South America
South America is a part of the American continent located mainly in the southern hemisphere. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the west, and the Atlantic Ocean in the north and east.
The continent was named in 1507 by cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann in honor of the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first to realize that America was not the "West Indies", but the "New World" or a new territory that had not been previously explored.
The land area of South America is 17,840,000 km², or almost 3.5 percent of the Earth's surface. South America ranks fourth in total area (after Asia, Africa and North America) and fifth in population (after Asia, Africa, Europe and North America).
The continent is rich in biological diversity and the unique nature of the rainforests along the Amazon River. It is home to the highest waterfall in the world (Angel Falls), the longest mountain range (Andes) and the driest desert (Atacama).
