SA - Physical Geography Lesson

Physical Geography

Tropical Zone

The largest section of the South American continent is a wide area that lies between the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn. This wide region contains the Amazon River and the northern portion of the Andes Mountain chain. The mighty Amazon River, which is more than two thousand miles long, flows through and drains the Amazon Rain Forest. Flowing parallel to the equator from west to east, the Amazon competes with the Nile for the title, "longest river in the world." It has the greatest discharge of any river in the world, and is potentially also the longest river in the world. To the west of the Amazon Basin lies the Andes Mountain ranges. They are the longest mountain chain on Earth and the highest mountains in the Americas. The expansive mountains run 4,500 miles down the western side of the South American continent. Between the two main Andean mountain ranges is a wide basin called the Altiplano Region. The word altiplano means "valley" in Spanish. In the middle of the Altiplano Region of the Central Andes lies Lake Titicaca a large, freshwater, high-elevation lake.

 

The Southern Cone

South of Lake Titicaca lies the Atacama Desert. It runs along the western side of South America's Southern Cone and is one of the driest places on Earth. The rain shadow effect is one of the causes for the extraordinary dryness of the Atacama. While the Atacama Desert lies to the west of the Andes Mountains, the Pampas grasslands lie to the east and provide the area with land for farming and raising cattle. South of the Pampas, where the wind currents change direction, is the lengthy expanse of prairie grasslands called Patagonia. It covers the southern portion of Argentina and unlike the Pampas, does not receive very much rainfall. This is due to the rain shadow effect of the Andes to the west. The southernmost land point of the continent is Cape Horn.

 

The Islands

Located near South America are several famous island groups. To the west of South America are the Galapagos Islands which are territorially a part of the country of Ecuador. The Falkland Islands are located off the southern coast of Argentina. They are physically associated with South America but are administered and controlled by Great Britain as an overseas territory. Chile controls Easter Island and the Robinson Crusoe Island in the Pacific Ocean. Devil's Island became famous as the location that France used to secure its most undesirable prisoners.

For this map activity, your map should include the items listed below:

• • • • • • Locate the countries of South America:
            • Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela

• • • • • In addition to the countries of South America, identify the following on a map:
          • Amazon Basin
          • Amazon River
          • Andes Mountains
          • Atlantic Ocean
          • Atacama Desert
          • Cape Horn
          • Devil’s Island (France)
          • Equator
          • Easter Island (Chile)
          • Falkland Islands (U.K.)
          • Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)
          • Guianas
          • Lake Maracaibo
          • Lake Titicaca
          • Pacific Ocean
          • Pampas
          • Patagonia
          • Robinson Crusoe Island (Chile)
          • Southern Cone
          • Tierra del Fuego
          • Tropic of Capricorn

 

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.