Special Sites to See in South America Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The waterfalls are perhaps the most obvious feature of this area which straddles the border between Argentina and Brazil. The Iguaz� River (also known as Rio Igua�u) lends its name to the two adjoining parks. Which of these other features make this area worthy of preservation?

Answer: Subtropical forest

The parks together protect a 240,000 hectare remnant of subtropical rainforest, which forms part of the Inner Atlantic Forest. As such it is a haven for increasingly rare flora and fauna. Much of the surrounding area has suffered from intensive logging in the past and has lost much of its original character. There continues to be pressure on the parks to allow development.

Both parks were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1984, although they have both had park-status since the 1930s. The parks share one of the world's largest waterfalls at around 2.7 kilometres long.

2. This group of evangelical missionaries promoted education through settlements known as reductions during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Block and Estancias of C�rdoba, Argentina is an example. Which religious order created these reductions?

Answer: Jesuits

The photograph shows an old church in Alta Gracia. Alto Gracia was originally one of six estancia (or ranches) set up by the Jesuits to support the Collegium Maximum in C�rdoba. Collegium Maximum was built in 1610 and became one of the first universities in Argentina. The Jesuits ran the university until they were thrown out of the country in 1767, but that is another story. The section known as the Jesuit Block and the six supporting estancias became a World Heritage Site in 2000.

3. This UNESCO-designated site consists of two parks in a desert region of Argentina. Prior to the Spanish conquest, this area was inhabited by semi-nomadic hunters who left rock art. Which of the following is this area better known for?

Answer: Fossils from the Triassic Period

The adjoining Ischigualasto and Talampaya Natural Parks of Argentina are unique in containing the most complete range of fossils from the Triassic Period. The Triassic Period ran from about 250 million years ago for 50 million years. The photograph shows El Submarino (The Submarine) near Ishcigualasto, an example of wind-eroded rock. Wind is another feature of the area.

4. The photograph shows the Hummingbird. This is one of a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. In which country can these be found?

Answer: Peru

There are several hundred figures in the desert dating from around 400 to 650 AD. Best seen from the air, they were made by removing the surface covering of iron oxide-coated stones and digging a shallow trench to expose light-coloured clay earth. The lime content of the clay hardened to protect the trench against erosion, and the lack of wind and rain in the desert environment has also helped. Recent damage to some lines has been as a result of people-inspired activity.

The purpose of the designs can only be speculated about.

5. Los Glaciares National Park, a World Heritage Site in Argentina, is part of the largest area of ice field outside of Greenland and Antarctica. The Southern Patagonian ice field extends some 350 kilometres, feeds 47 major glaciers and has parts protected by three national parks, but which mountain range hosts the ice field?

Answer: Andes

Most of the ice field lies in Chile. The glaciers on the Chilean side flow down into fjords leading to the Pacific Ocean. On the Argentine side, the glaciers empty into Lakes Viedma and Argentino with the glacial waters then flowing into the Atlantic Ocean via the Santa Cruz river.

The photograph shows the Perito Morino Glacier which flows into Lake Argentino. It periodically dams the lake, causing the upstream side to gain as much as thirty metres in height over the downstream side before the ice ruptures, which is on average every four or five years.

6. The UNESCO-designated Serra da Capivara National Park in Brazil preserves an area that has evidence of habitation going back perhaps as far as 60,000 years ago. There are over 300 archaeological sites within the park. For which of the following is the park best known?

Answer: Painted rocks

The rock paintings mostly date from 5,000 to 11,000 years ago although some are said to go back 25,000 years. The area can boast the highest concentration of prehistoric sites in the Americas.

The Pedra Furada collection of artefacts is perhaps the best known and also the most significant. It contradicts the predominant view held during the latter half of the 20th century that man first arrived in the Americas between 13,000 and 13,500 years ago. This, the Clovis First hypothesis, was mainly because no satisfactory evidence pre-dating the Clovis culture had been found. A number of sites dotted around the Americas have now been found which pre-date the Clovis culture. The Pedra Furada collection though is the oldest by far. The topic remains controversial.

7. Canaima National Park covers some 30,000 square kilometres in Venezuela. More than half the park features plateaux of rock called tepuis, millions of years old. Which of these other attractions does the Park have?

Answer: Angel Falls

This is the sort of place that was the setting for the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 book "The Lost World". The Angel Falls, the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall with a fall of nearly a kilometre, comes off one such tepui, namely Auy�n-tepui. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

8. The Cuiaba River feeds an extensive freshwater wetland in the middle of this continent. It also happens to be one of the largest such ecosystems in the world. Where will you find the UNESCO-designated Pantanal sites?

Answer: Brazil

Although the Pantanal extends into Bolivia and Paraguay, the four UNESCO-designated areas are all within Brazil. These protect about 1,900 square kilometres or 1.3% off the Brazilian Pantanal. The area is rich in various animals and plants.

The photograph shows the eye of a crocodile. There are estimated to be around ten million yacare caiman in Pantanal, possibly the largest single crocodile population in the world. This represents a big turnaround for the animal which was being hunted to extinction for its leather during the 1980s.

9. Pen�nsula Vald�s is a World Heritage Site to be found on the Atlantic coast of Patagonia. Its importance is as a site for the conservation of marine animals. Where will you find this part of Patagonia?

Answer: Argentina

Argentina and Chile share Patagonia however the Chilean coast is mostly in the Pacific side. Pen�nsula Vald�s extends to about 3,600 square kilometres and has only one small settlement on it as well as a few ranches. The settlement was founded to extract salt from salt flats on the peninsula, which are around 40 metres below sea level. Animals making the most of the peninsula and surrounding waters for breeding include the southern right whale, the southern elephant seal and the southern seal lion.

10. Featuring dry-stone walls on an elevated site, Machu Picchu escaped the attentions of the Spanish conquistadors although its inhabitants may have succumbed to the Spanish-introduced smallpox. What natural hazard did this building technique protect against?

Answer: Earthquakes

The Inca excelled at dry-stone wall buildings which were more resilient than other styles of building in this earthquake-prone region. These buildings had a variety of design features to improve earthquake resistance; for example, they had inward-sloping trapezoidal doors and windows as shown in the photograph, which was taken at Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu was built for the Inca emperor Pachacuti around 1450. It was abandoned about 100 years later and was designated a World Heritage Site in 1983. The others civilisations were based in Mexico and Central America.

Source: Author suomy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Tizzabelle before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

What we have here is a collection of South American UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These sites are all of outstanding natural or cultural significance. Let's see what you know.

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