SOUTH AMERICA 



5450 



SOUTH AMERICA 



the north of the Amazon is the Orinoco River, 

 and to the south is the Plata. These great 

 river systems bear a striking resemblance to 

 those of North America. Thus, the Amazon 

 may be compared to the Saint Lawrence; the 

 Orinoco to the Saskatchewan-Nelson; and the 

 Plata to the Mississippi-Missouri. Among the 

 other important rivers are the Tocantins, the 

 Sao Francisco, the Rio Negro and the Colo- 

 rado, all of which flow into the Atlantic. Be- 

 cause of the nearness of the Andes to the coast, 

 the rivers flowing into the Pacific are short. 

 Lakes. In striking contrast with North 

 America, the southern continent contains very 

 few large lakes. The largest is Titicaca, situ- 

 ated in the Andes between Bolivia and Peru. 

 It covers an area of nearly 5,000 square miles, 

 or about two-thirds the area of Lake Ontario, 



ONE OF THE LARGEST CATARACTS IN THE 

 WORLD 



The Falls of Iguazu, at the junction of three re- 

 publics, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, where 

 the Iguazu River joins the Parana, rank among 

 the most magnificent spectacles of the world. 

 They are forty-six feet higher and some hundreds 

 of feet wider than Niagara. Situated in the midst 

 of virgin, tropical forests, they make a remark- 

 able impression on the tourist who is willing to 

 stand the hardships and difficulty of reaching 

 them from Buenos Aires, partly by rail, partly by 

 steamer and several days' journey on horseback. 



and lies at an altitude of 12,545 feet. It is 130 

 miles long, about thirty miles wide and has a 

 maximum depth of 700 feet. 



Climate. All of the continent north of Rio 

 de Janeiro lies within the tropics, while the 

 southern portion is in the south temperate 

 zone. In contrast with North America, this 

 continent has a remarkably equable climate, 

 for in the northern portion the intense heat is 

 greatly modified by the altitude, while the 

 southern portion is free from sudden changes 

 because of the nearness of the ocean and the 

 influence of the mountains. The temperature 

 during midwinter averages about 80 Fahren- 

 heit in the north and. 35 in the south ; during 

 midsummer it averages about 85 in the north 

 and 50 in the south. The lowlands along the 

 Orinoco and the Amazon and the coast of 



Brazil have a hot climate and a high degree 

 of humidity. The seasons are here just the 

 opposite of those in the northern hemisphere, 

 summer occurring in December, January and 

 February, and winter in June, July and August. 

 The rainfall is heaviest in the Amazon basin, 

 where it averages fifty to seventy-five inches 

 a year, but reaches in some parts 200 inches 

 and more. It diminishes gradually toward the 

 south, until the arid region, constituting a large 

 part of Argentina and most of Patagonia, is 

 reached. 



Vegetation. The vast tropical region is cov- 

 ered with a luxuriant vegetation represented by 

 a large number of species, some of which are 

 of gigantic proportions. Characteristic of this 

 region are the tropical forests called selvas, 

 which extend through the whole valley of the 

 Amazon and constitute the greatest continuous 

 forest area in the world. These forests contain 

 giant trees whose upper parts are covered with 

 lianas, creepers and all sorts of twining and 

 climbing plants, while the ground under them 

 is covered by a thick undergrowth, or jungle, 

 which is impenetrable in many places. This 

 type of vegetation is the result of the great 

 heat and the high degree of humidity pro- 

 duced by the excessive rainfall. In the sub- 

 tropical regions the chief trees are palms, bam- 

 boos, cedars, mahogany and ebony trees, while 

 the mountains are covered with conifers, mostly 

 South American pines. South of the Amazon 

 Valley extends the forested plateau of Matto 

 Grosso, which means great woods, and south of 

 this is the region known as the Gran Chaco of 

 Parana, where the wax palm is the typical 

 tree. A native plant of this region is a holly, 

 from the leaves of which a beverage called 

 mate, or Paraguay tea, is produced. In Ar- 

 gentina forests of beech prevail. 



Among the valuable tropical trees of South 

 America is the rubber tree. Several trees which 

 yield important drugs are also found here. 

 Among them are the cinchona (from which 

 qutnine is extracted), which grows on the east- 

 ern slopes of the Andes in Bolivia, Peru and 

 Ecuador, and the coca tree (the source of co- 

 caine), found in the tropical valleys of the 

 Andes. There are numerous kinds of trees 

 bearing fruits that are usually very large and 

 covered with extremely thick shells. Among 

 these are the cannon-ball tree and the Brazil- 

 nut tree. Many useful tropical and subtropical 

 plants have been introduced here and grow in 

 abundance. Among them are cotton, tobacco, 

 rice, coffee and cane sugar. 



