Photos of our World.....
| Photos of our World..... |
South America, with an area of about 18 000 000 square kilometres ranks as the the fourth largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, and North America. It covers about 12 percent of the world's land area and has about 5 percent of the total world population, in fifth place among the continents. There are 12 independent countries and 2 dependent territories.
South America has great variety in landscape and climate. The world's largest tropical rain forest is in the Amazon River Basin, which occupies about two-fifths of the continent, contrasting with the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the driest places in the world. There are snowy peaks and active volcanoes along the crest of the Andes Mountains in the west of the continent and, in Argentina and Venezuela, rolling grasslands occupying large areas. There are spectacular waterfalls, huge lakes, and rocky, windswept islands.
The standard of living varies greatly from one part of the continent to another but all South American countries have a small class of wealthy landowners, factory owners, and political and military leaders but with the majority of the people living in poverty. There is, however, a growing middle class in the large cities. Brazil is the continent's industrial giant.
South America is part of Latin America, a large cultural region that also includes Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies. The official language in most countries is Spanish, a legacy of the conquest by Pizarro of the Inca Empire in the 16th Century. Brazil uses Portuguese as a result of its colonial legacy and the three Guyanas on the north coast use English, Dutch and French for the same reason.
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