Brazil is the largest country in South America. South America

    Let's look at the map of South America and see: the largest country in terms of area is Brazil.

    Its area is 8,514,877 km.

    You know, for me, Brazil is two talents:

    1. The same, if not more, the famous Brazilian carnival.

    In second place in terms of area - Argentina - 2.7 thousand square kilometers.

    And in third place - Peru - 1.3 thousand square kilometers.

    The largest country in terms of area and population in South America is Brazil.

    E territory is 8 514 877 km.

    Brazil occupies 5th line among all countries in terms of area and also in terms of population.

    The continent is located in eastern and central South America.

    The leader in size on the South American continent is undoubtedly the country Brazil. Fifth place in the world and 8.5 million km. The rest of the countries are noticeably smaller. Accordingly, the population in it is larger than in other South American states, about 160 million people.

    If you just look at the map of this continent, you can immediately identify two possible favorites, two countries whose area is even visually much larger than the area of ​​other countries. These are Brazil and Argentina. Turning to strict numbers, we see that the area of ​​Brazil is 8.5 thousand square kilometers, and the area of ​​​​Argentina is three times smaller - only 2.7 thousand square kilometers. So Brazil is the largest country in South America.

    But in third place is Peru and 1.3 thousand square kilometers.

    There are not so many countries in South America, much less than in little Europe, but more than in North America. There is a country where there are many, many wild monkeys, and there are also terribly many Pedrov :-) This country is called Brazil, the Queen of Football and an unusually beautiful country. Brazil even ranks 5th in the world in terms of area.

    In South America, the largest country by area is Brazil. E area - 8,547 square kilometers.

    The largest country in South America is Brazil. Its area is 8,515,767 km

    The largest country in South America is the country Brazil. In the world ranking of countries by their size, it ranks fifth. The map clearly shows what part of the continent it occupies in comparison with other states.

    The largest country by area in South America is Brazil.

South America is an amazing continent that hides a lot of interesting and unusual things. After all, it is here that the mysterious Mexican pyramids, the unique Amazon River and the hottest deserts in the world are located. Do you know the area of ​​South America? Today we will tell you all about this continent and its size.

South America: geographical location and brief description

South America is the fourth largest continent in the world, one part of it lies in the southern hemisphere, and the other in the northern hemisphere. The huge area of ​​South America has always attracted a large number of people here from all over the world, this brought the continent to the fifth place in the world in terms of population. We can say that almost every seventh person on Earth lives here. The mainland is washed by two oceans - the Atlantic and the Pacific.

Features of South America

The geographical position of the continent contributed to the fact that the indigenous population developed here separately and by the time the Europeans arrived, they had their own unique culture that had nothing to do with mainland civilizations. Of course, part of the precious heritage of the South American Indians was destroyed by ruthless conquerors. But what remained untouched is still being closely studied by the world scientific community.

Thanks to the discovery of South America, the world learned what tobacco, coca leaves and corn are. Many species of animals and plants living on this continent are endemic.

Natural areas of South America

The South American continent is generous to the people who inhabit it. The area of ​​natural zones of South America includes all the diversity of our planet, spread over the vast territory of one continent:

  • equatorial forests;
  • tropical monsoon forests;
  • savannas;
  • pampas;
  • tropical deserts;
  • steppe;
  • semi-deserts.

In each natural zone, the rarest species of flora and fauna have been preserved, which are not found anywhere else on the planet. This makes the mainland unique, scientists have been saying for many years that most of the land on the continent must be transferred to the status of a reserve and carefully protected from destructive human activities.

Equatorial forests - the "lungs" of our planet

Of all the natural zones of the continent, I would like to talk in more detail about the selva, or equatorial forests. No wonder scientists call them the "lungs" of our planet, because more than 80% of oxygen is released into the atmosphere by plants growing in the selva.

Unfortunately, over the past decades, the areas of equatorial forests have been significantly reduced under the influence of human activities. Now South America is the third country in the world where the selva is still preserved in its original form. More than 33% of rain forests grow in Brazil.

Environmentalists are sounding the alarm in connection with the reduction in the area of ​​the selva, because its complete destruction will lead to serious changes in the composition of the air on the planet. Perhaps these changes will become irreversible and lead to massive epidemics among people.

Many people form an opinion about the size of the continent only when they see the real numbers in which its area is measured. So, the total area of ​​mainland South America, including its main islands, is 18,280,000 square kilometers. The area of ​​all the islands is equal to 150,000 square kilometers. The following islands are included in the continent:

  • Malvinsky;
  • Tobago;
  • Trinidad;
  • Galapogos;
  • Chonos archipelago;
  • archipelago Tierra del Fuego.

Keep in mind that the area of ​​South America is almost always measured along with its islands. Some sources immediately indicate that the islands belong to various South American countries.

South American countries

On average, the area of ​​South America is divided between 12 large countries, which are located in territories of ambiguous size:

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

The countries of South America occupy more than 13% of the land on the planet by area.

General characteristics of the countries of South America

Of course, each of the countries on the continent has its own special characteristics, but there is still something in common between them. First of all, this is economic development, all twelve largest countries can be classified as developing. Their economy is just reaching a new level, and the main activity is agriculture. Surprisingly, European intervention in the history of the development of Latin American peoples significantly affected the language base of the population. Spanish is recognized as the main language on the continent, it is spoken by residents of nine countries out of twelve.

What is the area of ​​the largest country in South America?

Brazil is considered the largest country on the mainland, with an area of ​​approximately 8,500,000 square kilometers. It is worth saying that Brazil is also the most populous country on the continent, its population exceeds 200,000,000 people.

Brazil ranks fifth in the world in terms of territory and population. Many analysts explain this as a kind of "law of the soil", which allows a child born in the country to acquire Brazilian citizenship, regardless of the citizenship of his parents.

You can talk about the continent of South America for an infinitely long time, because everything here is surprisingly unusual and so unlike what Europeans are used to seeing around them. No wonder the navigators who discovered America called it a real "wonder of the world."

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Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world after Russia, China, Canada and the United States. It occupies almost half of the entire continent of South America.

The Portuguese expedition of Pedro Cabral was the first to set foot on the soil of Brazil. The Portuguese were looking for new routes to India, but they discovered an unknown land, which they called the "Land of the Holy Cross". So Portugal had a new colony.

The Portuguese dreamed of piles of gold and precious stones. However, their search was unsuccessful. The most valuable, according to the Portuguese settlers, in the new colony was the paubrasil tree, from which bright red paint was obtained. The country was named after him - Brazil.

The two natural regions of Brazil (the forested plains of the Amazon River and its tributaries and the Brazilian Plateau) differ sharply from each other.


The Amazon is so large that it can only be seen in its entirety from space. This is a green boundless expanse of impenetrable wilds. Sometimes, among this green thicket, vast blue spots appear, ribbons that merge together. This is the Amazon itself, a powerful, full-flowing river, and its tributaries.

The width of the Amazon in the middle reaches 5 km, and after the confluence of the Xingu tributary - 80 km. It is no longer possible to see the opposite bank of the river. The depth of the Amazon is 135 m. It is as deep as the sea, for example, the Baltic. At the mouth of the Amazon, it is divided into several branches, which from different sides cover the huge island of Marajo.

Ocean tides come into the mouth of the Amazon. In the shallow waters of the delta, huge waves 4-5 m high rise, which move up the river with a terrible roar. It seems that a huge, mighty river has turned back.

During the summer tropical rains in the Amazon, there are floods, especially strong from April to June. Then its banks and valleys are flooded, especially where the Rio Negro, Madeira, Purus flow into the Amazon. Under the water are hundreds of kilometers of land covered with forests. Brazilians call such flooded forests "igapo". There grow special trees that can "breathe" under water; creepers without roots. In these places, the giant water lily Victoria Regia reigns, the leaves of which reach 2 m in diameter.

In another part of the country, on the Brazilian plateau, there is a completely different world. The center of the plateau is the edge of the savannas, overgrown with tall grass, among which there are groups of shrubs and low trees. The Brazilians call these savannahs "campos". Campos has two seasons - dry and rainy. Many plants shed their leaves during the dry season; a thick layer of cork on the trunks saves them from heat and fires. In some plants, small leaves are covered with a waxy coating that retains moisture, and long roots go deep into the soil. During the rainy season, campos turns green and blooms. At this time, there is expanse for huge herds of cattle.

On the outskirts of the Brazilian Plateau, along the Paraguay River, lies a very special region - the country of the Pantanal swamps. This is a large lowland, surrounded by hills, from which the waters of numerous rivers flow into the Pantanal, especially during heavy summer rains. For many months of the rainy season, this lowland turns into a solid lake-swamp. And in winter, during the dry season, it is an endless chain of lakes, swamps, grass patches, sandbanks. There are many waterfowl here: storks, herons, cormorants, ibises, etc. Both in the Pantanal and in the Amazon there is a lungfish - scaly, which has both gills and lungs. She feels great in shallow waters, in swamps. In the dry season, when the swamps sometimes dry up, the flake burrows into the silt.

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More than 7 thousand km long and about 5 thousand wide, it has a total area of ​​17,800 square kilometers. The map of South America clearly shows us that it did not fit entirely in this continent, part of it is located in the North. The population of the mainland is more than 385 million people. The cities of South America are delightful, they stun with the fusion of completely different, seemingly incompatible cultures: ancient and modern, European and Indian, and skyscrapers.

Characteristics

South America is a huge, completely unexplored world, extremely bright and extremely interesting. Imagination is struck primarily by the diversity of landscapes. The Andes (the ridge of South America and the longest mountain range in the world at 9000 km) have not yet calmed down: earthquakes and volcanic eruptions often occur here. The famous impenetrable swampy jungle in its selva spread its tributaries - the lungs of our planet. And nearby is one of the driest places on Earth - the Chilean deserts, the Argentinean and Uruguayan steppes - hot, waterless, dusty. And nearby are huge lakes, the highest waterfalls and vast islands full of rocks. In the north - the almost hot Caribbean Sea, in the south - Tierra del Fuego and the cold storms of the Atlantic, the proximity of Antarctica with its penguins and icebergs. South America is so diverse that anyone can be interested, everyone will discover this continent.

Brazil

It is the largest state in terms of area and population. The capital is Brasilia. The most vibrant city is Rio de Janeiro, full of tourists, carnivals and first-class beaches.

Argentina

It's also a big country. The capital is Buenos Aires, the city of the famous carnival (January 16), and for many inhabitants of the planet - the most beautiful in the world.

Bolivia

The government of this "middle" state prefers the city of La Paz, but Sucre is listed as the capital. La Paz is very beautiful.

Venezuela

This is the place where South America ends, its north, warm climes. The capital of the country is Caracas, located on the Caribbean coast, and on its outskirts begins the National Park with delightfully virgin tropical nature.

Guyana

Northeast coast, capital - Georgetown. Country of wet jungle - up to 90% of the territory is occupied by them.

Guiana

Although this is South America, but here the French overseas region is not allowed without a visa. The administrative center is the city of Cayenne.

Colombia

Northwest, capital - Bogota. The country is named after Columbus. There are many museums that demonstrate the richest historical and cultural heritage, as well as an extremely interesting fusion of two cultures - European and Indian.

Paraguay

The capital is Asuncion, a beautiful and original city, with many architectural monuments.

Peru

The Andes of the west coast, the state is still not unraveled by the Incas. The capital is Lima, an amazingly beautiful city on a high ocean coast.

Suriname

Tropical country in the northeast of the mainland. Paramaribo is its capital, a city without skyscrapers, original, retaining style.

Uruguay

This is the southeast of the continent. The capital - Montevideo - was glorified by the carnival, known no less than the Argentinean. Colonial architecture is not offended by eclecticism.

Chile

A long strip along the Pacific coast, breathtaking and As the poet said: "There is no country more beautiful than Chile." The capital is Santiago, a city famous for coups, balneological tourism and beautiful views of the highlands.

Ecuador

An equatorial country in the northwest where the most important monuments of ancient culture, museums of the colonial and pre-colonial eras are concentrated.

South America is the southern continent in America, located mainly in the Western and Southern hemispheres of planet Earth, however, part of the continent is also located in the Northern Hemisphere. It is washed in the west by the Pacific Ocean, in the east by the Atlantic, from the north it is limited by North America, the border between the Americas runs along the Isthmus of Panama and the Caribbean Sea.

South America also includes various islands , most of which belong to the countries of the continent. Caribbean territories belong toNorth America. South American countries that border the Caribbean - including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and french guiana- known as Caribbean South America.

The area of ​​the continent is 17.8 million km² (4th place among continents), the population is 385,742,554 people (4th place among continents).

The length from north to south is (approximately) 7350 km. Length from west to east - (approximately) 4900 km

Languages

The most widely spoken languages ​​in South America are Portuguese and Spanish . Speaks Portuguese Brazil , whose population is about 50% of the population of this continent. Spanish language is the official language of most countries on this continent. Also in South America they speak other languages: in Suriname they speak Dutch, in Guyana - in English, and in French Guiana - respectively in French. You can often hearindigenous languages ​​of the Indians: Quechua (Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru), Guarani (Paraguay and Bolivia), Aymara (Bolivia and Peru) and Araucanian(South of Chile and Argentina). All of them (except the last one) have an official status in the countries of their linguistic area. Since a significant proportion of the population of South America are from Europe, many of them still retain their own language, the most common of which are Italian and German in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela and Chile. The most popular foreign languages ​​studied in South America are English, French, German and Italian.

    Climatic zones

    There are 5 climate zones in South America:subequatorial belt(2 times), equatorial belt, Tropical Belt , subtropical belt and the temperate zone.

    Hydrography

    The most important river systems in South America are Amazon, Orinoco and Parana , whose total basin is 9,583,000 km² (the area of ​​South America is 17,850,568 km²). Most of the lakes in South America are located in Andes , the largest of which and the highest navigable lake in the world is Titicaca , on the border of Bolivia and Peru. The largest lake is Maracaibo in Venezuela, it is also one of the oldest on the planet.

    South America has the highest waterfall in the world - Angel . The most powerful waterfall is located on the mainland - Iguazu.

    South America is the wettest continent Earth.


    Minerals

    The bowels of South America contain a very diverse complex of minerals. The largest deposits of iron ores are confined to the ancient Precambrian of Venezuela (the Orinoco river basin) and Brazil (the state of Minas Gerais), the richest deposits of porphyry copper ores - to the granitoid batholiths of the Central Andes. Deposits of ores of rare elements are associated with ultramafic alkaline intrusions of Eastern Brazil. Deposits of ores of tin, antimony, silver, and other ores have been found on the territory of Bolivia. The forward and intermountain troughs of the Andes contain deposits of oil and gas along their entire length, which are especially rich within Venezuela. There are coal deposits; deposits of coal are known in the Upper Paleozoic, brown - in the Cenozoic. Bauxite deposits are confined to the young weathering crust (especially in Guyana and Suriname).

    Animal and Plant World

    The natural world of South America is one of the richest on the planet. In the Amazon basin, you can find at least 44,000 different plant species, 2,500 river fish and 1,500 bird species. The jungle is home to huge spiders that feed on birds, and mammals such as armadillos and sloths. The rivers of South America are home to sea cows, freshwater dolphins, giant catfish and electric eels. Thousands of species of forest insects have not yet been studied.
    Alnacas and vicuñas from the camelid family are found in the Andes. The steppes of Pamna are inhabited by a large running nandu bird, or the American ostrich. In colder areas on the southern fringes of the continent, penguins and seals are common. On the Galapagos Islands, lying in the Pacific Ocean west of the coast of Ecuador, there are such rare representatives of the animal world as the famous giant tortoises.
    Fertile soils nourish the rich flora of the continent. South America is the birthplace of prickly araucaria, rubber, potatoes and many domestic plants (for example, monstera).
    The nature of South America is under threat of destruction. As people cut down forests, many species of forest animals and priceless plants that have not adapted to new living conditions disappear without a trace.
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