Extreme South American Geography Quiz

Answer: 48%

Brazil occupies nearly half of the continent along much of the the eastern coast of South America and includes most of the continent's interior.

Brazil is the only country that has the both equator and the Tropic of Capricorn running through the country.

The southeastern section is rugged, with mountain ranges reaching up to 1,200m. These include the Mantiqueira and Espinhaço mountains and the Serra do Mar. In northern Brazil, the Guiana Highlands form a major drainage separation: rivers that flow south into the Amazon Basin are differentiated from rivers that empty into the Orinoco River system, in Venezuela, running north. Pico da Neblina at 2,994 metres (9,823 ft) is the highest point in Brazil.

Brazil has a complex system of rivers, with eight major drainage basins, all of which flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

Answer: The Brazilian border with other South American countries

Located along the entire western coast of South America, the Andes mountain range is about 4,500 miles or 7,200 kilometres long. The Andes cross seven countries' boundaries - Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

The Amazon is the second longest river on earth and the longest in South America. Its length is 6,992 km (4,345 mi).

The Brazilian border borders nine other countries (ten if you count French Guiana). In total the Brazilian border is 16,885 kilometres (10,492 mi) long. This makes it the third longest border behind Russia and China.

The US-Canadian border of the contiguous US is 6416km long (3987 Mi). If you add the Alaskan border add another 2,475 kilometres (1,538 mi). Including the Alaskan border the entire border passes through 13 US states and eight Canadian provinces and territories.

Answer: Asia

The only mountains that are taller than the Andes are the Himalaya Mountains and their adjacent ranges, in Asia. The average elevation in the Andes is about 13,000 feet (4,000 metres).
The origin of the name "Andes" is not known with certainty; but most people agree that it is derived from the Quechua word "anti", meaning "high crest."

Answer: One of the world's top five largest rivers by discharge rate

The Rio Negro which means "Black River", is the largest left tributary of the Amazon, the largest black water river in the world, and world's seventh largest river by average discharge.
From its source in the the highlands of Colombia, the river moves through Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil covering 2,250 kilometres.
Where the Rio Negro meets the Amazon, there is a merging of black water of the Negro and the muddy brown of the Amazon. The black and brown colours (pictured) flow side by side without mixing for about 9 km (6 mi) before becoming an homogeneous colour.

Some facts about the Amazon River:
The Amazon crosses seven countries' borders including Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Guyana, Venezuela and Colombia.
The width of river can reach up to 190 kilometres during the wet season.
Most of the Amazon runs through rainforests, because of this no bridges have been built over the river.
The area covered by the Amazon basin is huge: 7,050,000 square kilometres.

Answer: Manaus

Manaus is the capital city of the state of Amazonas in the North Region of Brazil. It is situated near the confluence of the Negro and Amazon rivers and has a population of more than two million people.

Nearly all transportation to and from Manaus is by boat or plane. There are frequent quotations that "there are still no roads to Manaus". There is a highway running north connecting Manaus to Boa Vista, then onto to Venezuela. you can then re-enter Brazil by travelling through the countries of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru and coming back into Brazil at Acre approximately 4500 km later.

The Opera Theatre (pictured) is world famous with most building materials brought from various cities in Europe. Its architectural style is considered Renaissance Revival.

Answer: Western coast covering northern Chile and southern Peru

The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America between Chile and Peru, a 1,000-kilometre (620 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. Excluding polar regions, it is the driest desert in the world. The average rainfall is about 15 mm annually though some areas receive 1 to 3 mm per annum and some weather stations have never recorded rain.

The lack of rainfall is because it is situated between two mountain chains (the Andes are the Eastern border), which have enough height to prevent rain from either the Pacific or the Atlantic Oceans rolling in, resulting, in effect, a two-sided rain shadow.

Answer: Colombia

The Pan-American Highway is a continuation of roads, measuring about 30,000 km that crosses through the length of North, Central, and South America, except for the Derien Gap. The 'gap' is from Turbo, Colombia to the town of Yaviza in Panama causing a straight-line separation of about 100 km (60 mi). Most of the gap is marsh and swampland and difficult to traverse. Besides serving as a transport problem, the gap acts as a barrier for the transmission of diseases especially animal diseases. To put a road through this area would be prohibitively expensive and environmentally unfriendly.

The photo depicts Bogota, the largest city in Colombia.

Answer: Most southerly city in the world

Ushuaia is a small city of around 60 000 and the capital of Tierra del Fuego (an archipelago off the southernmost end of the South American mainland, traversing the Strait of Magellan) in Argentina. It is the southernmost city in the world. Ushuaia is located in a bay area on the south coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.

Tourism is the main industry: attractions include Lapataia Bay and the Tierra del Fuego National Park which can be reached by road or by the End of the World Train.

Ushuaia is also the main shipping port to the Antarctic islands such as the South Orkney Islands and the South Shetland Islands. Cruise ships to Buenos Aires and Islas Malvinas (The Falklands) are frequent visitors.

Answer: 1939

Angel Falls is the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of 979 meters (3,212 ft) and a drop of 807 meters (2,648 ft).

It is possible Venezuelan explorer Ernesto Sanchez La Cruz saw the falls in 1912, but he did not make such a discovery known.

Jimmie Angel, an American airman, followed directions from explorer Felix Cardona who had seen the waterfall six years earlier, flew over the falls on 16 November 1933. He returned in October 1937. Angel tried to land his plane on top of Auyan-tepui, a table shaped mountain adjacent to the falls but the plane was damaged. Angel, his wife and two other men were forced to climb down the mountain on foot which took took 11 days before they reached civilisation. It was for this effort, not the original sighting, that precipitated the naming of Angel Falls.

Answer: Sao Paulo, Lima, Bogota

South America has some enormous cities: Rio de Janeiro has over six million people and over twelve million in its metropolitan area. However it is only half the size of its Brazilian big brother - Sao Paulo has over eleven million people and over 21 million in its metropolitan area. Lima in Peru has over ten million people to make it South America's second largest city. Colombia's capital, Bogota has over eight million people (over ten million in its metropolitan area) to claim third place. Rio is the fourth biggest city in South American. Santiago, Caracas and Buenos Aires all have over three million residents. The photo depicts Sao Paulo.