Geography of South America 5244370 216030454 2008-05-30T19:39:41Z Iridescent 937705 Cleanup/[[WP:AWB/T|typo fixing]], typos fixed: Futher → Further using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] [[Image:AmériqueMéridionaleaugmenté.JPG|250px|rigt|thumb|Map of South America. (1750) Geograph: Robert de Vaugondy.]] Geographically, [[South America]] is generally considered a [[continent]] forming the southern portion of the [[Americas|American]] [[landmass]], south and east of the [[Panama]]-[[Colombia]] border by most authorities, or south and east of the [[Panama Canal]] by some. On rare occasions, South and North America are considered a single continent or [[supercontinent]], while constituent [[subregion|regions]] are infrequently considered [[subcontinent]]s. Geopolitically and geographically, all of [[Panama]] – including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is generally considered a part of North America alone and among the countries of [[Central America]]. It became attached to North America only recently (geologically speaking) with the formation of the Isthmus of Panama some 3 million years ago, which resulted in the [[Great American Interchange]]. The [[Andes]], likewise a comparatively young and seismically restless mountain range, run down the western edge of the continent; the land to the east of the Andes is largely tropical [[rain forest]], the vast [[Amazon River]] basin. The continent also contains drier regions such as [[Patagonia]] and the extremely arid [[Atacama]] desert. The South American continent also includes various [[island]]s, most of which belong to countries on the continent. The [[Caribbean]] territories are grouped with North America. The South American nations that border the Caribbean Sea &ndash; including [[Colombia]], [[Venezuela]], [[Guyana]], [[Suriname]], and [[French Guiana]] &ndash; are also known as [[Caribbean South America]]. ==Topography and geology== The geographical structure of South America is deceptively simple for a continent-sized landmass. The contiennt's topography is often likened to a huge bowl owing to its flat interior almost ringed by high [[mountain]]s. With the exception of narrow coastal plains on the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] and [[Atlantic Ocean]]s, there are three main topographic features: the [[Andes]], a central lowland, and the extensive [[Brazilian Highlands|Brazilian]] and [[Guiana Highlands]] in the east. The Andes are a Cenozoic mountain range formed (and still forming) by the continuing collision of the American and Pacific [[tectonic plate]]s. In their northern and central reaches the Andes are quite wide and contain extensive [[plateau]]x such as the [[Altiplano]] and a number of major valleys such as that of the [[Rio Magdalena]]. These contain three of the world highest capitals: [[Bogotá]], [[Quito]] and highest of all, [[La Paz, Bolivia]]. The southern Andes have been eroded by the [[Patagonian Ice Sheet]] and are much lower and narrower. There are a number of large [[glacier]]s in the northern part, but from 19° to 27°S the climate is so arid that no permanent ice can form even on the highest peaks. [[Permafrost]], however, is widespread in this section of the Altiplano and continuous above {{convert|5600|m|ft|0}}. The climate of the coastal belt west of the Andes shows violent contrasts, including two of the world's wettest regions in the Colombian [[Chocó]] and southern Chile and the world's driest desert, the [[Atacama]] between around 5° and 30°S. This dry area is cooled by the [[Humboldt Current]] and [[upwelling]], giving rise to the largest fisheries in the world. There are two small transition zones between the perhumid and perarid regions: around [[Guayaquil]] with summer rain, and the [[Mediterranean climate]] region of central Chile. Both these regions have highly erratic rainfall strongly influenced by [[El Niño]] events, which bring major floods. In contrast, the high plateaux of the Andes are drier than normal during El Niño episodes. The very fertile soils from the erosion of the Andes formed the basis for the continent's only pre-Columbian [[civilization]]: that of the [[Inca Empire]], and are still a major agricultural region. The Altiplano also contains many rare minerals such as [[copper]], [[tin]], [[mercury (element)|mercury ore]] and, in the Atacama, [[nitrate]]s. East of the Andes in Peru is what is regarded as the most important [[biodiversity]] hotspot in the world with its unique forests that form the western edge of the world's largest rainforest, the [[Amazon Rainforest]]. East of the Andes is a large lowland drained by a small number of rivers, including the two largest in the world by drainage area - the [[Amazon River]] and the more southerly [[Paraná River]]. The other major river of this central lowland is the [[Orinoco River]], which has a natural channel linking it with the Amazon. Most of this central lowland is sparsely populated because the soils are heavily leached, but in the south is the very fertile [[pampas]] of Argentina - one of the world's major food-producing regions where wheat and [[beef cattle]] are pre-eminent. The natural vegetation of the northern lowlands are either [[savanna]] in the northern ''[[llanos]]'' and southern ''campos'', or tropical rainforest throughout most of the Amazon basin. Efforts to develop agriculture, outside of fertile floodplains of rivers descending from the Andes, have been largely failures because of the soils. Cattle have long been raised in the ''llanos'' of northern Colombia and Venezuela, but [[petroleum]] is now the dominant industry in the northern lowlands, making Venezuela the richest country in the continent. The eastern highlands are much older than the Andes, being pre-Cambrian in origin, but are still in places extremely spectacular and rugged, especially in the wet [[tepui]]s of Venezuela, Guyana and [[Roraima]]. The Amazon River has cut a large valley through a former highland, and to the east is a relatively low plateau comprising the [[Nordeste]] and [[Southeast Region, Brazil|Southeast]] regions of Brazil. In the north of this region is the arid ''[[sertão]]'', a poor region consistently affected by extremely erratic rainfall, and the humid ''[[zona da mata]]'', once home of the unique [[Atlantic Rainforest]] with many species not found in the Amazon, and now a centre for [[sugarcane]]. Further south, the main land use is [[coffee]], whilst [[São Paolo]] is the economic heart of the continent with its industry. South of about [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]], the highlands fade out to low plains in Uruguay. East of the Andes in Argentina, there are a number of rugged, generally dry ''sierras'', the highest of which is the Sierra de Cordoba near the city of that name. Argentine Patagonia is a [[Paleozoic]] plateau now heavily dissected by rivers flowing from the Andes. ==Territories== The largest country in South America by far, in both area and population, is [[Brazil]], followed by [[Argentina]]. Regions in South America include the [[Andean States]], the [[Guiana]]s, the [[Southern Cone]], and [[Eastern South America]]. [[Image:Suedamerika-klein.jpg|right|200px]] {| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse" |- bgcolor="#ECECEC" ! Name of territory,<br>with [[flag]] ! [[List of countries by area|Area]]<br>(km²) ! [[List of countries by population|Population]]<br>(1 July 2002 est.) ! [[List of countries by population density|Population density]]<br>(per km²) ! [[Capital]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Argentina}} [[Argentina]] | align="right" | 2,766,890 | align="right" | 39,537,943 | align="right" | 14.3 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Buenos Aires]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Bolivia}} [[Bolivia]] | align="right" | 1,098,580 | align="right" | 8,857,870 | align="right" | 8.1 | style="text-align:left;" | [[La Paz]], [[Sucre]]<ref>[[La Paz]] is the administrative capital of [[Bolivia]]; [[Sucre]] is the judicial seat.<br></ref> |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Brazil}} [[Brazil]] | align="right" | 8,511,965 | align="right" | 186,112,794 | align="right" | 21.9 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Brasília]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Chile}} [[Chile]]<ref>Includes [[Easter Island]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]], a [[Chile]]an territory frequently reckoned in [[Oceania]]. [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]] is the administrative capital of Chile; [[Valparaíso]] is the site of legislative meetings.<br></ref> | align="right" | 756,950 | align="right" | 15,980,912 | align="right" | 21.1 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Colombia}} [[Colombia]] | align="right" | 1,138,910 | align="right" | 42,954,279 | align="right" | 37.7 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Bogotá]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Ecuador}} [[Ecuador]] | align="right" | 283,560 | align="right" | 13,363,593 | align="right" | 47.1 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Quito]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Falkland Islands}} [[Falkland Islands]] ([[United Kingdom|UK]])<ref>Claimed by [[Argentina]].<br></ref> | align="right" | 12,173 | align="right" | 2,967 | align="right" | 0.24 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Stanley, Falkland Islands|Stanley]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|French Guiana}} [[French Guiana]] ([[France]]) | align="right" | 91,000 | align="right" | 195,506 | align="right" | 2.1 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Cayenne]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Guyana}} [[Guyana]] | align="right" | 214,970 | align="right" | 765,283 | align="right" | 3.6 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Paraguay}} [[Paraguay]] | align="right" | 406,750 | align="right" | 6,347,884 | align="right" | 15.6 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Asunción]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | [[Image:Flag of Peru (state).svg|25px]] [[Peru]] | align="right" | 1,285,220 | align="right" | 27,925,628 | align="right" | 21.7 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Lima]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands}} [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands|South Georgia and<br>South Sandwich Islands]] (UK)<ref>Also claimed by Argentina, the [[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean|South Atlantic Ocean]] are commonly associated with [[Antarctica]] (due to proximity) and have no permanent population, only hosting a periodic contingent of about 100 researchers and visitors.</small><br></ref> | align="right" | 3,093 | align="right" | — | align="right" | — | style="text-align:left;" | [[Grytviken]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Suriname}} [[Suriname]] | align="right" | 163,270 | align="right" | 438,144 | align="right" | 2.7 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Paramaribo]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Uruguay}} [[Uruguay]] | align="right" | 176,220 | align="right" | 3,415,920 | align="right" | 19.4 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Montevideo]] |- | style="text-align:left;" | {{flagicon|Venezuela}} [[Venezuela]] | align="right" | 912,050 | align="right" | 25,375,281 | align="right" | 27.8 | style="text-align:left;" | [[Caracas]] |} ==See also== * [[Tepui]] * [[Guiana Highlands]] == Notes == {{reflist}} {{Geography of South America}} [[Category:Geography of South America| ]] [[de:Physische Geographie Südamerikas]] [[es:Geografía de América del Sur]] [[fr:Géographie de l'Amérique du Sud]] [[pt:Geografia da América do Sul]]