Welcome to South America!
South America is part of the Americas and a continent of superlatives. The world's biggest rainforest and the largest river by discharge (Amazon), the highest mountain range outside Asia (the Andes), remote islands (Galapagos Islands, Easter Island and Fernando de Noronha), heavenly beaches (such as in Brazil's Northeastern region), wide deserts (Atacama), icy landscapes (Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego), the world's tallest waterfall (the 979-m Angel Falls, in Venezuela) and one of the largest (Iguaçu Falls, Argentina and Brazil), as well as several other breathtaking natural attractions.
Humans have left their mark on the continent too: from ancient ruins (Machu Picchu and other Inca cities, the Moai in Easter Island) and the oldest rock paintings in the Americas (at the Serra da Capivara) to world-class metropolises (São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Caracas, Santiago, Lima and Rio de Janeiro), outstanding modern and European architecture (Brasilia, Buenos Aires), and charming cities built in the Andes (Caracas, Medellín, Quito, Santiago de Chile). Strong African heritage (in Salvador, Rio and Montevideo), genuine indigenous culture (Belém, Manaus, Cuzco, Lima, La Paz), and Eastern influence (São Paulo's enormous Japanese community) mingle with the fingerprints of Iberian colonizers. Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, and some of its biggest festivities, such as Rio's Carnival and Belem's Cirio de Nazaré, the Tango World Championship, and the Vendimia festival in Argentina, are also part of this incredibly diverse and attractive continent.
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern subregion of a single continent called America (see the United Nations geoscheme for the Americas). The reference to South America instead of other cultural or geographical regions (such as Latin America or the Southern Cone) has increased in recent decades due to changing geopolitical dynamics (in particular, the rise of Brazil).South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean, North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. The continent generally 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 2018 has been estimated at more than 423 million. South America ranks fourth in area (after Asia, Africa, and North America) and fifth in population (after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America). Brazil is by far the most 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 near 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 part contains both highland regions and vast lowlands where rivers such as the Amazon, Orinoco, São Francisco and Paraná flow. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part 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. Given a long history of colonialism, the overwhelming majority of South Americans speak Spanish or Portuguese, and societies and states reflect Western traditions. Relative to Europe, Asia and Africa, 20th-century South America has been a peaceful continent with few wars.