About South America Physical Map
Physical Map of South America continent shows the physical characteristics with all the countries, and their borders. Countries and places to find on South America physical map include Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The contours on this map are marked with different colors; like green for low lands, yellow for moderate elevations and from brown to white for the mountainous and high areas. Notably is the prominent Andes cordillera mountain range.
The major mountain range shown on the physical map of South America is the Andes, which run along the western side of South America from north to south. The Andes are the world’s longest mountain range, and the highest peak in South America, Aconcagua, is shown in the top right of the map.
The central and northern part of the continent shows part of the Amazon Basin as a large lowland region covered by tropical rainforest. The Amazon River, with its numerous tributaries, is the largest drainage system in the world.
The highlands of the Brazilian Highlands cover most of eastern Brazil to the east of the Andes. To the north lies the Guiana Highlands.
The plains of South America’s countryside are among the most fertile agricultural land on earth, rivaling the famous Pampas that sweep across Argentina and Uruguay. Southern South America also boasts the arid plateaus of Patagonia.
Much of the surface of the Earth is shown in the South America physical map, including areas of relatively dry ground. The map shows part of the world’s second driest desert, the Atacama Desert, which is located on the northwestern coast of Chile to the west of the Andes.
This physical map of South America shows oceans which surround the continent of South America to the west with the Pacific Ocean and to the east with the Atlantic Ocean. The southern tip of South America and also the coastal islands like the Falkland Islands are illustrated and highlighted.
Physical Geography of South America
South America is the world’s fourth-largest continent with an area of 17.84 million square kilometers (6.89 million square miles), for 12% of the planet. The continent includes almost entirely the Southern Hemisphere and its center lies on the Equator line. The Tropic of Capricorn passes through the southern part of the continent. The continent also has many miles of coastline on the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. South America’s 12 countries are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The largest country, Brazil, accounts for 60.70% of the area of South America and 12% of the area of the Earth. South America has many mountain ranges and large river basins, extensive tropical rain forests, and many plains and deserts.
Major Landforms and Elevation Patterns
South America divides geographically roughly into three zones: the western, mountainous zone of high peaks; the central, lowland plains or plateaus; and the third, a vast area of ancient, worn highlands and plains of low elevation, extending to the tropical coast of the east.
Continental relief shows a pronounced trend with high ground concentrated in the west and the terrain then descending over wide lowlands before rising once more to form a plateau in the east. This influences climates, vegetation and settlement patterns.
Mountain Systems and High Peaks
South America is home to the Andes Mountains, the world’s longest mountain range. The Andes mountain range runs for 7,000 kilometres (4,350 miles) along the western edge of South America. The mountain range was created by tectonic activity when the Nazca Plate began to subduct beneath the South American Plate.
At 6,959 m (22,831 ft), Mount Aconcagua is the highest peak in the Andes mountain range and the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere. The Andes mountain range includes many active volcanoes and high-altitude plateaus such as the Altiplano, and have a profound effect on climate by blocking moisture laden air from the Pacific Ocean.
Plains, Basins, and Plateaus
The center of South America is marked by large lowland basins, the largest being the Amazon Basin at 7 million km² (2.7 million sq mi). This is home to the world’s largest tropical rainforest, which is also the planet’s most biodiverse region.
Other large grassland plains around the world that are considered to be the world’s other principal grasslands, are the large plains of other continents, such as the Llanos of South America, covering much of Venezuela and Colombia. The Pampas, covering most of Argentina and parts of Uruguay, are particularly notable for the exceptional fertility of their soils which support some of the world’s most productive farming.
The highlands of the Brazilian Highlands and Guiana Highlands to the east of the continent are composed of extremely old rocks and are very rich in natural and mineral resources.
Rivers and Inland Water Systems
When people think of rivers in South America, one name tends to pop up above the rest: the Amazon. The Amazon River is roughly 6,400 kilometers (3,980 miles) long, and therefore the world’s second longest river (the Nile River is longer, but its exact length is debated and may be as short as 6,650 kilometers). What’s even more remarkable is the sheer volume of water that flows through the Amazon: every second, it pours 209,000 cubic meters of water into the Atlantic Ocean. Its many tributaries crisscross the landscape, forming a sprawling network of waterways across South America.
South America has many major rivers. The Amazon and the Paraná rivers (the latter is part of the Río de la Plata system in southern South America) are the two longest. In northern South America, the longest river is the Orinoco. These rivers serve for transportation and irrigation of crops as well as providing natural habitats for many South Americans and a variety of animals.
Deserts and Unique Landscapes
South America is a large and beautiful continent with many different environments and marine ecosystems. But the continent is also home to some of the most difficult places on Earth for humans to survive. These environments include the high-altitude salt desert of the Altiplano with its many volcanoes, the Amazon rainforest canopy high above the ground, and the mountain ranges, including the Andes in Argentina and the coastal ranges. None may be as challenging as the world’s driest non-polar desert, the Atacama Desert, in northern Chile. Some locations receive as little as 1 mm of rainfall.
Southern South America encompasses a wide variety of landscapes, from the temperate southern region of Chile and Argentina commonly known as El Sur with its rolling hills and forests, to the drier, more remote southern region known as Patagonia which splits across both countries. Arid plateaus and grasslands are a dominant feature of much of Patagonia, which is affected by cold winds.
Coastal Features and Surrounding Oceans
Continental coastlines are generally varied, with particularly striking differences between the narrow and highly irregular Pacific coast and the wider, deltaic, and estuarine Atlantic coast.
The region includes a coastal strip with the estuary of the Río de la Plata, one of the world’s widest estuaries, and the southern tip of the world at Cape Horn, where the boundaries of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. There are several groups of islands off the coast, many with unique ecosystems and dramatically distinctive volcanic structures including the famous Galápagos Islands.
Climate Influence and Natural Diversity
South America has a diverse range of climates due in large part to the geography of the region. The Andes Mountains have a profound effect upon the climate, preventing rainfall from reaching the wet western slopes and creating a very dry eastern slope. Another major geographic influence is the Amazon Basin, where a large portion of South America experiences a tropical rainforest climate with enormous rainfall totals. However, the world’s driest desert, the Atacama, is also found on the continent.
Africa includes tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and polar regions in the southern part of the continent. Its diverse climates support ecosystems varying from tropical rainforest, through savanna and desert, to alpine regions.