Continent
A continent joined to North America by the isthmus of Panama and otherwise bounded by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, dominated along its western edge by the Andes, the world's longest continental mountain range, and drained through its interior by the Amazon Basin, the largest river drainage system on Earth. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Area (sq km)National Geographic Atlas of the World figure. Population2021 estimate, Wikipedia infobox (5th most populous continent). Highest Point Highest Elevation (m) Lowest PointLaguna del Carbon, Argentina 3 Country Count Tectonic Plate ContextThe South American Plate row of the cited source's table of major tectonic plates. South America
Connections
Associated With
This source names South America directly: "largest tropical rainforest outside South America, the Congo Basin, along its equatorial belt."
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Antarctica, Continents Why this is disputed. Antarctica and South America were joined within Gondwana and separated as the Drake Passage opened between them, allowing the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to begin flowing. Published estimates for when the passage fully opened range from about 49 to 17 million years ago; most reconstructions place the main separation between 34 and 23 million years ago, but the exact timing remains an active question in the tectonic literature.
Source United States Geological Survey
This source names North America directly: "A continent joined to North America by the isthmus of Panama and otherwise bounded by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, dominated along its western edge by the Andes, the world's longest continental..."
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source South America (Wikipedia)
Source South America (Wikipedia)
Source South America (Wikipedia)
Demonstrates
Source El Nino-Southern Oscillation (Wikipedia)
Open Questions
Source North America (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. South America (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundationintroduction, country list
The continent includes twelve sovereign countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela
Introduction, continent overview
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere.
Lead paragraph, first sentence
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere.
Infobox, Area
17,840,000 km2 (6,890,000 sq mi)
Infobox, Population (2021 estimate)
434,254,119 (2021; 5th)
Associated With: The Pacific Ocean, Opening section, bordering waters
South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south by the Drake Passage.
Associated With: The Atlantic Ocean, Opening section, bordering waters
South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south by the Drake Passage.
Associated With: The Andes, Geography section
The geography of western South America is dominated by the Andes mountains; in contrast, the eastern part contains both highland regions and vast lowlands where rivers such as the Amazon, Orinoco and Parana flow.
View the Source 2. Aconcagua (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundationopening paragraph, summit statusQuote, opening paragraph, summit status
With a summit elevation of 6,967.15 metres (22,858.1 feet), it is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres.
3. Extreme Points of South America (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLowest point entryQuote, Lowest point entry
Lowest point: Laguna del Carbon, Santa Cruz, Argentina at -105 m
4. List of Tectonic Plates (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationSouth American Plate entryQuote, South American Plate entry
Major tectonic plate, 43,600,000 km2 (16,800,000 sq mi)
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.britannica.com/place/South-America, main article body (Land section, opening paragraph on total area and extremes)Quote, britannica.com/place/South-America, main article body (Land section, opening paragraph on total area and extremes)
South America has a total area of about 6,878,000 square miles (17,814,000 square km), or roughly one-eighth of the land surface of Earth. Its greatest north-south extent is about 4,700 miles, from Point Gallinas, Colombia, to Cape Horn, while its greatest east-west extent is some 3,300 miles, from Cape Branco, Brazil, to Point Pariñas, Peru. At 22,831 feet (6,959 metres) above sea level, Mount Aconcagua, in Argentina, near the border with Chile, is not only the continent’s highest point but also the highest elevation in the Western Hemisphere. The Valdés Peninsula, on the southeastern coast of Argentina, includes the lowest point, at 131 feet (40 metres) below sea level. In relation to its area, the continent’s coastline-some 15,800 miles in length-is exceptionally short.
National Geographic Atlas of the World
National Geographic Society, 2019World continents area table
The World Factbook
Central Intelligence AgencySouth America, population summaryView the Source United States Geological Survey
Brazil (Wikipedia)
Peru (Wikipedia)
Amazon River (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: The Amazon River, Infobox, Location fieldQuote, Home To: The Amazon River, Infobox, Location field
Peru, Colombia, Brazil
El Nino-Southern Oscillation (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationDemonstrates: El Nino-Southern Oscillation, Definition and terminology sectionQuote, Demonstrates: El Nino-Southern Oscillation, Definition and terminology section
Peruvian sailors named the warm south-flowing current El Nino, referring to the Christ Child, because it was most noticeable around Christmas.
Atlantic Ocean (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: The Atlantic Ocean, Lead section, Age of Discovery paragraph
it was known for separating the New World of the Americas (North America and South America) from the Old World of Afro-Eurasia (Africa, Asia, and Europe)
Home To: The Atlantic Ocean, Lead section, Age of Discovery passage
the New World of the Americas (North America and South America) from the Old World of Afro-Eurasia (Africa, Asia, and Europe)
View the Source Pacific Ocean (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: The Pacific Ocean, Lead section, quadrant subdivision paragraph
the Southeast Pacific off South America
Home To: The Pacific Ocean, Lead section, quadrant description
the Southeast Pacific off South America
View the Source The Atacama Desert (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: The Atacama Desert, Lead sectionQuote, Home To: The Atacama Desert, Lead section
The Atacama Desert is a desert plateau on the Pacific coast of South America, stretching along a 1,600-kilometre-long (1,000-mile) strip of land in northern Chile, west of the Andes. It covers an area of 105,000 km2 (41,000 mi2), rising to 128,000 km2 (49,000 mi2) if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. It is regarded as the driest nonpolar place in the world and the only true desert to receive less precipitation than polar deserts.
Arica (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Arica, Lead section, continent referenceQuote, Home To: Arica, Lead section, continent reference
Arica is located at the bend of South America's western coast known as the Arica Bend or Arica Elbow.
Cape Horn (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Cape Horn, Lead sectionQuote, Home To: Cape Horn, Lead section
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile.
Colca Canyon (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Colca Canyon, Lead sectionQuote, Home To: Colca Canyon, Lead section
The Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru, located about 160 kilometres (99 mi) northwest of Arequipa.
Cotopaxi (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Cotopaxi, Lead sectionQuote, Home To: Cotopaxi, Lead section
Cotopaxi is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located in Cotopaxi National Park in Cotopaxi Province, Ecuador.
Lake Titicaca (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Lake Titicaca, Lead sectionQuote, Home To: Lake Titicaca, Lead section
Lake Titicaca is a large lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru.
Open Questions (1 open question)
Where does North America end and South America begin: at the Darien Gap on the Panama-Colombia border, or farther north at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico?
The conventional political boundary runs through the Darien Gap on the Panama-Colombia border, which places almost all of Panama within North America. Some geologists instead draw the physiographic line farther north, at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, treating the rest of Central America as a transitional zone rather than as part of North America proper. The two conventions, political and physiographic, answer different questions and disagree by roughly two thousand kilometers.
What would resolve this A single agreed convention for whether the continental boundary follows political borders or physiographic features would settle which line applies; no new fact discovery is expected to close this on its own, since both conventions already agree on the underlying geography.
Physical geographyNorth America (Wikipedia)
Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
In Category: Continents
The same Americas-combined argument carried on North America own in-category edge applies here: South America is joined to North America by the Isthmus of Panama with no oceanic separation, and six-continent (and the Olympic movement five-continent) models taught widely across Latin America and Southern and Western Europe count the two as one continent rather than two.
A dissenting reading, from Geography curricula of Latin America, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece and other six-continent-model traditions, aEncyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest point in South America?
Aconcagua, in Argentina, at 6,967 meters.
Aconcagua, in the Andes of Argentina, rises 6,967 meters above sea level and is the highest point in South America. The continent's lowest point is Laguna del Carbon, in Argentina's Santa Cruz Province.
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