South America: Fact at a Glance

Shakeel Anwar

27-JAN-2016 17:49

South America is a continent located in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also considered as a subcontinent of the Americas, which is the model used in Spanish-speaking nations and most of South America. The continent contains the world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls in Venezuela; the largest river (by volume), the Amazon River; the longest mountain range, the Andes, and the driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert in Chile.

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It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. It includes twelve sovereign states – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela – and two non-sovereign areas – French Guiana, an overseas department of France, and the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory (though disputed by Argentina). In addition to this, the ABC islands of the Netherlands and Trinidad and Tobago may also be considered part of South America.

Instant Fact

Largest Agglomeration	Sao Paulo(incl. Guarulhos)
Highest Capital City	La Paz, Bolivia
Longest Mountain Range	Andes, 7000 km long, 500 km wide in some parts (widest between 18° to 200° S latitude), and of an average height of about 4000 m. Illampu is another important mountain range.
Major River	Amazon River 6387 m. The Amazon has over 1000 tributaries in total. (Other important rivers are: Panama, Madeira Purus, Orinoco, San Francisco)
Highest Waterfall	Angel Falls, Venezuela
Longest Waterfalls	Iguazu Falls, a series of 275 waterfalls covering 2.5 km
Highest Navigable Lake	Titicaca(Peru, Bolivia)
Largest Rainforest	Located within nine nations: Brazil (with 60% of the rainforest), Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Surinam and French Guiana
Largest Desert Central America	Chihuahua Mexico – south-western United States
Largest Desert South America	Patagonian, Argentina
Longest Desert and Driest Place on Earth	Atacama, 1000 km from Peru to North Chile
Largest Urban Areas Central America and Caribbean	Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico) (Incl. Netzahualcoyotl, Ecatepec, Naucalpan); Guadalajara (Mexico)(incl. Zapopan); Monterrey (Mexico); Santo Domingo de Guzman (Dominican Republic); San Juan (Puerto Rico); Puebla (Mexico); La Habana (Cuba); San Salvador (EI Salvador) ; Port-au-Prince (Haiti); Ciudad de Guatemala (Guatemala)
Largest Urban Areas South America	Sau Paulo (Brazil) (incl. Guarulhos); Buenos Aires (Argentina) (incl. San Justo. La Plata); Lima (Peru); Bogota (Santa Fe de) (Colombia) ; Santiago(Chile); Belo Horizonte (Brazil); Caracas (Venezuela); Porto Alegre (Brazil); Recife.(Brazil);
Highest Point	Argentina - Aconcagua
Lowest Point	Bahia Blanca, Argentina 42 m. below sea level; Peninsula Valdes - Argentina coastline -40 m below sea level.

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South America: Fact at a Glance

Shakeel Anwar

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