Where is South America South North America South America is a triangular shaped continent that stretches from north of the equator down toward the Antarctic Circle Its diverse landscape features rain forests deserts and glaciers as well as large modern cities and smaller settlements The equator runs through the South American countries of Brazil Colombia and Ecuador which is Spanish for equator The border between Panama and Colombia is also the border between the continents of North America and South America Caribbean Sea Panama Ecuador Equator Colombia Brazil Locating South America Pacific Ocean We can describe the location of South America in relation to the areas of land and water that surround it as well as using the points on a compass South America is east of the Pacific Ocean a South America is southwest of the Caribbean Sea a South America is west of the Atlantic Ocean South America is north of Antarctica Atlantic Ocean The stretch of water that flows between South America and Antarctica is known as Drake's Passage It's named after an English sea captain Sir Francis Drake who sailed through the area in 1578 Drake's Passage Antarctic circle Antarctica
South America is the fourth largest continent in the world Africa Asia North America Antarctica Europe South America Australia Oceania The Americas When people refer to the Americas they mean both North and South America Some geographers define a continent as a single landmass and therefore consider South America and North America to be part of the same continent known as America They view South America and North America as subcontinents of America A subcontinent is an area of land that sticks out separately from the rest of the continent and is surrounded by sea S P North America Central America The Caribbean South America Latin America South America is sometimes grouped together with countries from Central America and the Caribbean two regions of North America to form Latin America This area shares its different histories culture and languages with the Latin countries of Europe Spain and
Countries South America is made up of 12 countries It is also home to two small territories that are ruled by European countries French Guiana which is part of France and the Falkland Islands which are part of the United Kingdom UK on Venezuela Brazil is the largest country in South America measuring 3 287 957 square miles 8 515 770 sq km It is also the fifth largest country in the world Guyana Suriname RF N N U French Guiana part of France Colombia Quito Ecuador A Brazil The smallest country in South America is Suriname measuring 63 251 square miles 163 820 sq km Brazil is almost 52 times its size GO Peru Paraguay 9 BC
Chile eEUruguay Uruguay Argentina UNASUR Union of South American Nations Falkland Islands part of the UK I The Union of South American Nations also known as UNASUR is an organization made up of representatives of all 12 South American countries The Union was established in 2008 It is modeled on the European Union EU and shares many of the EU's aims such as working toward a common South American currency passport and government III IIIIII The headquarters of UNASUR are based in Quito Ecuador
