South America

South America is the fourth largest continent in the world with an area of 17,819,000 sq.km which is just 12% of the world's total area. It extends from 12⁰N to 56⁰S latitude and longitudes from 35⁰W to 81⁰W. Pacific Ocean lies to the west and Atlantic lies to the east. The Panama Isthmus lies to the north -west while the Caribbean Sea in the north.

The population of South America is about 300 million that counts 6% of the world's total.

List of South American Countries with their capital cities

Physical divisions

The Andes Mountain ranges: It stretches north to south along the western coast. Mt. Aconcagua (6960m) lies in this range.

Lowlands: They lie between the mountain ranges of the Andes and Eastern Highlands. They are three in number, namely the Orinoco Valley, Amazon Basin and the lowlands in Uruguay, Paraguay, Parana and Salvador.
The Eastern Highlands: They are made up of Guyana Highlands and Brazilian Highlands.
River: Amazon is the biggest river in South America. The Orinoco and the Magdalena are also some of the important highlands.

Climate and Natural Vegetation

The climate of this continent is affected by latitude, Andes Mountain range, wind and the seas and ocean currents.

The Amazon Basin has equatorial climate. There are high temperature and heavy rainfall throughout the year. Atacama desert is hot and dry. Andes are always covered with snow.

South America has different types of vegetation. There are dense and thick rain forests in the Amazon Valley. Desert consists of a cactus and thorny bushes. Llanos and Campos They are the grasslands found in South America.

People

The Red Indians are the original inhabitants of this region. People migrated to this place from East Asia. There are European people residing as well and they are more advanced than the original Red Indians. Christianity is the major religion. HDI is not satisfactory in most of the countries.

Comparison of Economic and social life of people living in South America and North America

North American people are highly educated and skilled whereas the people of South America are not as educated and innovative as those of North America. Human development index is high in North American countries rather than South American countries.