World Knowledge Series South America

Author: Yu Guohong / Changzhi Zhou (Editor-in-Chief)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: South America is a shortened name for South America, located in the western part of the Western Hemisphere, with the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The land is separated from North America by the Panama Canal, and it faces Antarctica across the sea to the south. The total area of South America is 17.97 million square kilometers (including nearby islands), accounting for 12% of the world's total land area. Its population is 325 million, approximately 5.6% of the world's total population.
The coastline of South America is 28,700 kilometers long. The coastline is relatively straight, with few islands and bays.
The topography of the South American continent can be divided into three north-south longitudinal belts: the western part is a narrow Andes Mountains, the eastern part is a rolling plateau, and the central part is a vast, flat plain. The Andes Mountains stretch 9,000 kilometers, making it the world's longest mountain range, with Aconcagua Peak reaching 6,960 meters, the highest peak in South America. The eastern part consists of the Brazilian Plateau, Guiana Plateau, and Patagonian Plateau, among which the Brazilian Plateau covers 5 million square kilometers, making it the world's largest plateau. The central part includes the Orinoco Plain, Amazon Plain, and La Plata Plain, which is the world's largest alluvial plain.
Most of South America has a tropical rainforest and tropical highland climate, characterized by warmth and humidity. The river systems of South America are divided by the Andes Mountains: rivers on the western side are mostly short and swift, flowing directly into the Pacific Ocean; rivers on the eastern side are mostly long and wide, with numerous tributaries, abundant water flow, and vast basins. Among them, the Amazon River has more than 20 tributaries exceeding 1,000 kilometers, making it the river with the largest water flow and widest basin in the world. The rivers have many waterfalls, including the Angel Falls, the world's steepest waterfall, and the Iguazu Falls, the world's largest waterfall. South America has few lakes, the largest of which are Lake Titicaca and Lake Maracaibo.