Geography for Kids: South America

www.ducksters.com

South America is the fourth largest continent in size and the fifth largest in population. It is located primarily in the southern hemisphere. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The geography of South America is dominated by the Andes Mountain Range and the Amazon River (second longest river in the world).

Prior to European colonization, the Incan Civilization was a dominant force in South America. In the 1500's, Spain and Portugal colonized much of South America. The colonies gained independence in the 1800's with the help of leaders such as Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. Much of South America still speaks Spanish or Portuguese as their primary language.

Population: 387,489,196 (Source: 2010 United Nations)

Area: 6,890,000 square miles

Ranking: It is the fourth largest and fifth most populous continent

Major Biomes: rainforest, savanna, grassland

Major cities:

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Santiago, Chile

Brasilia, Brazil

Lima, Peru

Bogota, Colombia

Caracas, Venezuela

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Medellin, Colombia

Bordering Bodies of Water: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea

Major Rivers and Lakes: Amazon River, Parana River, Orinoco River, Tocantins River, Strait of Magellan, Lake Titicaca, Lake Maracaibo

Major Geographical Features: Andes Mountains, Amazon Basin and Rainforest, Brazilian Highlands, Pampas plain, Patagonia, Guiana Highlands, Pantanal wetlands

Countries of South America

Learn more about the countries from the continent of South America. Get all sorts of information on each South American country including a map, a picture of the flag, population, and much more. Select the country below for more information:

Coloring Map of South America

Color in this map to learn the countries of South America.

Click to get a larger printable version of map.

Fun Facts about South America:

The highest point in South America is Cerro Aconcagua in the Andes Mountains in the country of Argentina.

The largest South American country in both size and population is Brazil. The largest city is Sao Paulo, Brazil, which is also one of the ten largest cities in the world.

North and South America were named after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

The highest waterfall in the world is Santo del Angel (also called Angel Falls). It is almost 1000 meters high!

The Atacama Desert in Chile is considered to be one of the driest places on Earth.

Other Maps

Geography Games:

South America Map Game
South America - Capital Cities
South America - Flags
South America Crossword
South America Word Search

Other Regions and Continents of the World:

Africa

Asia

Central America and Caribbean

Europe

Middle East

North America

Oceania and Australia

South America

Southeast Asia

Back to Geography

If you use dotepub often, consider making a donation. Your contribution allows us to continue its development.

Disclaimer

This information was automatically retrieved on 2015-12-21T21:03:18+00:00 from:

http://www.ducksters.com/geography/southamerica.php

and automatically parsed, clean up and interpreted by dotEPUB.com. It is distributed on an “AS IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. This e-book is not an authoritative source: please, visit the original webpage.

(v. 0.8.15 / c1.2)