South America

Introduction
Countries of South Amerca
Major physical regions
Regions of South America
Andes and Amazon River
Pampas and Amazon Rainforest
Atacama Desert and Orinoco River
Guiana Shield and Sao Francisco
river
Galpagos Island and Iguazu River
Introduction

 South America is a continent of

extremes. It is home to the world's
largest river (the Amazon) as well as the
world's driest place (the Atacama
Desert).

 South America, the fourth-largest

continent, extends from the Gulf of
Darién in the northwest to the
archipelago of Tierra del Fuego in the
south. 

South America’s physical geography,

environment and resources, and human
geography can be considered separately.
It stretched from 12°N to 55°S latitude.

The Equator passes through the northern

part of the continent and the Tropic of
Capricorn runs roughly through the middle.

South America lies on the west of the Prime

Meridian. So the time at any place on this
continent will be some hours less than or
behind the Greenwich Mean Time.

The 60° meridian divides the continent

lengthwise into two halves. It is more to the
east compared to North America and is,
therefore, closer to Europe and Africa. 
South America includes 14
countries:
1 Argentina
2 Bolivia
3 Brazil
4 Chile
5 Colombia
6 Ecuador
7 Falkland Islands (United
Kingdom) i.e. (British Overseas
Territories)
8 French Guiana (France)
9 Guyana
10 Paraguay
11 Peru
12 Suriname
13 Uruguay
14 Venezuela.
Major Physical Divisions of South America

The Pacific coastal strip

Mountain Ranges

The Central Lowlands

The Eastern Highlands

The Pacific coastal strip

It lies in the west, between the ocean and

the Andes. It is the longest coastal plain in
the Atlantic world.

In most places, it is about 80 kilometers

wide but in some, it is as narrow as 8 meters.
The coastline of South America is smooth
and regular. At the river mouths, there are
inlets that are used as harbors.

The south-western coast of the continent

has fiords or deep inlets of the sea.
Mountain Ranges
The Andes stretches through the
entire continent, running in the north-
south direction from Isthmus of
Panama to Strait of Magellan.

Andes Mountains forms

the second-highest mountain systems
in the world and is next to the
Himalayas
The highest mountain of this
mountain range is Aconcagua, which
stands at 6,962 meters (22,841 feet)
and straddles the Argentina-Chile
border. Mount Aconcagua is the
extinct volcano lies in Argentina

Mount Ojas del Salado is the highest

active volcano in the world of
Argentina
Andes Mountains – A part of seven countries:
Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru,
Chile, Argentina.
The Central Lowlands

They are formed by two great river

systems – the Amazon- the Orinoco and the
Parana-Paraguay. The vegetation of the
lowlands is given special names.

The Orinoco Basin has dense tropical

forests. The northern part is a plain covered
with savanna grass called the Llanos.

The equatorial jungle of the Amazon Basin

is called the selvas, a typical tropical rain
forest.

The rich temperate grasslands around the

mouth of the Parana-Paraguay is the pampas.
At the source of these rivers is a region scrub
forest called the Gran Chaco.
The Eastern Highlands

These are plateaus made up of hard old

rocks.
The River Amazon separates them into the
Guiana Highland to the north and the
Brazilian Highland to the south.
They have been worn down by wind, rain,
and rivers. They have steep cliffs along the
east coast and slope gently towards the
Central Plains.
The savanna grasslands of Brazilian
Highlands are the Campos.
Towards the Central Lowlands, it is known
as the plateau of Matogrosso.
The Eastern highlands consists of Igneous
and Metamorphic rocks.
Highlands are split in to three regions:
I. Brazilian Highlands
II. Guiana Highlands
III. Patagonian Plateau

Guiana Highlands
It is a geographically stunning part of Planet Earth, over 1,000 miles in length, the Highlands stretch
from southern Venezuela across the northern edge of South America to the tip of Brazil.
It consists of a vast plateau, one marked by deep gorges, tropical rain forests, numerous rivers, and
waterfalls. It’s famed for the highest waterfall in the world (Angel Falls) at 3,212 ft (979 m) high. The
highest point is Mt. Roraima on the borders of Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela at 2,810 m.
Brazilian Highlands
This highlands region is about 800 miles in length and runs through the Brazilian states of Minas
Gerais, Goias, Bahia, and Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil. The magnificent landscape includes varied
mountain ranges, namely the Serra de Mantiquiera, Serra do Paranapiataba, Serra Geral, and Serra do
Mar.
Patagonian Plateau
It is located between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean, and about 1,000 miles in length; Patagonia
stretches south from the Rio Negro river in southern Argentina to Tierra del Fuego and the Strait of
Magellan. It’s mostly rugged, barren land, famed for its beauty and striking scenery.
Deserts of South America

Patagonian Desert – the largest

desert by area located in Argentina
La Guajira Desert – a desert in
northern Colombia and some of
northwestern Venezuela
Atacama – a desert in Chile, the
driest place on Earth.
 Sechura Desert – a desert located
along a portion of the northwestern
coast of South America
Monte Desert – in Argentina, a
smaller desert above the Patagonian
desert.
Drainage System of South America

The Amazon Basin

The Rio de Plata Basin
The Orinoco Basin
The Sao Francisco Basin
The Amazon Basin
It is the basin of River Amazon.
Its length is second to that of the Nile
river of Africa.
It has the largest flow of water in the
world.
The river drains nearly 40 per cent of
the area of South America.
The major tributaries of the Amazon
river are the Caqueta, the Jurua, the
Madeira, the Negro, etc.
Equatorial rainforest
Navigable till Manaus
Petroleum at mouth
Natural Rubber
Amazon rainforest – deforestation due
to cattle ranching and soya beans field.
 The Rio de Plata basin
This basin is second in size to
that of the Amazon.
The main rivers which form the
Basin of Rio de Plata are the
river Paraguay, the Parana, and
the river Uruguay.
River Parana (4,879 km) rises
from Minas Gerais from a water
divide Carino.
The Orinoco basin Key point- The word the Orinoco means ‘a
place to paddle’, i.e. a river where navigation
is possible.
The third-largest drainage system of South
America.
It rises in the Southern end of Sierra Parima near
Mount Delgado Chalboud at a height of 1000
meters.
It traverses 2,740 km to meet the Atlantic ocean.
In the North, the Orinoco river passes through a
zone called ‘Region of Rapids’ where there are
enormous granite boulders.
The world’s highest waterfall Angel (979 m) is
situated on river Churun which is a tributary of
river Caroni which is further a tributary of river
Orinoco.
The Orinoco flows through the llanos (savanna
grasslands) of Venezuela into the (North Atlantic
Ocean).

Angel waterfall
Parana river system –

From source to its junction with Paraguay –

known as Alto Parana
Numerous waterfalls in alto Parana – then
navigable
Useful for HEP, irrigation
Wheat cultivation in Pampas region
 Uruguay river system –

Joins Parana river – to form Rio de la Plata

estuary
Important for irrigation and HEP
Not useful for navigation due to numerous rapids

The Sao Fancisco basin -

The fourth-largest river system of South America

is the river Sao Francisco which is about 2,914 km
in length. It flows within Brazil.
It originates North-west of the city of Belo
Horizonte.
 Rivers of South America

Amazon River
Orinoco River
Magdalene River
Parana-Rio de la Plata
Tocantins-Araguaia
Sao Francisco River
Paraguay and Uruguay Rivers.
Important Lakes and Islands

NAME LOCATION

North of Venezuela, is one of the major oil producing

Lake Maracaibo (12,950 sq. km)
region.Largest lak of South America.

Situated between Bolivia and Peru.Highest navigable lake in

Lake Titicaca (12,500 feet above sea level)
the world.

Lies in the Altiplano (high Plateau between the Andes

Lake Popo
mountain chain) in Bolivia.

Home of many unique species of reptiles (turtles), birds and

Galapagos Islands
fishes.
CLIMATE

Lies within the Tropic

Tropical rainy climate over a large portion of the continent
Amazon basin along equator is hot and wet year round
Annaual rainfall 250 cm
North and South of Amazon basin tropical wet dry Savana Climate having distinctive
rainy season
SE trade winds and warm offshore currents having moisture to narrow coastal belt of
Brazil
NE Brazil is a dry region having 25 to 50 cm rainfall
Narrow southern portion of South America situated in temperate latitude
Andes having great influence of S. American climate
Because of extreme variation in elevation many micro climates are found within
cordillera
Having vertical zonation concept in climate
Hot and humid to temperate to even polar climate
Andes affect the distribution of rainfall
Westerlies have produced a wet marine west coast climate on the west of Andes
Dry climate in Patagonia on the other
South America Climate
POPULATION OF
SOUTH AMERICA
POPULATION OF SOUTH AMERICA
As of 6 March 2019- 43.07 crore
Popu Density- 25 per/sq km
Urban popu.- 83.9 %
Most Populous-Brazil, Columbia, Argentina
Largest City- Sao Paulo, Lima and Bagota, Rio De Generio, Beoness Aires
Most Populous Countries
Brazil, Columbia, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela
Least Populous Countries
Falkland Island, French Guyana, Guyana, Surinam, Uruguay
Compared to World- 73 ppl / sq mile
Asia- 203 ppl
Europe-134 ppl
Population Growth- 1 %/ annum
Bolivia- above 1%
Falkland, Guyana and Uruguay- 0% growth rate
Home of about 400 million people
180 million- whites
Brazil- 31 m Italians, Argentina- 20m Italians and also largest Duch and Scandinavians
mostly Norwegians
Brazil- 15.7 m- Germans, Australians, Luxumbergours and Swiss
Argentina- 3.5 m of Russian Croatians
Uruguay - 3.3 million
Uruguay is found in the southeastern region of South America. The country has a
population of 3.3 million people and the lowest population growth rate of below 1 percent
(0.8). About 1.8 million residents live in the metropolitan area of Montevideo, the largest
city. Uruguay is the second-smallest country by area in South America, only after
Suriname.
Paraguay - 7 million

Paraguay borders Argentina to the south and Brazil to the east and northeast. It is the ninth
most populous country in South America with a population of 7 million people and an
annual growth of 1.58 percent. Majority of the people occupy the eastern region of the
country near the capital city, Asuncion, which hosts 10 percent of the population. Only 56
percent of the people of Paraguay live in urban areas which is the lowest percentage in
South America.
Bolivia - 10.5 million
Bolivia, a landlocked country, is found in the western-central region of South America. It
borders Brazil to the east and north and Paraguay to the south. The Andean mountain
range covers about one-third of the total land area of Bolivia. The country has a
population of 10.5 million people. In the last five decades, the population has tripled by a
population growth rate of 2.25 percent annually. About 62.3% of Bolivians live in cities
and major towns with the rest of the population in rural areas.
Chile - 18 million
Chile is a country found west of the Andes and occupies the long narrow strip bordering
the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It has an estimated population of 18 million people.
Chile has a steady population growth rate of 1.05 percent which means that the
population will continue to increase at a stabilized rate like most South American
countries.
 Ecuador - 16.3 million
Ecuador is in the northwestern part of South America, bordering Colombia to the north
and Peru to the south and east. It is recognized as one of the famous 17 megadiverse
countries in the world and has a very diverse population. As of 2017, Ecuador has a
population of 16 million people and an annual growth rate of 1.57 percent.
Venezuela - 30.6 million
Venezuela is located on the northern coast of South America and is home to over 30
million people. Most of the population lives in urban areas making Venezuela one of the
most urbanized countries in South America. Major urban centers and cities are in the
northern part of the country. Only 5 percent of the population occupies the southern
region.
Peru - 31.2 million
Peru occupies the western side of the continent, bordering Ecuador and Colombia to the
north and Brazil to the east. It has a population of 31 million people, making it the fourth
most populous country in South America. Most of the people, up to 75%, live in urban
areas. In recent years, the growth rate has declined from 2.6% to 1.5% between 1950 and
the year 2000. Lima, the country’s capital, is home to over 9.8 million residents.
 Argentina - 43.1 million

Argentina is the third most populous country with a population of 43 million people. The
population density of Argentina is 15 persons per square kilometer which is much lower
than the world average of 50 persons per square kilometer. The population growth rate
stands at 1.03% annually which is among the lowest in South America.
Colombia - 48.5 million
Colombia comes second in population in South America with an estimated population of
49 million people. The majority of the Colombian people are young - the country has a
high proportion of children below the age of 15. Colombia has an annual population
growth rate of 0.9 percent. The highest population density is found in the Andean
highlands.
Brazil - 204.5 million
Brazil is the most populous country in South America and the fifth most populous in
the world with a population of 204 million people. It is also the largest country by the
area covered measuring about 8.6 million kilometers squared. Brazil has a very high
population growth rate that has surpassed previous projections. However, the
population growth is expected to stabilize in the next few years
 South America Population History

Year  Population Density (km²) Growth Rate

2019 431,998,475 24.22 0.88%

2015 416,436,111 23.34 1.00%

2010 395,280,204 22.16 1.10%

2005 373,328,523 20.93 1.25%

2000 349,398,761 19.59 1.46%

1995 323,595,244 18.14 1.66%

1990 296,950,815 16.65 1.87%

1985 269,482,257 15.11 2.11%

1980 241,846,994 13.56 2.25%

1975 216,246,933 12.12 2.28%

1970 192,842,113 10.81 2.43%

 South America Population Projections

Year  Population Density (km²) Growth Rate

2020 435,666,848 24.42 0.85%

2025 452,588,454 25.37 0.71%

2030 467,099,885 26.18 0.58%

2035 479,078,441 26.85 0.46%

2040 488,521,196 27.38 0.35%

2045 495,466,983 27.77 0.24%

2050 500,019,962 28.03 0.14%

2055 502,266,714 28.15 0.05%

2060 502,276,716 28.15 -0.03%

RESOURCES OF SOUTH AMERICA
South America has diverse agricultural products,
vast mineral wealth, and plentiful freshwater.
It also has rich fisheries and ports on three bodies of water: the
Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean.
The continent’s economy is centered on the export of natural
resources.
The continent contains about one-fifth of the
world’s iron ore reserves.
More than one-quarter of the world’s known copper reserves are
in South America, mostly in Peru and Chile. Copper accounts for
nearly one-third of the exports of Chile, the world’s
largest copper exporter.
Lead and zinc deposits are found primarily in higher elevations
of Peru, Bolivia, southern Brazil, and northern Argentina.
 Resources
South America's major mineral resources are gold, silver, copper, iron ore, tin, and
petroleum.

South America makes a

significant contribution to
world production of the
following commodities:
copper (45 per cent),
molybdenum (32 per
cent), silver (29 per cent),
tin (20 per cent), iron ore
(19 per cent), bauxite (18
per cent), gold (16 per
cent), zinc (15 per cent),
nickel (13 per cent) and
lead (10 per cent).
 South America is home
to some deposits of oil
and natural gas, which
are drilled for energy
and fuel. Oil and gas
extraction is the
dominant industry of
Venezuela, with major
deposits found around
Lake Maracaibo and
the El Tigre region.

In addition, mines throughout the region produce precious gems,

titanium, and tungsten. In fact, South America is among the world's
leaders in the mining of raw materials.
 Agriculture Status of South America

Pineapple, papaya, and guava are also native to tropical South

America.
Cash crops are coffee and cacao, which is the source of cocoa, the
base ingredient in chocolate.
Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of coffee, and it used to be
one of the largest exporters of cacao.
South America’s temperate climates are home to a number of
industrial crops and livestock.
Corn is produced throughout the temperate climates, and soybeans
have become an increasingly lucrative crop in the Pampas.
Brazil is the world’s third-largest beef exporter (behind only
Australia and the United States). Argentina is also an
important beef exporter.
Prepared by Mohd Ashfaq hails from Rajnagar (Rajouri) student of Geography from University of Jammu.
You can reach at:- aeishfaq@outlook.com