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= Geography = || || South America is the fourth largest continent in size and the fifth largest in population. It is located primarily in the southern hemisphere. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the West. The geography of South America is dominated by the Andes Mountain Range and the Amazon River (second longest river in the world).
 * = South America =

Prior to European colonization, the Incan Civilization was a dominant force in South America. In the 1500's, Spain and Portugal colonized much of South America. The colonies gained independence in the 1800's with the help of leaders such as Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. As a result, much of South America still speaks Spanish and Portuguese is the primary language of Brazil.


 * ** Population: ** 387,489,196 (Source: 2010 United Nations)


 * Area: ** 6,890,000 square miles


 * Ranking: ** It is the fourth largest and fifth most populous continent


 * Major Biomes: ** rainforest, savanna, grassland

[|Click here to see large map of South America] ||
 * Major cities: **
 * São Paulo, Brazil
 * Buenos Aires, Argentina
 * Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 * Santiago, Chile
 * Brasilia, Brazil
 * Lima, Peru
 * Bogota, Colombia
 * Caracas, Venezuela
 * Belo Horizonte, Brazil
 * Medellín, Colombia || [[image:http://www.ducksters.com/geography/flagmaps/south_america_sm.jpg caption="Map ofSouth America" link="http://www.ilibrarian.net/flagmaps/south_america.jpg"]]

Countries of South America
Learn more about the countries from the continent of South America. Get all sorts of information on each South American country including a map, a picture of the flag, population, and much more. Select the country below for more information:

[|Bolivia] [|Brazil] [|Chile] [|Colombia] || [|Ecuador] [|Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)] [|French Guiana] [|Guyana] [|Paraguay] || [|Peru] [|Suriname] [|Uruguay] [|Venezuela] ||
 * [|Argentina]

Coloring Map of South America
Color in this map to learn the countries of South America.

Click to get a larger printable version of map.

Fun Facts about South America:
The highest point in South America is Cerro Aconcagua in the Andes Mountains in the country of Argentina.

The largest South American country in both size and population is Brazil. The largest city is Sao Paulo, Brazil, which is also one of the ten largest cities in the world.

North and South America were named after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

The highest waterfall in the world is Santo del Angel (also called Angel Falls). It is almost 1000 meters high!