---
id:"kb-2026-00467"
title:"South America Geography"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"geography"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"The Physical Geography of South America (Veblen, Young, Orme)"
    type:"book"
    year:2007
    url:"https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-physical-geography-of-south-america-9780195313413"
    institution:"Oxford University Press"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "MDN Web Docs — HTTP"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP"
    institution: "Mozilla"
  - title: "RESTful Web APIs"
    authors: ["Richardson", "Amundsen"]
    type: "book"
    year: 2013
    url: "https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/restful-web-apis/9781449359713/"
    institution: "O'Reilly"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
  last_citation_check:"2026-05-22"
---

## TL;DR

South America (17.84 million km²) is the 4th largest continent. Major features: Andes (longest mountain range, 7,000 km), Amazon Basin (largest rainforest), Atacama Desert (driest non-polar place), Angel Falls (tallest waterfall, 979m), Pantanal (largest tropical wetland). 12 countries, ~430 million people.

## Core Explanation

Andes: formed by subduction of Nazca Plate under South American Plate — still rising. Amazon River: largest by discharge, 6,400+ km. Patagonia: southern end, glaciers, fjords, winds. Lake Titicaca (Peru/Bolivia): highest navigable lake (3,812m). Galapagos Islands (Ecuador): Darwin's living laboratory. Largest cities: São Paulo (22M), Buenos Aires (15M), Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Bogotá.

## Further Reading

- [The Physical Geography of South America (Veblen, Young, Orme)](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-physical-geography-of-south-america-9780195313413)