Biomes
The 4 major biomes located in South America are the tropical, temperate, alpine and arid. Tropical The tropical regions located in Brazil can be found near the equator. The temperatures in this biome have high humidity and is quite warm. Heavy rainfall consists practically every day which causes the Amazon River to rise, this often floods the rainforest. However, the water level drops in dry spells. This leaves South America with two seasons, the hot dry and the hot wet. Temperate The eastern part of South America consists of a temperate climate. This is with plenty of rain and warm, humid summers. Especially in the South, winters are often cool and much drier. South America is extremely long, and its narrow tip down the southern end reaches quite far into the colder temperate zone. Alpine The higher peaks located in the Andes Mountains are covered in ice and snow during the year. Temperatures can even drop to -10 degrees at the highest points. Blizzards or storms bring strong winds and snow occasionally. Arid The climate is extremely dry in the deserts of South America. The majority of the Atacama Desert consists of only rock and sand. In a number of areas the rivers flowing from defrosting snow in the Ades pass through the desert areas. The land is mostly green in these places with plants grown by the people. |
Landscape
South America is shaped like an enormous triangle, similarly to the north. The eastern side of South America contains lower mountains and plains, whilst in the south has phenomenally high mountains and the driest deserts. South Americas great landforms are often difficult to cross, causing isolation to different communities Mountains The Andes Mountains are a great chain of mountains located in the western side of South America. The curve of this mountain is more than 7000 kilometres along the edge of the landform. This is from the north and all the way down to the cold south. The andes are 10-15 million years old. which are still being formed by glaciers and volcanoes. People who live within the Andes live on slopes and high valleys and plains between the peaks. Lowlands The majority of South America consists of lowland zones, such as broad river valleys and rolling hills. A number of lowlands are shielded with dense rainforest, whilst some only support scrub, grass or small trees. The Pampas is one of the most fertile plains in the south-east region. It is almost fully flat, with rich grasslands that are best suited for feeding beef cattle. Rivers and rainforest The second-longest river in the world is the Amazon River. It feeds off of hundreds of mountain streams and begins high in the Andes Mountains. It is located from the far-western mountains and flows across a low tropical rainforest, then all the way to the Atlantic coast. The Amazon collects the most water out of any other river in the world, pouring many billions of litres into the Atlantic. So much is poured that the ocean water turns a muddy yellow colour, this sometimes continues hundreds of kilometres from the coast. |