The fourth largest continent on the planet is South America. Its average area is 17.8 sq. km. The main territory of the continent is located in the Southern and Western Hemispheres, a small part is located in the Northern. The largest islands in South America: Tierra del Fuego, Falkland Islands, Chiloe, Wellington and Galapagos.
Geographic characteristics
This continent is separated from others by vast expanses of the ocean. The isolated position determined the peculiarities of the development of nature. Therefore, the flora and fauna of South America are distinguished by endemism. The area of the mainland together with the nearby islands is 18 million square meters. km.
There is no permanent population on islands such as South Sandwich and South Georgia. These are land areas belonging to the Falkland Islands group and belonging to the UK. They have long been contested by Argentina. There are 12 states on the continent: Venezuela, the Colombian Republic, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Suriname, etc. There are relatively few large land areas around the mainland. The Pacific coastal area is heavily indented. It is surrounded by numerous islands of different sizes, which are combined into the Tierra del Fuego and Chilean archipelagos. There are fjords, bays and straits that separate the islands from each other.
Trinidad belongs to the islands of South America. It is located in the Caribbean, off the northeastern coast of the mainland. The island is part of the state of Trinidad and Tobago. Its shores are surrounded by coral formations and covered with mangrove plants. The Galapagos Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean. They form an archipelago of volcanic origin, formed 10 million years ago. The Galapagos Islands belong to Ecuador.
Climatic conditions
The islands of the South America have a variety of natural complexes and landscapes. The continent and islands have forests, mountains, deserts and plains. The Cordillera mountain range stretches across the mainland, which is second only to the Himalayas in height. In South America, there is a huge Amazon basin, which carries its waters to the Atlantic. A vast zone of equatorial humid forests has been formed here by nature.
The climate of the mainland and islands varies, depending on the distance of a particular area from the equator. The northern part of the continent is subject to an equatorial climate with the highest temperatures in January. The southern regions are located in the polar zone. The Galapagos Islands are slightly cooler than other land areas near the equator. A cold current passes near them. Therefore, the air temperature, on average, is +24 degrees, and the water sometimes cools down to +20 degrees.
