All about South America for Kids Learn cool facts about this amazing continent

laughs all about South America for kids did you know that there are two American continents yup you heard that right there is North America and then there is South America which is the continent we are talking about today so sit back relax and enjoy our virtual trip to the amazing continent of South America just like its neighbor to the north South America was home to indigenous people long before European explorers and settlers visited and colonized the land evidence of human life on the continent dates all the way back to 9000 BC in the modern day country of Peru the Incan civilization lived near the Andes mountains and began as small tribe that grew into huge well-organized Society during the 13th century at its largest the Empire stretched about 2 200 miles in the Andes along the Pacific coast of the continent today that area covers most of Peru Ecuador Bolivia Chile and Northwest Argentina the Incan civilization lasted just 200 years until the Spanish invaded and captured most of the Empire during the 16th century the ancient city of Machu Picchu which means Old Mountain was rediscovered in 1911. and is considered one of the seven New Wonders of the World today South America is the fourth largest continent in the world with an area of about 6.8 million square miles it is connected to North America via the country of Panama bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the West the Atlantic Ocean to the East and the North and the southern ore and Arctic Ocean to the South it includes 12 countries and three dependencies with total population of more than 400 million people making it the fifth largest in population of the seven continents Spanish is the main language in most countries of South America except for the people living in Brazil who speak Portuguese many people speak English as second language quechua is common language spoken by the indigenous people of the continent who reside in several different countries here is an interesting fact there are only two landlocked countries inside South America Bolivia and Paraguay all of the other countries in the continent are partly bordered by the ocean take look at this map of South America can you guess which country is the largest if you said Brazil you are correct here is an interesting fact Brazil covers more than half of the continent's land mass and is only slightly smaller than the United States Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world in size and population Brasilia is the capital city of the country Sao Paulo is the most populous city in Brazil and in South America as whole with population of nearly 15 million people other South American countries include Argentina Bolivia Suriname and Chile and many more remember how we mentioned that the Incan tribe lived by the Andes Mountains the Andes are the longest Continental mountain range in the world and its highest mountain akankagua which is located in Argentina is the second tallest mountain in the world one of the longest rivers in the world the Amazon is also in South America at 3212 feet high Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall in the world that is around 500 feet taller than the Burj Khalifa which is the tallest building in the world South America's climate is mostly tropical with grasslands savannas and the largest rainforest in the world the Amazon rainforest because of the Amazon rainforest South America has lots of valuable trees such as mahogany Ebony and Robert plus many natural resources like oil iron gold and gemstones Wildlife like Jaguars monkeys anacondas llamas piranhas two cans cougars and condors all call South America their home along with amazing wildlife and natural resources there are lots of exciting attractions that bring tourists from all over the world to South American countries we have already mentioned the ancient city of Machu Picchu the Andes Mountains the Amazon River and rainforest and Angel Falls but there are other cool places that people like to visit in Brazil there is huge 125 foot tall statue that is called Christ the Redeemer which overlooks the city of Rio De Janeiro it is considered one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in Bolivia solar de uyuni is the world's largest salt flats it is prehistoric dry lake that is over 4 000 square miles and is home to many pink flamingos kind of makes you want to plan trip to South America right phew we have learned lot of new cool facts about South America let's see what you remember true or false Brazil is the largest country in South America true fill in the blank the largest rainforest in the world is called the blank rainforest Amazon what is the name of the ancient empire of indigenous South Americans Incan true or false akankagua is the tallest mountain in the world false it is the second tallest mountain in the world name one of the oceans that surrounds South America possible answers include Pacific Atlantic or Southern slash Antarctic excellent job explorers South America is unique continent with lot of cool history from the ancient Incan Empire to the Amazon rainforest there are many things to study and learn plus there are two of the seven New Wonders of the World maybe one day you will get to visit countries in South America and see what we have talked about up close and in person hope you had fun learning with us visit us at learnbrite.org for thousands of free resources and TurnKey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers thank you