South American Islands

We just learned about the countries of Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana.

We've now learned about all of the mainland countries in South America, but let's not forget that there are islands too!

Some island countries are at the Southern part of South America,
like South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the Falkland Islands

(from: wikipedia - south georgia and the south sandwich islands)

There are also islands at the Northern part of South America,
like Trinidad and Tobago and the ABC Islands Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.


(from: wikipedia - trinidad and tobago)

Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana

We just learned about the countries of Peru and Ecuador.

The last 4 countries that make up the northern part of South America are Venezuela, Surinam, Guyana and French Guiana

Venezuela got it's name from traveler Amerigo Vespucci, who thought the many houses on water reminded him of Venice, Italy.

It is the site of Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world.



(from: wikipedia - venezuela)

Suriname was originally a Dutch colony, and is the only country in North and South America where Dutch is the official language.

(from: wikipedia - suriname)

Guyana is the only South American country where the official language is English.
The original land called Guiana was much larger and included Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and parts of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil.

(from: wikipedia - guyana)

French Guiana is a territory controlled by France, and it has the Guiana Space Centre there, the place that Europe usually uses to launch rockets into outer space.

(from: wikipedia - french guiana)

Peru and Ecuador

We just learned about the country of Chile and Bolivia.

Two more countries to learn about in South America: Peru and Ecuador.

Peru is on the Western coast of South America.
The largest river in the world, the Amazon River runs through the middle of this country.

(from: wikipedia - peru)

Ecuador is just North of Peru.
It has some old ruins from when the Incas lived there before the Spanish took over.

Also interesting about Ecuador is that they use the same type of money as the United States.
Most other countries have their own currency like pesos, reals or euros,
but Ecuador uses the US dollar as their money.


(from: wikipedia - ecuador)

Chile and Bolivia

Two more countries to learn about in South America: Chile and Bolivia.

Chile is a very long thin country along the West coast of South America.
It borders the Andes mountains, and at the South of the continent,
is a tip of land called Cape Horn that sailors used to have to sail around
until the Panama Canal was constructed in Central America.


(from: wikipedia - chile)

Bolivia is an inland country that also shares part of the Andes mountain range.
It is also home to Spider Monkeys!.

(from: wikipedia - bolivia)

Spider Monkeys are called that because they have very long arms and legs.

(from: wikipedia - spider monkey)

Uruguay and Paraguay

We just learned about the country of Argentina.

Two other countries in South America are Uruguay and Paraguay.

Why do their names sound so much alike?
It's because the guay part of their name means river,
and the countries were both named for their rivers.

Paraguay:

(from: wikipedia - paraguay)


Uruguay:

(from: wikipedia - uruguay)

Uruguay means river of the painted birds
and Paraguay means river that flows to the sea.

Argentina

We've now learned about the South American countries Brazil and Columbia. Now let's learn about Argentina.

It's the second biggest country in South America by size,
and is third in number of people.

They speak Spanish in Argentina, and by size it is the largest Spanish speaking country in the world!


(from: wikipedia - argentina)

There was a musical play called Evita created about one of the country's
most famous politicians, Eva Perón

Columbia

The second largest country in South America right after Brazil is Columbia.

(from: wikipedia - columbia)

46 million people live in Columbia, and they speak Spanish.
To say hello you would say Hola.

Columbia is well known for producing coffee, flowers, emeralds, coal, and oil.

Brazil

We just learned about the Caribbean Islands.

The largest country in the South American continent is Brazil

(from: wikipedia - brazil)

In Brazil they speak the Portuguese language.
To say hello, you would say Olá.

The largest city in Brazil is São Paulo, with over 11 million people.
It's the biggest city in all of North and South America!

(from: wikipedia - São Paulo)

The most popular city for tourists is Rio De Janeiro

South America

We just learned about Antarctica.

In the South part of the earth below North America is a continent called South America.

(From: Wikipedia - south america)

The most populated countries in South America are Brazil, Colombia and Argentina.

Most people speak either Portuguese or Spanish.

The Olympics will be in the Brazil city of Rio de Janeiro in the year 2016, and it is the first time the Olympics are being hosted in South America.