# South America Geography
Confidence: high
Last verified: 2026-05-22
Generation: ai_assisted


## 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)