' is the only commonwealth country in Central America and the only country in Central America whose official language is English
+
Most of the population lives on the country's north coast, in and around Paramaribo
  
−
Chalillo Dam is a gravity dam in Belize
+
The forest cover is 90%, the highest of any nation in the world
  
−
Lamanai and Caracol are Mayan ruins in Belize
+
== Uruguay ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Uruguay.png|none|thumb]]
 +
Flag of Uruguay features the Sun of May
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|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
  
−
'''Costa Rica''' permanently abolished its army in 1949
+
Uruguay is home to 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the metropolitan area of Montevideo
  
−
Cocos Island is an island located off the shore of Costa Rica, known as ‘Shark Island’
+
Montevideo was first found by Juan Diaz De Solis in 1516
  
 +
Montevideo is served by Carrasco International Airport
  
−
'''El Salvador''' is the only Central American country that does not have a Caribbean coastline
+
Punta del Este is a city and seaside resort. Known as ‘the Monaco of the South’
  
−
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America and the most densely populated country in the Americas
+
== Venezuela ==
 +
[[File:Flag-of-Venezuela.png|none|thumb]]
 +
An eighth star was added to the flag of Venezuela in 2006
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|Capital
 +
|Caracas
 +
|-
 +
|Largest cities
 +
|Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia
 +
|-
 +
|Currency
 +
|Bolivar
 +
|-
 +
|Highest point
 +
|Pico Bolivar
 +
|}
 +
Official name is Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
  
−
Izalco is a stratovolcano on the side of the Santa Ana Volcano
+
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"
  
−
'''Guatemala''' is the most populous state in Central America
+
Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America. Catatumbo lightning (named after the Catatumbo River) regularly produces more lightning than any other place on the planet
  
−
El Mirador is a large pre-Columbian Mayan settlement, located in the north of the modern department of El Peten, Guatemala. Discovered in 1926
+
Margarita Island is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated in the Caribbean Sea
  
−
Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Peten Basin in northern Guatemala. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site
+
Pico Humboldt is the second highest peak in Venezuela
  
−
Tikal is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Maya civilization. Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, c. 200 to 850. Discovered by Alfred Maudslay
+
Angel Falls is the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of 979 metres. The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyan-tepui mountain in the Canaima National Park. Named after Jimmie Angel, an American aviator, who was the first person to fly over the falls
  
 +
== Overseas territories ==
  
−
'''Honduras''' was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became Belize. Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, prior to being conquered by Spain in the 16th century
+
=== French Guiana ===
 +
French Guiana (French: Guyane) is an overseas department and region of France, on the north Atlantic coast of South America
  
−
La Ciudad Blanca (Spanish for "The White City") is a legendary settlement said to be located in the Mosquitia region of Honduras
+
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
  
−
'''Nicaragua''' is the largest country in the Central American isthmus. On the Pacific side of the country are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America – Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. Nicaragua achieved its independence from Spain in 1821
+
Devil’s Island is the smallest and northernmost island of the three Iles du Salut located off the coast of French Guiana
  
−
'''Panama''' seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
+
Cayenne is the capital city
  
−
Panama Canal designed by Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1880, but the project failed. Work began again in 1904, and the canal was completed in 1914
+
98.9% of the land territory of French Guiana is covered by forests
  
−
There are three sets of locks in the Panama Canal. A two-step flight at Miraflores, and a single flight at Pedro Miguel, lift ships from the Pacific up to Lake Gatun; then a triple flight at Gatun lowers them to the Atlantic side
+
=== Falkland Islands ===
 +
The principal islands are about 300 mi (480 km) east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about 752 mi (1,210 km) from Cape Dubouzet at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula
  
−
Bridge of the Americas spans the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. Built in 1962
+
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
  
 +
The archipelago consists of two main islands, West Falkland and East Falkland, and 776 smaller islands
  
−
Caribbean
+
Stanley, or Port Stanley, is the capital of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland. It was renamed Puerto Argentino, briefly, during the Falklands War of 1982
  
−
The West Indies consist of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the Caribbean sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), and the Bahamas. Bermuda lies much further to the north in the Atlantic Ocean (570 miles east of North Carolina) and is in the West Indies
+
In May 2022, it was announced that, as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours, Stanley would receive city status
  
−
Lucayan Archipelago, also known as the Bahama Archipelago, is an island group comprising the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands
+
Mount Usborne is the highest point on the Falkland Islands
  
−
Greater Antilles – Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Cayman Islands
+
RAF Mount Pleasant airport serves as the islands' main international airport
  
−
Lesser Antilles – Leeward Islands and Windward Islands
+
Pebble Island is situated north of West Falkland
  
−
Leeward Islands – Northern group of the Lesser Antilles. Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla and Montserrat
+
=== South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ===
 +
British overseas territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. South Georgia is by far the largest island in the territory. The South Sandwich Islands lie about 700 km southeast of South Georgia and are uninhabited
  
−
Windward Islands – Southern group of the Lesser Antilles. Martinique, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines
+
Grytviken is the principal settlement of South Georgia and is the site of a disused whaling station
  
−
Caribbean Sea is known as “Sea of the Antilles”
+
King Edward Point is the capital and has a population of 22
  
−
Windward Passage is a strait in the Caribbean Sea, between the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola
+
Mount Paget on South Georgia is the highest peak in any territory under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom
  
−
Caribbean is the deepest sea. Deepest point is the Cayman Trough
+
Mount Asphyxia is a volcanic cone and forms the summit of Zavodovski Island, the northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands
  
−
Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean. It was also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country was dissolved in 2010. Historically the Netherlands Antilles included the colony of Curacao and its dependencies
+
== Physical Geography ==
 +
<u>Regions</u>
  
 +
Gran Chaco is 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
  
−
'''Anguilla''' is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands
+
Llanos is a tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela
  
−
'''Antigua and Barbuda''' became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations in 1981
+
Atlantic Forest extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil and inland as far as Paraguay and Argentina. It was the first environment that the Portuguese colonists encountered over 500 years ago
  
−
Most of the population of Barbuda live in the town of Codrington
+
Southern Cone is a geographic region composed of the southernmost areas of South America, south of and around the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile and Uruguay
  
−
'''Aruba''' is one of the four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the Netherlands, Curacao and Sint Maarten
+
Triple Frontier is a tri-border area along the junction of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, where the Iguazu and Parana rivers converge
  
−
<nowiki>*</nowiki>ABC – Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao
+
Tres Fronteras is the Spanish name for an area of the Amazon Rainforest in the Upper Amazon region. It includes, and is named for, the tripoint where the borders of Brazil, Peru, and Colombia meet.
  
−
'''Bahamas''' consists of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2387 islets
+
The Altiplano plateau is the world’s second-highest following the Tibetan plateau. The bulk of the Altiplano lies in Bolivia
  
−
Nassau was formerly known as Charles Town; it was burned to the ground by the Spanish in 1684. Rebuilt, it was renamed Nassau in 1695 in honour of William III from the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau
 
  
−
Andros Island is an archipelago within the archipelago-nation of the Bahamas, the largest of the 26 inhabited Bahamian Islands
+
<u>Mountains</u>
  
−
'''Bermuda''' is divided into nine parishes
+
Highest mountains in South America – Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, Monte Pissis
  
−
Somers Isles – Bermuda. Britain’s oldest colony. Named after Admiral George Somers
+
The 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
  
−
St George’s – first capital of Bermuda
+
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
  
−
St. George's Island is one of the main islands of the territory of Bermuda
+
Mount Roraima includes the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana
  
−
Bermuda is Britain's second oldest remaining British Overseas Territory
+
<u>Deserts</u>
  
−
'''Barbados''' is served by Grantley Adams airport
+
The Atacama Desert is located on the Pacific coast of South America (Argentina and Chile). Stretching over a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of 105,000 km2 (41,000 sq mi) It is the driest nonpolar desert in the world
  
−
In 1813, a statue was erected in Bridgetown, in what was known as Trafalgar Square, (now renamed National Heroes’ Square) in recognition of Nelson's bravery and as a tribute to his honour within the British Empire. This statue was sculpted from bronze by Richard Westmacott
 
  
−
'''Cayman Islands''' – Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac
+
<u>Rivers</u>
  
−
Cayman Islands are named after a reptile
+
Longest rivers in South America – Amazon, Parana, Madeira, Purus, Sao Francisco
−
 
 
−
George Town is the capital of the Cayman Islands. Named after George III
 
−
 
 
−
One of Grand Cayman's main attractions is Seven Mile Beach
 
  
−
'''Cuba''' comprises the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud and several archipelagos
+
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 6,500 km (4,000 miles) through Brazil, Colombia and Peru
  
−
Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean
+
The Nile has traditionally been considered longer than the Amazon, but this is disputed
  
−
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba
+
Pororoca is a tidal bore on the Amazon
−
 
 
−
Isla de la Juventud is the second largest Cuban island
 
−
 
 
−
'''Dominica''' has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its unspoiled natural beauty. Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday, 3 November 1493
 
−
 
 
−
'''Dominican Republic''' occupies the eastern half of the island of Hispaniola
 
−
 
 
−
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzman, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic and the largest city in the Caribbean by population Santo Domingo de Guzman was founded in 1501. Oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and was the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World
 
−
 
 
−
First cathedral in the Americas was in Santo Domingo
 
−
 
 
−
Pico Duarte is the highest peak in all the Caribbean islands. It lies in the Cordillera Central range, the greatest of the Dominican Republic's mountain chains
 
−
 
 
−
'''Guadeloupe''' comprises two main islands: Basse-Terre Island, Grande-Terre (separated from Basse-Terre by a narrow sea channel called Salt River)
 
−
 
 
−
Guadeloupe is an overseas region of France
 
−
 
 
−
'''Haiti''' occupies the western half of the island of Hispaniola
 
−
 
 
−
Haiti is the only French speaking independent republic in Americas
 
−
 
 
−
Sans-Souci Palace was the royal residence of King Henri I (better known as Henri Christophe) of Haiti, Queen Marie-Louise and their twin daughters. Construction of the palace started in 1810 and was completed in 1813. It is located in the town of Milot, Nord Department. Its name translated from French means “without worry”. Close to the Palace is the renowned mountaintop fortress; the Citadelle Laferriere, built under decree by Henri Christophe to repel a feared French invasion
 
−
 
 
−
'''Jamaica''' is a Commonwealth realm. Once a Spanish possession known as Santiago, in 1655 it came under the rule of England, and was called Jamaica. It achieved full independence from the United Kingdom in 1962
 
−
 
 
−
Black River is one of the longest rivers in Jamaica
 
−
 
 
−
Spanish Town was the former capital of Jamaica
 
−
 
 
−
Jamaica is divided into 14 parishes, which are grouped into the three historic counties of Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey
 
−
 
 
−
Port Royal was a city located at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour. Founded in 1588, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1692 and subsequent fires, hurricanes, flooding, epidemics and a final earthquake in 1907
 
−
 
 
−
'''Martinique''' is an overseas region of France
 
−
 
 
−
In Martinique there is a statue of the Empress Josephine, who was born in Martinique,  holding a locket with a portrait of Napoleon
 
−
 
 
−
Mount Pelee is on Martinique, and erupted in 1902
 
−
 
 
−
'''Montserrat''' is a British Overseas Territory
 
−
 
 
−
Christopher Columbus gave Montserrat its name on his second voyage to the New World in 1493, after Montserrat mountain located in Catalonia. Montserrat is nicknamed “the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean”
 
−
 
 
−
In 1995, the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano became active. Eruptions destroyed Montserrat's Georgian era capital city of Plymouth and two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee
 
−
 
 
−
'''Puerto Rico''' is located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands
 
−
 
 
−
Puerto Rico voted against becoming the 51st US state in 1998
 
−
 
 
−
'''Saba''' is the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands
 
−
 
 
−
Mount Scenery on the island of Saba, now considered an integral part of the Netherlands following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, is the highest point in the Netherlands at 887 m
 
−
 
 
−
'''Saint Kitts''' specifically became the first ever British colony in the West Indies in 1624, and then became the first ever French colony in the Caribbean in 1625, when both nations decided to partition the island
 
−
 
 
−
The Narrows separates St Kitts from '''Nevis'''
 
−
 
 
−
'''Saint Lucia''' was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French
 
−
 
 
−
'''Saint Martin''' is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 240 km east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km² island is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands; it is the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations
 
−
 
 
−
The short length of the main runway at Princess Juliana International Airport in Saint Martin, and its position between a large hill and a beach causes some spectacular approaches. The southern Dutch part comprises Sint Maarten
 
−
 
 
−
'''Saint Vincent and the Grenadines''' consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines
 
−
 
 
−
La Soufriere is an active volcano on the island of Saint Vincent. Many volcanoes in the Caribbean are named Soufriere (French: ‘sulphur outlet’). These include Soufriere Hills on Montserrat and La Grande Soufriere on Guadeloupe
 
−
 
 
−
'''Sint Eustatius''' is a Dutch overseas public body in the northern Leeward Islands. The capital is Oranjestad
 
−
 
 
−
'''Trinidad''' is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just 11 km off the northeastern coast of Venezuela
 
−
 
 
−
Pitch Lake is a lake of natural asphalt located at La Brea in Trinidad. It was discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595
 
−
 
 
−
Scarborough is the chief town of '''Tobago'''
 
−
 
 
−
'''US Virgin Islands''' were named by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493 for Saint Ursula and her virgin followers. The main islands are Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas. Formerly the Danish West Indies, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in 1916
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
Other islands
 
−
 
 
−
'''Falkland 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 – one of the Falkland Islands
 
−
 
 
−
Grytviken is the principal settlement in the British territory of South Georgia
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
'''Greenland''' ice sheet is a vast body of ice covering 1,710,000 square kilometres (660,235 sq mi), roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is the second largest ice body in the world, after the Antarctic Ice Sheet
 
−
 
 
−
Cape Farewell – southern most point of Greenland
 
−
 
 
−
Ilulissat Icefjord is a fjord in western Greenland. At its eastern end is the Jakobshavn Isbræ glacier, the most productive glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. Larger icebergs typically do not melt until they reach 40 – 45 degrees north
 
−
 
 
−
Store glacier – Greenland
 
−
 
 
−
Petermann glacier connects the Greenland ice sheet to the Arctic Ocean
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
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
 
−
 
 
−
Chihuahuan desert – borders USA and Mexico
 
−
 
 
−
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
 
−
 
 
−
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
 
−
 
 
−
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
 
−
 
 
−
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
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
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
 
  
 
Javary River is a tributary of the Amazon that forms the boundary between Brazil and Peru for more than 500 miles
 
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
 
In its upper stretches, above the confluence of the Rio Negro, the Amazon is called Solimoes in Brazil
−
 
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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
 
Parana River runs through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina
  
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Longest rivers in North America – Missouri, Mississippi, Yukon, Rio Grande, Nelson
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Madeira River is the biggest tributary of the Amazon
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Longest rivers in South America – Amazon, Parana, Madeira, Purus, Sao Francisco
 
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Mountains
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Orinoco River flows through Venezuela and Colombia. it is the fourth largest river in the world by discharge volume of water
  
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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
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Itaipu is the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world, and lies on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, on the Parana. It is a gravity dam, and was completed in 1982
  
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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 world's second-highest following the Tibetan plateau
 
  
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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
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<u>Lakes</u>
  
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Mount Roraima includes the triple border point of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana
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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
  
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Maya Mountains are in Belize and eastern Guatemala
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Uros, Amantani, and Taquile are islands in Lake Titicaca
  
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Highest mountains in North America – McKinley, Logan, Pico de Orizaba
 
  
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Highest mountains in South America – Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, Monte Pissis
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<u>Seas</u>
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Seas and oceans
 
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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
 
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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
  
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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
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Beagle Channel is a strait separating the 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
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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
 
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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
 
  
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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
 
  
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Yucatan Channel separates Mexico from Cuba
 
  
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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
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<u>Waterfalls</u>
  
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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
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Angel Falls in Venezuela is the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall
  
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Milwaukee Deep is the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean and is part of the Puerto Rico Trench
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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

Latest revision as of 12:27, 14 July 2023

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 country in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country has its roots in Spanish colonisation 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

La Boca is a district of Buenos Aires

Teatro Colon is an opera house in Buenos Aries

July 9 Avenue in Buenos Aires honours Argentina's Independence Day, 9 July 1816

Inhabitants of Buenos Aires are known as portenos

Plaza de Mayo is a city square in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is served by Ministro Pistarini International Airport

MALBA is the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires

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

Perito Moreno is a glacier in Patagonia. Named after the explorer Francisco Moreno

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

Mendoza produces 70% of the wine from Argentina

Monte Pissis is an extinct volcano

A villa miseria is a type of shanty town or slum found in Argentina

Cueva de las Manos (Spanish for ‘Cave of Hands’) is a cave and complex of rock art sites in the province of Santa Cruz

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 lie between Argentina and Tierra del Fuego

Bolivia

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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

Bolivia is named after Simon Bolívar

In 2009, a new constitution changed the country's official name to ‘Plurinational State of Bolivia’

Bolivia became a landlocked country after Chile seized the province of Litoral in the War of the Pacific in 1884. Bolivia is the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere

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

La Paz is, de facto, the world's highest administrative capital. Towered over by Mount Illimani

El Alto International Airport in La Paz is the highest international airport in the world. Until 1999, El Alto was known as John F. Kennedy

Mi Teleferico is an aerial cable car urban transit system serving the La Paz–El Alto metropolitan area

Potosi was the major supplier 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

Lake Poopo is a dried-up saline lake

Sajama Lines are a network of thousands of geoglyphs

Yungas Road is a cycle route which links the city of La Paz and the Yungas region. Nicknamed the "Road of Death"

Brazil

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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, Brasilia, Salvador, Fortaleza
Currency Real
Highest point Pico da Neblina

Brazil is the world's fifth largest country by area and the seventh largest 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"

Brazil regions.png

Largest states by area – Amazonas, Para, Mato Grosso

Largest states by population – Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro

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

Carioca is a demonym used to refer to anything related to the City of Rio de Janeiro

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

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

Fluminense is a demonym for people indigenous to the state of Rio de Janeiro

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 Brasilia 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 Paranoa in Brasília. It is named for Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, former president of Brazil. It was designed by architect Alexandre Chan

Sao Paulo is the largest city in the 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

Belo Horizonte was the second planned city in Brazil, after Teresina

Santos is a coffee-exporting port and is the busiest container port in Latin America

Manaus is the largest city along the Amazon River. It is the capital of the state of Amazonas

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

Oscar Niemeyer Museum is located in Curitiba

Belem was founded in 1616 by the Kingdom of Portugal and was the first European colony on the Amazon

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

Cerrado is a tropical savanna ecosystem

Sao Francisco is the longest river entirely in Brazil

Brazil has the largest population of Japanese ancestry outside of Japan

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 and the second tallest building in Latin America (behind Mexico's T.Op Torre 1)

Puente Alto is located at the south of the Great Santiago conurbation and is the most populous commune in Chile

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

Mapocho River flows from the Andes Mountains and divides Santiago in two

Chile is world’s largest exporter of copper

33 miners were rescued from the San Jose copper–gold mine north of Copiaco in 2010

Loa is the longest river in Chile and the main watercourse in the Atacama Desert

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

Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile. It was part of Bolivia but was captured by Chile in 1879, triggering the War of the Pacific

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. Erupted in 2011

Nevado Ojos del Salado 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

Calbuco volcano erupted in 2015

Torres del Paine National Park is in Patagonia

Cape Froward is the southernmost point in mainland South America

Diego Ramirez Islands are a small group of subantarctic islands. Most southerly point of South America

Juan Fernandez Islands are composed of three main volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe, Alejandro Selkirk and Santa Clara. The islands are named after Juan Fernandez, the explorer who discovered them in the 1570s

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is an island near the southern tip of South America from which it is separated by the Strait of Magellan. The western portion of the island is in Chile, while the eastern portion is in Argentina

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. It is named after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands

Colombia

Flag-of-Colombia.png
Capital Bogota
Largest cities Bogota, Cali, Medellin, Barranquilla
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 derives its name from the last name of Christopher Columbus

Bogota has been called the ‘Athens of South America’

El Dorado International Airport serves Bogota

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

Cartagena is a major port. It is named after the city of Cartagena in Spain

Punta Gallinas is the northernmost point in mainland South America

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

Galeras is considered the most active volcano in Colombia

Pico Cristobal Colon is named after Christopher Columbus

Magdalena river is the principal river of Colombia

Chiribiquete National Natural Park is the largest natural park and the largest tropical rainforest national park in the world

Ecuador

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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 the Spanish for ‘equator’

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

Quito is located on the slopes of Pichincha volcano

Guayaquil is the main port of Ecuador

Guayas River is the most important river in South America that does not flow into the Atlantic Ocean or any of its marginal seas

Cotopaxi 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

Cayambe is a volcano with permanent snow cover

Galapagos Island Names.svg


Galapagos Islands were discovered by the Bishop of Panama. Charles Darwin reached the islands in 1835 in HMS Beagle

Galapagos Islands were formerly known as the 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. The island was named in honour of Queen Isabella of Spain who sponsored the voyage of Columbus. The former English name was Albemarle Island. The island is shaped like a seahorse

Wolf Volcano is the highest peak in the Galapagos Islands, and is situated on Isabela Island

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the capital of Galapagos Province. It is located on the island of San Cristobal

Guyana

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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 and is the world's largest single drop waterfall

Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana

Essequibo is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon

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

Paraguay has ports on the Paraguay and Parana rivers that give exit to the Atlantic Ocean

The majority of Paraguay's 7 million people are mestizo

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

Peru

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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 the Inca Empire, and is said to have been originally designed in the shape of a puma

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”. Hiram Bingham made public the existence of the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911 with the guidance of local indigenous farmers

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 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

Huaynaputina is a volcano that erupted in Peru in 1600, which is the largest eruption ever recorded in South America

Callao is the chief seaport of Peru

Chan Chan was the largest city of the pre-Columbian era in South America. It was the capital of the historical empire of the Chimor from 900 to 1470, when they were defeated and incorporated into the Inca Empire

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

The forest cover is 90%, the highest of any nation in the world

Uruguay

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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 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the metropolitan area of Montevideo

Montevideo was first found by Juan Diaz De Solis in 1516

Montevideo is served by Carrasco International Airport

Punta del Este is a city and seaside resort. Known as ‘the Monaco of the South’

Venezuela

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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

Official name is Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

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"

Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America. Catatumbo lightning (named after the Catatumbo River) regularly produces more lightning than any other place on the planet

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

Angel Falls is the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of 979 metres. The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyan-tepui mountain in the Canaima National Park. Named after Jimmie Angel, an American aviator, who was the first person to fly over the falls

Overseas territories

French Guiana

French Guiana (French: Guyane) is 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

98.9% of the land territory of French Guiana is covered by forests

Falkland Islands

The principal islands are about 300 mi (480 km) east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about 752 mi (1,210 km) from Cape Dubouzet at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula

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

The archipelago consists of two main islands, West Falkland and East Falkland, and 776 smaller islands

Stanley, or Port Stanley, is the capital of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland. It was renamed Puerto Argentino, briefly, during the Falklands War of 1982

In May 2022, it was announced that, as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours, Stanley would receive city status

Mount Usborne is the highest point on the Falkland Islands

RAF Mount Pleasant airport serves as the islands' main international airport

Pebble Island is situated north of West Falkland

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

British overseas territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean. South Georgia is by far the largest island in the territory. The South Sandwich Islands lie about 700 km southeast of South Georgia and are uninhabited

Grytviken is the principal settlement of South Georgia and is the site of a disused whaling station

King Edward Point is the capital and has a population of 22

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

Mount Asphyxia is a volcanic cone and forms the summit of Zavodovski Island, the northernmost of the South Sandwich Islands

Physical Geography

Regions

Gran Chaco is 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

Llanos is a tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela

Atlantic Forest extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil and inland as far as Paraguay and Argentina. It was the first environment that the Portuguese colonists encountered over 500 years ago

Southern Cone is a geographic region composed of the southernmost areas of South America, south of and around the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile and Uruguay

Triple Frontier is a tri-border area along the junction of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, where the Iguazu and Parana rivers converge

Tres Fronteras is the Spanish name for an area of the Amazon Rainforest in the Upper Amazon region. It includes, and is named for, the tripoint where the borders of Brazil, Peru, and Colombia meet.

The Altiplano plateau is the world’s second-highest following the Tibetan plateau. The bulk of the Altiplano lies in Bolivia


Mountains

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

The 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

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

Deserts

The Atacama Desert is located on the Pacific coast of South America (Argentina and Chile). Stretching over a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of 105,000 km2 (41,000 sq mi) It is the driest nonpolar desert in the world


Rivers

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

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 6,500 km (4,000 miles) through Brazil, Colombia and Peru

The Nile has traditionally been considered longer than the Amazon, but this is disputed

Pororoca is a tidal bore on the Amazon

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

Parana River runs through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina

Madeira River is the biggest tributary of the Amazon

Orinoco River flows through Venezuela and Colombia. it is the fourth largest river in the world by discharge volume of water

Itaipu is the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world, and lies on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, on the Parana. It is a gravity dam, and was completed in 1982


Lakes

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

Uros, Amantani, and Taquile are islands in Lake Titicaca


Seas

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 the 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


Waterfalls

Angel Falls in Venezuela is the world's tallest uninterrupted waterfall

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

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