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Continents - South America

Continents - South America South America is the 4th largest continent. It connects to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. The country of Brazil accounts for more almost half of the continent and contains about half of the people. The countries that make up this continent include:

  • Argentina
  • Bolivia
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Ecuador
  • Guyana
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Suriname
  • Uruguay
  • Venezuela.

In the northern section near Suriname, the continent also contains French Guiana which is a French dependency. The largest metropolitan areas on the continent are Sao Paulo in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Sample the following internet sites and complete the South American tasks for each one.

South America
  1. What oceans/seas surround South America?
  2. Topographically the continent is divided into three sections. What are they? Where are each of them located on he continent?
  3. Where do the river systems of the continent empty?
  4. What is the largest lake on the continent?
  5. Native peoples constitute a significant portion of the continent's Andean population--especially in which countries?
  6. According to this site, elsewhere in South America the population is generally what blend of people?
  7. Which countries have large European populations?
  8. Which countries have sizable populations of African descent?
  9. Since 1800, immigration has brought what other ethnic groups to the continent?
  10. What is the largest city in South America?
  11. Most of the people across South America live within 200 miles of what?
  12. Beginning in the 17th century, what were the 3 main countries that began to develop (exploit?) the resources of the South American continent?
  13. What are 5 of the main agricultural exports of South America?
  14. During the 16th century, what country claimed most of what is now Brazil? What counrtry claimed most of the rest of South America?
  15. Where was the center of the Incan empire? When was it conquered and by whom?

Living Languages of the Americas
  1. Scroll down to South America. Look at each of the countries. Which South American country has the greatest number of languages spoken in it?

Country Statistics At a Glance

From the given charts find the following information:

  1. Of the 10 largest countries in terms of physical area, which ones are in South America?
  2. Of the 10 smallest countries in terms of physical area, which ones are in South America?
  3. Of the 10 countries with the highest population density, which ones are in South America?
  4. Of the 10 countries with the lowest population density, which ones are in South America?
  5. Of the 10 countries with the highest per capita income, which ones are in South America?
  6. Of the 10 countries with the lowest per capita income, which ones are in South America?
  7. Of the 10 countries with the highest infant mortality rate, which ones are in South America?
  8. Of the 10 countries with the lowest infant mortality rate, which ones are in South America?
  9. Of the 10 countries with the highest life expectancy, which ones are in South America?
  10. Of the 10 countries with the lowest life expectancy, which ones are in South America?
  11. Of the 10 countries with the lowest literacy rates, which ones are in South America?

Most Populous Cities
  1. Of the world's 50 most populous cities, which ones are in North America?

Amazon Ineractive : Where Is the Amazon?

From within this website, you will need to follow several of internal links to answer the following questions:

  1. The Amazon is a river, and it is an enormous region in South America that encompasses parts of several South American countries.
  2. How long is the Amazon River?
  3. The Amazon region spreads across parts of which 6 South American countries?
  4. Where does the word "Amazon" come from?
  5. What happened to many of the early indigenous peoples who encountered the first European explorers?
  6. What are mestizos?
  7. What impact has large numbers of people moving into the Amazon had on the environment?
  8. Explain what a subsistence lifestyle is.
  9. What is slash and burn agriculture? Is it always harmful?

Amazon Interactive : Ecotourism Game
  1. Assume the role of a Quichua indiviual, part of an indigenous tribe of the Ecuadorian Amazon and see how you do at this game.

Songs in Quechua
  1. Listen to this audio file of a song which translates into English as Children of the Sun. It is one of the Indian languages of the peoples of the Andes. There are several other songs and sound files as well.

Carnaval
  1. What countries celebrate Carnaval?
  2. What North American holiday is Carnaval similar to?

Infonation

From countries on right, select any 7 South American countries.. Then click "Data Menu". From the next screen, under the Geography section, select Threatened Species, from the Economy section, select GDP Per Capita, from the Population section, select Population Density, and from the Social Indicators section, select Telephones. Then click "View Info".

  1. Which of the selected South American countries has the most threatened species?
  2. Which of the selected South American countries has the highest per capita income? The lowest?
  3. Which of the selected South American countries has the greatest population density? The lowest?
  4. Which of the selected South American countries has the most telephones? The least?

Using World Book Encyclopedia Online, choose one South American country and find the following information:

  1. Capital
  2. Major rivers
  3. Highest mountain
  4. Climate

Visit the Utah Education Network's Our World web site for information on the other six continents and all of the countries around the globe.

Author: LINDA MOSBACKER - Email linda.mosbacker@slc.k12.ut.us