Geography. Козлова Е.П. - 65 стр.

13.3 Read and translate the text

     South America, fourth largest continent and southernmost of the two main New
World landmasses. It covers an area of some 17,814,000 sq km, or about one-eight of
Earth’s land area. The continent, broad in the north and tapering in the south at Tierra
del Fuego, extends about 7,600 km from Point Gallinas (Colombia) in the north to
Cape Horn (Chile) in the south. Bounded by the Carribean Sea to the northeast, east
and southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the west, the continent is separated from
Antarctica by the Drake Passage. In the northeast it is joined to North America by the
Isthmus of Panama, which forms a land bridge narrowing to about 80 km at one
point. Some years ago the population of the continent was estimated to be
302,819,000.
     The continent may be divided into three topographic sections: the geologically
young mountain chains of the Andes in the west; the ancient, crystalline Guiana and
Brazilian continental shields in the east and north-centre; and the sedimentary basins
peripheral to the shields. The Andes Mountains stretch north - south for about
8,800 km and are second in average height only to Himalayas of Asia. The Andes
region is seismically active and prone to earthquakes. The Pampas of eastern
Argentina consists of an immense accumulation of loose sediment brought down
from Andes by rivers or dust storms. Covering an area of about 707,000 sq km,
the Pampas and its fertile soils constitute one of South America’s most productive
agricultural areas.
     South America’s hydrology is dominated in the north by the Amazon River
basin, which drains a third of the continent’s land area into the Atlantic Ocean. Three
other important river systems, the Orinoco, the Parana-Paraguay-Rio de la Plata, and
Sao Francisco, also empty into the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the lakes of South
America are mountain lakes in the Andes or along their foothills. Lake Titicaca, lying
at an elevation of about 3,810 km between Peru and Bolivia, is the highest freshwater
lake in the world.
     South America can be divided into four well-marked climatic regions: tropical,
temperate, arid, and cold. One of the features that moderates South American climate
is the Peru Current along South America’s western coast. The waters of the Peru
Current keep temperatures between northern Chile and the equator cooler than
average for the low latitudes. The Peru Current also helps to create the Atacama
Desert on South America’s western coast. Winds crossing the cold current from the
west lose all their moisture over the water. Some people in the Atacama have never
seen rain.
     Over half the total land area is covered by forest, principally the enormous but
steadily diminishing Amazon Rain Forest. About 2,500 different species of trees
grow in the rain forests. Almost one-fourth of all the world’s known species of
animals live in the rain forests, plateaus, rivers, and swamps. They include such rare
and indigenous forms as the llama, jaguar, alpaca, capybara, sloth, giant ant-eater,
manatee, and piranha.

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