South America Geography Facts

Languages English: Guyana Dutch: Suriname French: French Guiana Portugese: Brazil Spanish: everything else! Language map of native languages.

Angel Falls, Venezuela At 3230 feet with an uninterrupted drop of 2663 ft, Angel Falls is sixteen times the height of Niagara Falls. Located in Venezuela's Canaima National Park, the falls are best viewed, and appreciated, from the air. It is the tallest waterfall in the world.

Amazonia o Responsible for 50% of the renovated oxygen on Earth o Basin contains over 1000 rivers and lakes o no less than one fifth of the fresh water reserves on Earth o thousands of century old trees o 15,000 species of animals; among them 1,800 bird species, 2,000 kinds of mammals and 1,500 types of fish o Largest rain forest in the world o Protected by thick forest o Threatened by road building and industrial development o Developing into polluted factory sites and sprawling settelments

Amazon River The Amazon River is the world's second longest river. Only the Nile, in Africa, is longer. It may not be the longest, but it is the widest.Nile The Amazon produces approximately 20 percent of all the water that pours into the oceans. The first European who found the Amazon found it because he was 200 miles out to sea and noticed that he was sailing in fresh water. He turned toward shore and found the Amazon river. Ships still today anchor in the outflow of the Amazon, to remove the marine life(barnacles) attached to their hulls (salt water organisms can't live in fresh water).

Andes Mountains The Andes Mountains form one of the longest mountain ranges on Earth, stretching over 4,400 milesEarth Aconcagua, the highest peak, is 22,841 feet. Many of the peaks are active volcanoes.volcanoes The range is part of 7 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The Andes are a massive barrier between the eastern Pacific Ocean and the rest of the continent of South America. The forces of plate tectonics formed the Andes.plate tectonics The Inca Empire started in the mountains of Peru in the early 13th century and spread throughout the Andes in the 1400s. The Incas built roads and aqueducts throughout the mountain range. Inca engineers constructed impressive sites, including the capital city of Cuzco and Machu Picchu. In the 1530s a civil war and exposure to European diseases destroyed most of the Inca Empire. Inca mummies are being discovered as the glaciers melt.

Sao Paulo, Brazil Largest South American City 3 rd largest in the world 10 million people Ethnic communities, including: Japanese, Italian, Arab, and Lebanese

Chile desert in north warm in central region cool and damp in south crops: sugar ; wheat; corn; oats; barley; canola; rice; grapes; apples; peaches; nectarines; pears; oranges; lemons and limes; avocado.

Galapagos Islands Sitting right atop the Equator the islands had no original inhabitants. Discovered in 1535 by a Spanish Bishop of Panama, when his ship drifted by. Ocean pirates used the islands as rendezvous points, fresh food, and water. Visited by the English naturalist Charles Darwin in 1835, his studies of local wildlife contributed to his theory of natural selection. (evolution) Ecuador's first national park, aggressively-protected

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