TABLE OF CONTENTS Where in the World Is South America 4 Incredible Land Incredible Life 6 Growing on Stairs 8 On the Move 10 Building for Earthquakes 12 Discoveries in the Skies 16 Discovering and Protecting Nature 20 New Plants New Hearts 24 Stunning South America 28 Glossary 30 Index 31 Text-Dependent Questions 31 Extension Activity 31 About the Author 32
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SOUTH AMERICA South America is the fourth largest continent It contains 12 countries and is surrounded by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans as well as the Caribbean Sea South America is connected to North America by a strip of land only about 50 miles 82 kilometers wide at its most narrow point SOUTH AMERICA
Mount Aconcagua The land connecting South and North America shown here in a photo taken high in the air is called the Isthmus of Panama South America by the Numbers Population 423 million Size 6 89 million square miles or 17 8 million square kilometers Highest Point Aconcagua 22,841 feet or 6,962 meters
