With an extension of about 17.8 million km², South America comprises 6% of the world population divided into 12 countries and 7 territories. As found on Countryaah, they are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela, and the territories of French Guiana, Easter Island, Galapagos Islands, Georgia and Sandwich Islands and the Malvinas Islands. It is limited to the north with Central America, to the east with the Atlantic Ocean and to the west with the Pacific Ocean.
Crossed by the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, the continent has the second largest mountain range in the world in the Andean Region, stretching from Venezuela to Chile and Argentina. In the Amazon valley, we find the largest hydrographic basin in the world, as well as the region with the greatest biodiversity: the Amazon rainforest. The humid tropical climate guarantees high rainfall density throughout the region that lies between the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, with some exceptions due to the relief.
The climate in the South American continent is quite diverse due to the size of the continent. In the nearest region, the equatorial line is dominated by a humid tropical climate. South of the Tropic of Capricorn there are areas of temperate climate. The coldest regions of the continent are the extreme south and the Andes region, due to the altitude. In contrast, South America is also home to the driest desert in the world, the Atacama Desert in Chile. There are people there who have never seen a rain in their lives: it can take up to 20 years without raining there.
Countries | Percentage of the population using the internet (percent) | Number of mobile subscriptions per 100 residents |
Argentina | 74 (2017) | 132 (2018) |
Bolivia | 44 (2017) | 101 (2018) |
Brazil | 67 (2017) | 99 (2018) |
Chile | 82 (2017) | 134 (2018) |
Colombia | 62 (2017) | 130 (2018) |
Ecuador | 57 (2017) | 92 (2018) |
Guyana | 37 (2017) | 83 (2017) |
Paraguay | 65 (2018) | 107 (2018) |
Peru | 53 (2018) | 124 (2017) |
Suriname | 49 (2017) | 131 (2018) |
Uruguay | 68 (2017) | 150 (2018) |
Venezuela | 72 (2017) | 72 (2018) |
Because of climatic influences, vegetation also varies widely from region to region. In areas with favorable climate there are high-density forests such as the Amazon rainforest (an equatorial forest) and the Atlantic Forest that, although quite devastated (deforestation in the Amazon, deforestation in the Atlantic Forest) during the colonization process, still keeps one of the greatest biological diversity on the planet. In southern Brazil and Argentina are the prairies or fields, with the Pampas being the largest pastures in South America. Another vegetation found in South America is the caatinga. Typical of the Northeast Regionfrom Brazil, the largest and most populous country on the continent, it is characterized by having fire resistant plants, the xerophytes. In cold climates, araucaria forests can also be found. Or, cactus species and typical desert plants in arid regions. Savannah and savannah also belong to the wide variety of vegetation on the continent.
In South America, different ethnicities and languages can be found, ranging from Portuguese and Spanish, which are the most widely spoken, to Caiapó and Bantu. The first is an indigenous dialect and the second an dialect of African origin brought by the slaves. Miscegenation, by the way, is a typical characteristic of the South American continent that had its colonization based on the exploitation of natural resources.
The main resources explored to date across the subcontinent are gold, copper, silver, mercury, diamond, lead, zinc, manganese and tin, with coal a little-found mineral and bauxite and iron the most economically important. Oil and natural gas are also well distributed across the continent.
Wildlife
The Neotropicalthe region is the richest of the world’s fauna regions. The animals are a mixture of a surviving, isolated fauna that lived during the tertiary period, which had developed undisturbed, and sentimental immigrants from the north. Immigration from North America, which began during the quarter, resulted in the elimination of several animal groups, including giant sloth. The number of endemic species is strikingly high. Examples of exclusive mammalian families are bedbugs, marshes, claws and cebus-like broad noses. The marsupials are represented by about 70 species (Inca bean mice, purse rats and chiloé point rat). South America is sometimes called the continent of birds, fish and butterflies. Of the two first mentioned groups, there are about 3,000 and 2,700 species in South America, respectively. Nandu’s, stubble-tailed chickens, hoatzin, toucans, marsh birds, ovens and cots are some of the approximately 30 endemic, neotropical bird families. All of the world’s approximately 320 hummingbird species occur in the Neotropical region, of which a dozen, however, also occur in the US-Canada (a species all the way to Alaska). Cichlids and salmon carp (including pirayas) are rich species of fish, and malignant fish are richly represented. Typical neotropical reptiles are caimans, iguanas, teju lizards, boa worms and coral worms. Among the amphibians, special mention should be made of leaf frogs, toothpads, paradox frogs and arrow poison frogs; Some species of the latter family have extremely toxic skin secretions. The small creep fauna is flowing rich with beetles as the richest group.
The South and Central American rainforests are the world’s richest ecosystems. Here, among other things, jaguar, ozalot, nose bear, vampires (bats), many monkeys, amazon manate (a sea cow), amazonian dolphin, ant cubs, bedspreads, tapirs, umbilicals and capybara (the world’s largest rodent). Hummingbirds, macaws and other parrots, toucans, ovenbirds, marsh birds, tyrants and kingfishers are dominant bird groups. Boa worms (including anaconda) and caimans belong to the larger herbivores. The butterfly fauna is extremely rich. large, blue-shining sky butterflies.
The high plateaus of the Andes house an interesting animal world, with a bayonet, guanaco (probably the wild form of the lamans and alpacans), guinea pigs, condor, frog snails, three species of flamingos and several endemic dipping species. Here, and especially in the mountain forests, is South America’s only bear, the glasses bear.
Peru’s and Chile’s extremely dry coastal deserts are inhabited only by a few specialized animals, mainly arthropods and reptiles. Coastal islands off the deserts, on the other hand, house large colonies of South American sea lions and guano-producing soles, cormorants and pelicans, all of which live on fish (including anchoveta) in the nutrient-rich Humboldt stream. The Galápagos Islands are known for their many endemic forms, including elephant turtles, land and sea iguanas and galapagos finches.
Old-world savannas and steppes are grazed mainly by ungulates; Argentina’s large grassland, Pampas, contains pampas deer and guanaco, but vegetation is mostly grazed by smaller animals, in particular viscaches, mares and other rodents; nowadays, however, tambourine dominates. Belt and nandu are also typical pampas animals.
In Patagonia, there are guanaco, magellan fox, incanabic mice, mountain snandu, steamboat ducks and several species of brock geese, among others. magellan goose (Chloeʹphaga piʹcta). In addition to the South American sea lion, there are also southern sea elephants. Both of these species are attacked by killer whales, who regularly patrol the coasts. Near the coast you can sometimes also meet on southern hijackers, a choice that is sometimes regarded as a subspecies by northern hijackers, but is now often regarded as a special species.