South America with Fifteen Questions Quiz

Answer: Christopher Columbus

South America is the fifth largest populated continent among the seven continents. The population of the continent is over 379 million people. Its largest country is Brazil and the largest city is Sao Paulo in Brazil. It was named after the Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci. South America takes up 12% of the Earth's surface.

In 1498, Christopher Columbus sailed the northern coastline of South America and sent the information back to Europe. This new information caused explorers to begin their own journeys of discovery.

Answer: Venezuela

The Andes mountain range starts in western Venezuela. In 1928, the country of Venezuela was a part of Colombia and became its own republic in 1929. In the twelve countries in South America, Venezuela is the richest in oil.

The continent of South America consists of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, French Guiana (part of France), Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Suriname.

Answer: Argentina

The Equator passes through Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia. However, it does not pass through Argentina. The Tropic of Capricorn passes through Argentina. The Equator is 24,901.55 miles long.

Answer: Sugarloaf Mountain

Sugarloaf Mountain was named for the resemblance it has to an actual sugar loaf. The mountain peak is situated 1,299 feet in the sky and located in Rio de Janeiro.

Pico da Neblina is the highest point in Brazil.
Cristobal Colon is the highest point in Colombia.
Cerro Pero is the highest point in Paraguay.

Answer: Galapagos Islands

Ecuador is the second smallest country in South America. The Equator runs through the north part of the country while the Andes Mountains run throughout the country. Indians live in the valley created by the mountains. Ecuador is made up of forty percent Indians out of the eight million people that populate the country. In the early 1800s, Ecuador gained its independence from Spain. The Galapagos Islands, owned by Ecuador, are a chain of volcanic islands located west of Ecuador. They have a population of twenty-six thousand and a capital city called Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.

Answer: Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the lowest point of Guyana. The coastline stretches a small 285 miles long. The highest point in Guyana is Mt. Roraima at 9,301 feet.

Cerro Pero is the highest point in Paraguay.
Nevado Sajama is the highest point in Bolivia.

Answer: Yes

Paraguay river divides the country into two parts; the Parana Plateau and the Chaco. The Parana Plateau is fertile land where the majority of Paraguay's population is found. The Chaco starts out with forest and pasture land but as it goes on the land becomes drier.

The north west part of Chaco has no water. In a major difference to the Parana Plateau, the Chaco only has a few settlements living inside it: the Mennonites and three different Indian civilizations.

Answer: Peru

Peru lies on the west coast of South America. The country was conquered by Spain in 1532 for its gold and silver. A civil war that broke out in 1821 gave Peru the independence it was looking for from Spain in 1824. Its capital city, Lima, became known as the "City of Kings" to the Spaniards because of the gold and silver. The Incan empire was centered in Peru.

Answer: Uruguay

Former President Juan Maria Bordaberry was sentenced to prison for thirty years which was the maximum amount of time he could serve under Uruguayan law. Former Uruguayan President Juan Maria Bordaberry was indicted for the assassinations of two legislators in 1976. He served his prison sentence at the home of his son due to his many health problems until his death in 2011.

Answer: Copacabana

Copacabana is on the shore of Lake Titicaca. Copacabana is the home of the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana, a sacred shrine. Our Lady of Copacabana is the patron saint of Bolivia.

Answer: Copper

Chile is a ribbon of a country embedded between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Northern Chile is full of hills and plains where copper deposits are dug while southern Chile is a desert that needs to be irrigated to help with the growing agriculture. Chile's minerals have been a major monetary asset to the country.

In the late 1800s, Chile controlled a quarter of the copper market. The market slowed down until the early twentieth century when the copper market picked up and became Chile's greatest single export.

Answer: New Granada

The Spanish entered South America looking for the man who called himself El Dorado. During their search for the man, Spain took most of the coast and the mountains of Colombia. They renamed the country New Granada. When a civil war in the 1800s freed New Granada from Spanish control, New Granada regained the name Colombia in 1863. The name comes from explorer Christopher Columbus.

New Granada was given a different flag than Colombia. Where New Granada had a flag that was red, green and yellow, Colombia's flag was yellow, blue and red.

Answer: Yes

French Guiana is an interesting country. France took over the country which is located on the north coast of South America. The French people tried to make plantations work on the land, but the elements and earth were too harsh for them. Eventually, when slavery was abolished the plantations also dried up from lack of slave help. Seeing the need to use the land that they had purchased, France used French Guiana as a penal colony for prisoners.

The most famous penal colony is called Devil's Island off the coast of French Guiana.

By the 1950s, all the prisoners on Devil's Island were removed.

Answer: Dutch

Suriname was taken over by the Dutch in 1667 and it became known as Dutch Guiana until 1975. In 1975, Dutch Guiana became Suriname and the country became independent. Dutch is the official language of the country, but English, Hindi, Chinese and Javanese are also well spoken in the country.

Answer: Strait of Magellan

Strait of Magellan is positioned on the southern tip of South America. The strait is 570 kilometers long and two kilometers wide at its narrowest point. The strait is named for the navigator Ferdinand Magellan who found this strait to be much easier to get through than the Drake Strait due to the icy conditions. Before the Panama Canal opened, the Strait of Magellan was found to be the safest route for supply ships.