South America: Social and Economic Activities

South America is a land of superlatives. It has quite different types of landform, climate and vegetation. The chief natural resources of South America are as follows:

Land

In most parts of South America, there are mountains, forests and deserts. There is a small portion of land for farming but this is an agricultural continent. Brazil is the largest producer of coffee in the world. Wheat is cultivated in the Pampas of Argentina and Central Chile. Maize is produced in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Forests

There are two types of forests in South America: selves and coniferous forests. Selva is a dense forest of trees with hard wood. Coniferous forests are found in the Brazilian Highland and southern Chile.

These trees are used for paper industries. Charcoal, gums, resin, cinchona, camphor, boat etc. are major products of the South American forests.

Water

The Amazon with its quite a many tributaries has an amazing volume of water. So it has become the largest river of the world. But it is not suitable for generating electricity because the land through which it flows is wet and flat.

However, this river is highly navigable and useful for trade. Peru is a famous fishing nation. The Angle falls that lies in Venezuela is the highest waterfall (979 m) of the world.

Grassland

One of the import occupations of South America is sheep and cattle rearing. Pampas, Patagonia plateau, savanna of Brazil and Venezuela are the main areas where livestock is reared. Sheep and cattle are reared for meat, milk, wool and hide. Llama and alpaca are animals of the camel family. They are used for carrying goods. Horses are kept for transport.

Minerals

Brazil has large iron and tin ore. Bolivia produces tin. Copper nitrate and zinc are found in Chile and Peru. Guiana and Suriname have bauxite.

Plenty of nitrites is found in Atacama desert. Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago are rich in petroleum.

South American People

The origin inhabitants of South America are the red Indians. They were from Asia nearly 12000 years ago. Italians and Germans also live in South America. Negroes were brought there to help on the plantation. The central parts of such as the north-west of Brazil are unsuitable due to remoteness, harsh climate or thick forests. This has created uneven population distribution in South America.

Agriculture

Agriculture in South America is poor. Mountains, plateaus and forests occupy most of the land there. The main areas of farming are the pampas, parts of Brazilian Highlands and the east coast of central Chile.

The chief agricultural products are wheat, maize, rice, potato, coffee, cocoa, sugar cane and cotton.

Animal Husbandry

Animal rearing is a very important occupation in South America. It is more extensively carried out than agriculture.

Pampas of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil are the main areas for the rearing of animals like cattle sheep and goats. Argentina is the largest producer of meat.

Industries

The industry is not developed well in South America. Brazil is a most developed country in the continent. There are industries of coffee, cotton wool and sugarcane. Coffee curing, food processing and meat packing are also done.

Brazil is leading in iron and steel manufacturing. In addition, paper, rubber goods and weapons are also produced in Brazil. Argentina has a variety of industries. There are cotton textiles mills, wooden textile mills, sugar mills, flour mills, etc.

Fisheries and Tourism

Catching fish is also an important occupation in South America. Chile and Peru are famous for fish. Tourism is developing as an important economic activity because this continent is the continent of superlatives.

The Andes, Lake Titicaca, Amazon forest, coastal Plains, the Galapagos and Angel Falls as well as diverse cultural heritages are the valuable tourist resource of the continent.