SOUTH AMERICA 



5451 



SOUTH AMERICA 



Animal Life. South America is noted for the 

 richness and variety of its animal life, which is 

 different in many particulars from that of 

 North America. The southern continent not 

 only contains a great number of species, but 

 possesses many species of animals that are not 

 found on any other continent. On the other 

 hand, some of the commonest animals are not 

 found here. About, a fourth of all the mam- 

 mals known occur in South America, but, curi- 

 ously enough, almost all of the wild animals 

 so abundant in Asia and Africa are missing. 



The most powerful of the flesh-eating ani- 

 mals is the jaguar, which is the only formidable 

 beast of prey on the whole continent. There 

 are several families of monkeys, two of which 

 differ from those of the Old World. A group 

 of mammals peculiar to this continent consists 

 of the toothless animals, such as the blood- 

 sucking bats, sloths, anteaters and armadillos. 

 Horses, cattle, sheep and goats were not among 

 the native animals of South America, but there 

 are found here such animals as the llamas and 

 the vicunas, which are relatives of the camel. 

 The largest of the native mammals is the tapir. 

 Wolves are not found in South America. 



The birds of the tropical sections are noted 

 for their brilliant plumage, and include hum- 

 ming birds, flamingoes, toucans, aracaris, chat- 

 terers and a great variety of parrots. The 

 largest bird of prey in the world, the condor, is 

 found in the Andes. Chief among the reptiles 

 are alligators, boas, rattlesnakes and turtles. 

 The rivers teem with fishes, and the number 

 and variety of species found here are greater 

 than in any other part of the world. In the 

 tropical regions the insects are very numerous, 

 including many species of butterflies of large 

 size and gorgeous hues. The beetle family is 

 also well represented, some species being much 

 larger than those found in other regions. 



Mineral Resources. The mineral wealth of 

 South America is great and varied, and con- 

 sists of gold, silver, copper, mercury, diamonds, 



coal and other valuable minerals. The cele- 

 brated silver mines at Potosi in Bolivia have 

 yielded over $1,500,000,000 since the arrival of 

 the Spaniards in these regions. There are con- 

 siderable supplies of gold in Venezuela and 

 Guiana. Brazil has extensive deposits of coal 



40 



SOUTH AMERICAN EXPORTS 

 Map showing distribution, by countries, of the 

 three main classes of South American exports. 

 Each circle equals $10,000,000. Amounts of less 

 than $1,000,000 (animal products for Bolivia and 

 for Ecuador ; mineral products for Argentina, 

 Uruguay, Paraguay and Ecuador) are not shown. 



and iron, and previous to the discovery of the 

 fields in South Africa it was the principal dia- 

 mond country of the world. The desert coast 

 of Chile constitutes the world's chief source of 

 supply of nitrate, and is also rich in deposits of 

 guano and borax. 



History of the Continent 



During his third voyage of exploration in 

 1498 Christopher Columbus explored the island 

 of Trinidad and first touched the mainland at 

 the mouth of the Orinoco. During his fourth 

 voyage of exploration, from 1502 to 1504, he 

 coasted along the continent from the peninsula 

 of Yucatan in Mexico to Venezuela. The next 

 navigator to explore South America was Alonzo 

 de Ojeda, a Spaniard, who followed the coast 



from near the equator to Venezuela. He was 

 accompanied by Americus Vespucius, who pub- 

 lished the first account of the New World, and 

 whose name was given to the two continents. 

 After Balboa had crossed the Isthmus of 

 Panama and discovered the Pacific Ocean, 

 Francisco de Pizarro conquered Peru in 1531- 

 1534, and his companion, Diego de Almagro, 

 pushed farther south into Chile. Francisco de 



