A Tour Guide To South America Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rio De Janeiro

The statue of Cristo Redento (Christ the Redeemer) stands on the highest point of Mount Corcovado. Completed in 1931, it stands 30 metres tall (98 feet) and the outstretched arms span 28 metres (92 feet). Made of reinforced concrete with a soapstone tile mosaic, it became the largest Art Deco sculpture in the world. About 1.75m people visit the statue annually, according to figures released in 2018.

Brazil is the largest country in South America in terms of area and population. In area it covers 47 per cent of the South American land mass and is home to 210m people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in South America. Portuguese was formerly spoken in Uruguay, and although some people in isolated areas still speak it, Spanish is the official language.

Answer: Angel Falls, Venezuela

Water starts to flow off the top of Angel Falls (Salto Ángel) in Venezuela at 3,230 feet and falls for 2,647 feet, making them the world's tallest waterfalls. The falls are on the Churún River and are a Unesco World Heritage Site. The falls are difficult to access on foot, but their power and majesty can be seen from tourist planes that fly over them, or from canoes on the river You can also swim in the pool below the falls.

The 'wrong' answers are also waterfalls worth visiting in South America if you have the time.

Answer: Atacama Desert, Chile/Peru

The Atacama Desert (Desierto de Atacama) in Chile and Peru extends to 128,000 square kilometres (49,000 square miles) and is made up of stony terrain, salt lakes, sand, and lava, all of which make it the driest desert in the world, with an average rainfall each year of one millimetre - yes, 1mm. Because the soil is believed to be similar to that on Mars, Nasa has used it for testing exploratory vehicles.

Temperatures can reach 40º C (104º F), during the day and fall to 5º C (41º F) at night. Copper is mined in the desert and there are settlements along the coast where vegetables are grown. Although the Atacama Desert is smaller than the Patagonian Desert of Argentina and Peru, they are in different classifications of desert. The Patagonian is a "cold winter" desert" while the Atacama is designated as "mild coastal".

Answer: Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Having erupted more than 50 times since 1738, Cotopaxi is one of South America's most active volcanoes. It is also third in the list of the world's highest active volcanoes, with a summit at 19,347 feet (5897m). (The top two are also in South America). It is not, though, the tallest volcano in Ecuador, Chimborazo, at 6310 metres (20,560feet) is taller, but is inactive.

The most recent eruption prior to this quiz being written in July 2020 was from August 2015 to January 2016. In 2017 "The Atlantic" magazine noted that while no one could predict when the next eruption would take place, take place it would, and it would be worse than the 2015/16 outcome.

The frequent eruptions and the number of people likely to be exposed to the consequences means Cotopaxi is considered by scientists to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. The summit was first reached in 1872 and excursions can be taken to climb it today. It is not an ascent for the ill-prepared or the faint-hearted.

None of the wrong answers are currently considered to be"active volcanoes".

Answer: Capybara

The capybara is the largest rodent in the world (think beaver and double the size). They grow to between 3.5 and 4.5 feet long, stand up to 24 inches tall, and weigh anywhere between 77 and 146 pounds. Capybara are semi-aquatic and originated in northern and central South America, though some have made their way north to Florida. Their main sources of nourishment are aquatic plants and grasses.

They are strong swimmers due their webbed feet. Although they are related to hamsters and guinea pigs, keeping them as pets has produced mixed results. Some people have tried, and been bitten for their endeavours. Additionally, capybara are herd animals: they like company and can become destructive if left alone.

Answer: Easter Island

The island was first settled between 700 and 800AD. The first European to see the island was Jacob Roggeveen in 1722.

The famous heads found there today are thought to be 500 years old. On average the 9000 heads remaining are 13 feet (4m) tall and weigh 13 tonnes. While no one really knows why they were built, there is a school of thought that they were a source of spiritual power and knowledge.

Answer: Alpaca

Alpaca hail from the high Andes region on the borders of Peru, Chile, and Bolivia, nearly 4,000 metres above sea level. They are close relatives of the llama. Both species were domesticated over 6,000 years ago. Alpaca became noted for their fleeces and need to be shorn once a year or the animal will overheat.

The fleeces are noted for their silky natural fibres and are among the most expensive of any in the world. Incidentally, while alpaca fleece is expensive, it is not the most expensive in the world. That comes from their near-relative, the vicuña.

Although they are noted as quiet animals, an alpaca will spit if it feels distressed. A male alpaca is known as a "macho" and a female as a "hembra". Alpaca are smaller than llamas, but the two species do get along. In the UK, some farmers use alpaca to guard sheep against foxes. In all there are 5,000 registered alpacas in the UK, 350,000 in the USA and 350,000 in Australia - among the three million worldwide.

In the wild, the best place to see them is the high ranges of the Andes in places such as the Sacred Valley of the Incas in Peru. If you have the currency to spare, a scarf made locally of alpaca wool makes a great souvenir.

Answer: Simon Bolivar

By the 19th Century, much of South America had been conquered and colonised by Spain and Portugal. At that time independence movements began to gather apace and Simón Bolívar became one of the great liberators. Bernardo O'Higgins and José de San Martín also led freedom movements.

Bolívar was born into a wealthy family in Venezuela and became a soldier. He led rebellions that ousted the Spaniards from six countries - Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, and Peru. The newly freed land that became Bolivia was named after him.

Bolívar earned a mixed reputation among his contemporaries - he was not the only leader of a military force trying to liberate lands, but came to be regarded as a brilliant tactician. After independence, Bolívar served as president of Gran Colombia between 1819 and 1830, and dictator of Peru from 1823 to 1826.

Answer: Gaucho

Argentina was the world' sixth largest producer according to figures from beef2live.com in June 2020. That was 4.48 per cent of the world's production. Brazil was four places higher: indeed Argentina and Brazil together produced more than the country at the top of the 'table', the USA. Staggeringly, those figures show total worldwide beef production of 61.6 million metric tonnes.

Gauchos - the equivalent of the North American cowboys - were nomadic cowhands, following the herds through the grassy pampas of Argentina and Uruguay. Like the cowboys, their heyday was the period between the mid 18th and mid 19th centuries. Their numbers have declined, but, according to the website "All About Argentina", thousands still carry on their traditional roles.

Today, visitors to Argentina can visit a working estancia (ranch). Some allow visitors to accompany the gauchos on a round-up and there is usually a chance to eat with them and hear their traditional songs.

Vaquero and Paniolo were regional names for cowboys in Mexico and Honolulu. "Pancho was a bandit boy/His horse was fast as polished steel..."

Answer: Machu Picchu

Standing some 7,000 feet above sea level, Machu Picchu is a symbol of the Incan Empire that ruled that part of Peru prior to the arrival of the Spanish. It is thought to date from AD 1450. It became the most visited tourist attraction in the country, with around 1.5m tourists visiting in 2017. (Numbers are restricted to 5,000 a day in summer.)

In the native Quechua Indian language, "Machu Picchu" means "Old Peak" or "Old Mountain". The site comprises some 150 buildings of various kinds. No one is entirely sure why they were built: one theory is that it was a home to Incan emperors.

While the Spanish conquistadors destroyed most evidence of the Incan civilisation, they did not know about Michu Picchu. It really only became known outside the local area in 1911 when Yale University Professor Hiram Bingham visited the site.

Machu Picchu was designated by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) as a World Heritage Site in 1983. In 2007 it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

(The wrong answers are all older than Machu Picchu: dating from before the Common Era.)