Visit
95 natural world wonders of
South America, from the Atlantic
rainforest in Brazil, to the
Salto Grande Waterfall in Chile.
Angel
Falls-the highest in the world,
water free-falls [1]
South
America's natural forces can
be witnessed in countless forms.You'll
find them cascading over the
Devil's Throat of the Iguazu
Falls, flooding Llanos grasslands,
pitting pirahanas in flooded
forest treetops, ornamenting
the snowy peaks of volanoes
and freezing walls of ice in
the deep Patagonian south.
South America
is fourth largest of
the world's continents. It is the
southern portion of the landmass generally
referred to as the New World, the
Western Hemisphere, or simply the
Americas. The continent is compact
and roughly triangular in shape, being
broad in the north and tapering to
a point—Cape Horn, Chile—in
the south. [3]
South America is the
southern continent of the Americas,
situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere
and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere,
with a relatively small portion in
the Northern Hemisphere. 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. South America
was named in 1580 by cartographers
Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias
Ringmann after Amerigo Vespucci, who
was the first European to suggest
that the Americas were not the East
Indies, but a New World unknown to
Europeans. [4]
New
descriptions are added regularly.
Last addition 1/16/2010
Columbia-
Colombia is the 26th largest
nation in the world and
the fourth largest in South
America. It is bordered
to the east by Venezuela
and Brazil; to the south
by Ecuador and Peru; to
the north by Panama and
the Caribbean Sea; and to
the west by the Pacific
Ocean. Colombia is the only
country in South America
to touch both Atlantic and
Pacific oceans. [4]
Brazil-country
of South America that occupies
half the continent's landmass.
It is the fifth largest
nation in the world, exceeded
in size only by Russia,
Canada, China, and the United
States, though its area
is greater than that of
the 48 contiguous U.S. states.
The country contains no
desert, high-mountain, or
arctic environments. [5]
Rio Solimoes
& Rio Negro Confluence,
Amazonas, Brazil Amazon
Basin, Brazil / Peru /
Equador / Colombia / Venezuela
/ Bolivia
Amazon Bore, Amapa / Para,
Brazil
Anavilhanas Archipelago,
Amazonas, Brazil
Flooded Forest, Amazonas,
Brazil
Igapo Forest, Amazon Basin,
Brazil
Emas National Park, Goias,
Brazil
The Pantanal, Brazil /
Bolivia / Paraguay
The Cerrado, Brazil
Lencois Maranhenses, Maranhao,
Brazil
Corcovado, Rio De Janeiro,
Brazil
Sugar Loaf Mountain, Rio
De Janeiro, Brazil
Atlantic Rain Forest,
Brazil
Caraca National Park,
Minas Gerais, Brazil
Caatinga, Brazil
Aparados Da Serra National
Park-Rio Grande Do Sul,
Brazil
St. Peter's and St. Paul's
Rocks, Atalantic Ocean,
Brazil
Venezuela-Venezuela
is among the most urbanized
countries in Latin America;
the vast majority of Venezuelans
live in the cities of the
north, especially in the
capital Caracas which is
also the largest city. Other
major cities include Maracaibo,
Valencia, Maracay, Barquisimeto
and Ciudad Guayana.[4]
Guyana-
officially the Co-operative
Republic of Guyana and previously
known as British Guiana,
is a state on the northern
coast of South America that
is culturally associated
with the Anglophone Caribbean.
It is the only state of
the Commonwealth of Nations
on mainland South America.[4]
Equador-
officially the Republic
of Ecuador is a representative
democratic republic in South
America, bordered by Colombia
on the north, by Peru on
the east and south, and
by the Pacific Ocean to
the west. The country also
includes the Galápagos
Islands in the Pacific,
about 965 kilometres (600
mi) west of the mainland.[4]
Shell Beach, Barima-Waini,
Guyana
Iwokrama Mountains, Potaro-Siparuni,
Guyana
Kaieteur Falls, Potaro-Siparuni,
Guyana
Kanuku Mountains, Upper
Takutu / Upper Essequibo,
Guyana
Esmeraldas
Region, Esmeraldas, Equador
San Rafael Falls, Sucumbios,
Ecuador
Imuya lake, Sucumbios,
Equador
Maquipucuna Reserve, Pichincha,
Ecuador
Cotopaxi Volcano, Cotopaxi,
Equador
Galapagos Islands, Pacific
ocean, Equador
Galapagos Rift, Pacific
ocean, Equador
Machalilla National Park,
Manabi, Ecuador
Sangay National Park,
Morona Santiago / Chimborazo
/ Tungurahua, Ecuador
Cajas Plateau, Azuay,
Ecuador
Podocarpus National Park,
Loja & Zamora, Ecaudor
French
Guiana-French
Guiana was originally inhabited
by a number of indigenous
American people. It was
settled by the French during
the 17th century. Its infamous
Île du Diable (Devil's
Island) was the site of
penal settlements from 1852
until 1951.[4]
Awala-Yalimapo, French
Guiana
Boliva-
is
a landlocked country in
central South America. It
is bordered by Brazil to
the north and east, Paraguay
and Argentina to the south,
and Chile and Peru to the
west.[4]
Lake Titacaca, Peru
/ Bolivia
Federico Ahlfeld Falls,
Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Yungas, La Paz, Bolivia
Altiplano, Boliva / Chile
/ Peru
Red lake, Potosi, Bolivia
South America is thought
to have been first inhabited by people
crossing the Bering Land Bridge from
Asia, which is now the Bering Strait.
Some archaeological finds do not fit
this theory and have led to an alternative
theory of Pre-Siberian American Aborigines.
The first evidence for the existence
of agricultural practices in South
America dates back to circa 6500 BC,
when potatoes, chillies and beans
began to be cultivated for food in
the highlands of the Amazon Basin.[4]
Peru-Peru
is essentially a tropical
country, with its northern
tip nearly touching the
Equator. Despite its tropical
location, a great diversity
of climate, of way of life,
and of economic activity
is brought about by the
extremes of elevation and
by the southwest winds that
sweep in across the cold
Peru Current (or Humboldt
Current), which flows along
its Pacific shoreline. [5]
Chile-Chile's
relief is for the most part
mountainous, with the Andes
range dominating the landscape.
Because of the country's
extreme length it has a
wide variety of climates,
from the coastal desert
beginning in the tropical
north to the cold subantarctic
southern tip. Chile is also
a land of extreme natural
events: volcanic eruptions,
violent earthquakes, and
tsunamis originating along
major faults of the ocean
floor periodically beset
the country.
[6]
Sechura Desert, Piura,
Peru
Pachacota Gorge, Ancash,
Peru
Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Peru
Valley of the Volcanoess,
Arequipa, Peru
The Sphinx / White Mountain
Range, Peru
Colca Canyon, Arequipa,
Peru
Paracas National Reserve,
Ica, Peru
Manu Biosphere Reserve,
Cusco / Madre De Dios, Peru
Tammbopata National Reserve,
Puno / Madre De Dios, Peru
Tamba Blanquilla, Madre
De Dios, Peru
Uros Islands, Lake Titicaca,
Puno, Peru
Lake Titacaca, Peru / Bolivia
Federico Ahlfeld Falls,
Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Yungas, La Paz, Bolivia
Altiplano, Boliva / Chile
/ Peru
Red lake, Potosi, Bolivia
Moon Valley, Atacama,
Chile
Atacama Desert, Atacama,
Chile
Atacama Salt Flat, Antofagasta,
Chile
Tatio Geysers, Antofagasta,
Chile
Lake Chungara, Tarapaca,
Chile
Antuco Volcano, Bio-Bio,
Chile
Malalcahuello Natural Reserve,
Araucania, Chile
Salar De Surire, Tarapaca,
Chile
Torres Del Paine National
Park, Magallanes Y La Antartica
Chilena, Chile
Salto Grande Waterfall,
Magallanes Y La Antartica
Chilena, Chile
Laguna San Rafael, Aisen,
Chile
Fjordland, Chile
Balmaceda Glacier, Aisen
/ Magallenes Y La Antartica
Chilena, Chile
Beagle Channel, Chile /
Argentina
Nieve Penitentes, Chile
/ Argentina
The earliest known South
American civilization was at Norte
Chico, on the central Peruvian coast.
Though a pre-ceramic culture, the
monumental architecture of Norte Chico
is contemporaneous with the pyramids
of Ancient Egypt. The Chavín
established a trade network and developed
agriculture by 900 BC, according to
some estimates and archaeological
finds. Artifacts were found at a site
called Chavín de Huantar in
modern Peru at an elevation of 3,177
meters. Chavín civilization
spanned 900 BC to 300 BC.[4]
Argentina-country
of South America, covering
most of the southern portion
of the continent. The
world's eighth largest
country, Argentina occupies
an area more extensive
than Mexico and the U.S.
state of Texas combined.
It encompasses immense
plains, deserts, tundra,
and forests, as well as
tall mountains, rivers,
and thousands of miles
of ocean shoreline. Argentina
also claims a portion
of Antarctica, as well
as several islands in
the South Atlantic, including
the British-ruled Falkland
Islands (Islas Malvinas).[4]
Beagle
Channel, Chile / Argentina
Nieve Penitentes, Chile
/ Argentina
Iguazu Falls, Argentina
/ Brazil
Ibera Marshes / Corrientes,
Argentina
The Pampas, Argentina
Valdes Penninsula, Chubut,
Argentina
Puta Tumbo, Chubut, Argentina
Mount Fitzroy, Santa Cruz,
Argentina
Perito Moreno Glacier,
Santa Cruz, Argentina
