SOUTH AMERICA477
AmAzon
The longest river in South
America is the Amazon, which
rises in the Andes and flows
4,050 miles (6,516 km) to
the Atlantic. For most of
its length, the river flows
through a rain forest that
covers 2.5 million sq miles
(6.5 million sq km).
In recent years, much
of the rain forest has
been cut down to provide
farmland. Although the
destruction continues,
it is now beginning to
slow down.Soccer
Supported passionately, soccer
is a favorite sport in most South
American countries. Argentina,
Brazil, and Uruguay have been
very successful in international
competitions. In 1930, Uruguay
became the first country
to host the World cup.
Uruguay also managed to win
the tournament in the same
year. World cup victories in
1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and
2002 mean that Brazil has won
this fiercely contested event
more times than any other
country in the world.BolIvIA
The mountain nation of Bolivia
has no coastline. Its only links
with the rest of the world
are railroads and roads
running through Peru
and chile. Although
there are large deposits
of oil, tin, and silver in
the high Andes, the
nation remains very
poor. About 70 percent
of the population are
of Aymara or Quechua
ancestry, who grow
just enough food
in the mountains
to feed themselves.
Some farmers
make extra
money by
growing the
coca plant,
which is
processed to
make the illegal
drug cocaine.Argentinian soccer
fans parade the streets,
demonstrating support
for their national
soccer team. Argentina
won the Fédération
Internationale de
Football Association
(FIFA) World Cup in
1978 and 1986.
A woman
from Bolivia in
traditional dressThe Native Americans of South American
forests live in large huts shared by many
families. They sleep in hammocks hung
between the posts of the huts.nATIve AmerIcAnS
The first peoples of South America were
native Americans. In the lowlands native
Americans lived in small villages and gathered
food from the forest, but in the Andes they
built great civilizations. The arrival of
european explorers destroyed these great
cultures, and today only a few remote tribes still
live in the forest as their ancestors did.
However, the destruction of the rain forest for
farming and mining threatens to eliminate
even these last traces of native American society.Find out more
Argentina
Brazil
colombia
Incas
SoccerFalkland islands
located in the Atlantic ocean, the Falkland
Islands were discovered by the english
navigator John Davis, in his ship Desire in- In 1690, the islands were named after
viscount Falkland, treasurer of the British
navy. Islas malvinas, the Argentinian name,
comes from “les malouines,” the name given
to the islands by French sailors in the 1700s.
The islands were occupied at various times
by england, Spain, France, and Argentina.
Rockhopper, Magellanic, and Gento penguins are common
on the Falkland Islands.
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