The continent is compact and about triangular in condition, remaining wide within the north and tapering to a degree—Cape Horn, Chile—inside the south.

The continent's cultural and ethnic outlook has its origin While using the interaction of Indigenous peoples with European conquerors and immigrants and, far more locally, with African slaves. Supplied a protracted history of colonialism, the too much to handle majority of South Americans converse Spanish or Portuguese, and societies and states are rich in Western traditions.

The Amazon River, which flows from west to east across the north-central percentage of South America, is the whole world's major river concerning discharge volume. By some definitions, the Amazon River is additionally the longest river on the planet - while the Nile River is normally regarded as being the earth's longest, some scientific tests propose an alternative supply for the Amazon River, which might essentially ensure it is the planet's longest.

Because the finish of the financial disaster in Brazil and Argentina among 1998 and 2002, which led to financial economic downturn, growing unemployment and slipping profits, the industrial and service sectors have recovered.

History of South America Usually there are some anthropological signs that point back to individuals inhabiting South America given that not less than the yr 9000 BCE. Throughout South America's early history of human inhabitants, it was commonly an agrarian Culture, that means that its citizens survived off from the land, using staples such as fish and beans for food stuff. Animals like llamas and alpacas were being also domesticated close to this time.

An array of sports activities are performed in the continent of South America, with soccer being the preferred Over-all, although baseball is the most well-liked in Venezuela.

Brazil is certainly the most populous South American nation, with Just about 50 % from the continent's populace, followed by Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, and Peru. In modern many years, Brazil has also created half in the continent's GDP check here and is becoming the continent's 1st regional ability.

The indigenous peoples of your Americas in different European colonies were pressured to operate in European plantations and mines; in addition to enslaved Africans who were being also launched during the continuing generations by way of the Atlantic slave trade. European colonists ended up seriously dependent on indigenous labor in the initial phases of settlement to keep up the subsistence economy, and natives had been typically captured by expeditions. The importation of African slaves commenced halfway with the 16th century, although the enslavement of indigenous peoples ongoing well in to the read more 17th and 18th hundreds of years.

Next a duration of urbanization that began during the 1930s, South America currently is without doubt one of the earth's most urbanized continents.

Some international locations produced from provinces of more substantial international locations stayed as a result around contemporary periods (for example Paraguay or Uruguay), while some had been reconquered and reincorporated into their previous nations around the world (such as the Republic of Entre Ríos as well as Riograndense Republic).

The jaguar is the biggest feline while in the Americas and among the most important on the globe. South America more info features a click here fantastic diversity of flora and fauna as a consequence of its geographic locale and climatic versions that extends in the equator to Antarctica.

The fluctuation in the price of commodities in Global marketplaces has led Traditionally to major highs and lows, booms and busts, while in the economies of South American states, often leading to political instability.[fifty eight] This has led for phone calls to diversify output and maximize trade within South America by itself.[fifty eight]

The primary community transport in major cities would be the bus. Several page metropolitan areas have a various transport method of metro and subway trains, the first of which was the Buenos Aires subte, opened 1913.

Geography of South America The topography of South America has been described to resemble a bowl - it has big mountains close to its periphery and an inside that is pretty flat.