Seeing is Believing Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bolivia and Peru

Lake Titicaca is not the largest lake in South America by surface area - that distinction goes to Lake Maracaibo - but it does have the largest volume. At a surface elevation 3,812 metres, it's awfully high up. There are many lakes at a higher elevation in the world, but they are all much smaller and shallower.

The Peruvian portion of Lake Titicaca lies within the Puno Region, while the Bolivian side is in the La Paz Department.

Answer: 1,000,000 square kilometres

The term 'Patagonia' refers to the original inhabitants of the land that were encountered by the earliest European settlers. The word 'patagón' was used by Magellan to describe the natives as giants; they were taller than the Europeans.

Patagonia is an immense region (1,043,076 square km) that is comprised of regions within both Argentina and Chile. Essentially, it makes up a major portion of the southern third of South America, extending from the southern portion of the Andes west to the Pacific Ocean and to the east along the Colorado River. It also extends right down to include the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

Answer: Yes

There are 19 main islands in the Galápagos archipelago (greater than 1 square kilometre in area), and nearly all of them carry both an English name (given by buccaneer Ambrose Cowley when he charted the islands), and another name given more recently by the Ecuadorian government (mostly Spanish names).

At the time of Darwin's visit in 1835, the islands were still known by their English names; the one named Culpepper was dubbed Darwin in honour of his visit and studies in the Galápagos. The island is a mere 1.1 square kilometres, but is still home to "fur seals, frigates, marine iguanas, swallow-tailed gulls, sea lions, whales, marine turtles, and red-footed and Nazca boobies" (Wikipedia).

Answer: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina and second-largest city in South America (after São Paulo, Brazil). Known as the 'Paris of South America', the city is a center for culture and commerce, receiving more visitors than any other city on the continent (including tourist hotspot Rio de Janeiro).

Founded in 1536 as 'Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre', the city's beginnings were not easy. Only six years after being established, attacks by the local natives drove the settlers away. It was not until 1580 that a second, permanent settlement was established on the same site.

Answer: Auyán-tepui

Auyán-tepui is a table-top mountain; the word 'tepui' translates as 'house of the gods' from the language of the Pemon. Located in the Guiana Highlands of the Bolivar State of Venezuela, Angel Falls can be found in the Canaima National Park, which has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Angel Falls was named for pilot Jimmie Angel, who was the first person to fly over them (in 1933). In 1937 Angel returned with three passengers, managing to land his plan on the tepui. Finding himself stuck in the mud, he was unable to take off again, and his party had to make an 11-day trek to the nearest settlement. Four years after his (1956) death, on July 2nd, 1960, Angel's ashes were scattered over the falls.

The other mountains listed (Yerupajá, Huascarán and Chopicalqui) are all found in Peru.

Answer: Yes

South America boasts the top 34 peaks in the Southern Hemisphere before another continent makes the list. Aconcagua (Argentina) reaches up to 22,841 feet (6,962 m) while it's next closest off-continent competitor Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) only makes it to 19,341 feet (5,895 m).

In 1883, geologist Paul Güssfeldt made an attempt to reach the summit, but he only managed to make it to 21,300 feet (6,500 m). The mountain was not officially conquered until Edward FitzGerald led a British expedition in 1897, providing the opportunity for guide Matthias Zurbriggen to reach the top on January 14th.

Answer: Hiram Bingham III

Machu Picchu is located approximately 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Cusco, overlooking the Sacred Valley. It was constructed by the Incans circa 1450 AD, then was abandoned approximately 100 years later as a result of the Spanish Conquest.

Hiram Bingham III was an American explorer and politician who essentially happened upon the ruins of Machu Picchu while attempting to find Vilcabamba, the last place that the Incans took refuge during the Spanish Conquest. A local boy led him to the site, after which Bingham returned on more than one occasion to explore the site and extract many artifacts for return to Yale University.

Bingham was not the first person to actually discover Machu Picchu (claims by others go back as far as the 1860s), but it was through his efforts that the site became as well-known as it now is. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Answer: 3,500 km (2,175 mi)

Easter Island (or Rapa Nui) is famous for its 887 'moai' (large stone heads), created by the early Rapa Nui people to represent their deified ancestors. When precisely the island was first settled is a matter for some discussion, but estimates place the earliest settlements in the late first millennium to early second millennium.

Easter Island has the distinction of being one of the most remote inhabited islands on the planet, with the closest neighbours being Pitcairn Island, 2,075 km (1,289 mi) away. The distance to Chile (the nearest continental point) is 3,512 km (2,192 mi).

Answer: Pará and Amapá

Depending on how one defines exactly where the mouth of the Amazon River is, it is possible to measure it at a width of 325 km (202 mi), from Cabo Norte in the Brazilian state of Amapá, to Ponta da Tijoca in the state of Pará. More conservatively, if one only considers the main channel between the islands of Curuá (Amapá) and Jurupari (Pará), the width is roughly 15 kilometres (9.3 mi).

This incredible river system has a drainage basin of about 7,050,000 square km (2,720,000 square mi) - roughly 40% of the entire area of South America!

Answer: Iguazu River

Perhaps a little obvious? Located between the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentinian province of Misiones, the Iguazu Falls divide the Iguazu River between the upper and lower Iguazu. The falls are not evenly divided between the two countries, though, with Argentina getting roughly 80% of the amazing jumps.

The first European to see Iguazu Falls (in 1541) was Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.