South America Physical Geography

South America

South America’s Ranking in Size of Continent The fourth-largest continent extends from the Gulf of Darién in the northwest to the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego in the south.

Physical Regions of South America mountains and highlands river basins coastal plains Mountains and coastal plains generally run in a north-south direction, while highlands and river basins generally run in an east-west direction.

The Andes The world’s longest mountain system Stretch from the southern tip to the north coast of South America. Hundreds of peaks more than 4,500 meters tall many are volcanic.

The Amazon Rainforest The World’s Largest, Most Famous Rain Forest Every second, the Amazon River empties 209,000 cubic meters of freshwater into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Amazon Rain Forest The Amazon rain forest, makes up about half of the rain forest of the entire planet. Called the Lungs of the world Has as many as 100 different tree species on a single acre

The Amazon Rain Forest To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 427 mammals, 1,300 birds, 378 reptiles, more than 400 amphibians and around 3,000 freshwater fish have been found in the Amazon.