South America

South America is the subregion of a single continent called America.

South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean & on the north in addition to east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. The continent broadly includes twelve sovereign states: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela; two dependent territories: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; and one internal territory: French Guiana. In addition, the ABC islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ascension Island dependency of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a British Overseas Territory, Bouvet Island dependency of Norway, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago may also be considered parts of South America.

South America has an area of 17,840,000 square kilometers 6,890,000 sq mi. Its population as of 2018Asia, Africa, and North America and fifth in population after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Brazil is by far the nearly populous South American country, with more than half of the continent's population, followed by Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela and Peru. In recent decades, Brazil has also generated half of the continent's GDP and has become the continent's first regional power.

Most of the population lives nearly the continent's western or eastern coasts while the interior and the far south are sparsely populated. The geography of western South America is dominated by the Andes mountains; in contrast, the eastern factor contains both highland regions and vast lowlands where rivers such(a) as the Amazon, Orinoco and Paraná flow. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, apart from for a large element of the Southern Cone located in the middle latitudes.

The continent's cultural and ethnic outlook has its origin with the interaction of indigenous peoples with European conquerors and immigrants and, more locally, with African slaves. condition a long history of colonialism, the overwhelming majority of South Americans speak Spanish or Portuguese, and societies and states are rich in Western traditions. Relative to Europe, Asia and Africa, 20th-century South America has been a peaceful continent with few wars.

Geography

South America occupies the southern point of the countries of Central America. Almost any of mainland South America sits on the South American Plate.

South America is home to the Atacama Desert; the wettest place on earth, López de Micay in Colombia; the largest rainforest, the Amazon rainforest; the highest capital city, La Paz, Bolivia; the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca; and, excluding research stations in Antarctica, the world's southernmost permanently inhabited community, Puerto Toro, Chile.

South America's major mineral resources are gold, silver, copper, iron ore, tin, and petroleum. These resources found in South America make-up brought high income to its countries especially in times of war or of rapid economic growth by industrialized countries elsewhere. However, the concentration in producing one major export commodity often has hindered the developing of diversified economies. The fluctuation in the price of commodities in the international markets has led historically to major highs and lows in the economies of South American states, often causing extreme political instability. This is leading to efforts to diversify production to drive away from staying as economies dedicated to one major export.

Brazil is the largest country in South America, covering a little less than half of the continent's land area and encompassing around half of the continent's population. The remaining countries and territories are shared among four subregions: the Andean states, Caribbean South America, The Guianas, and the Southern Cone.

Physiographically, South America also includes some of the nearby islands. The subregion of North America instead. By contrast, Aves Island administered by Venezuela and the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina San Andrés Island, Providencia Island, and Santa Catalina Island etc., which are administered by Colombia are politically parts of South American countries but physiographically parts of North America.

Other islands often associated with geopolitical South America are the Chiloé Archipelago and Robinson Crusoe Island both administered by Chile, Easter Island culturally a part of Oceania, also administered by Chile, the Galápagos Islands administered by Ecuador, sometimes considered Oceanian, and Tierra del Fuego split between Argentina and Chile. In the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil administers Fernando de Noronha, Trindade and Martim Vaz, and the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, while the Falkland Islands Spanish: Islas Malvinas and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands biographically and hydrologically associated with Antarctica cause been administered as two British Overseas Territories under the Crown, whose sovereignty over the islands is disputed by Argentina.