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The geography of South America contains many diverse regions and climates. Geographically, South America is generally considered a continent forming the southern portion of the landmass of the Americas , south and east of the Colombia–Panama border by most authorities, or south and east of the Panama Canal by some.
The geography of western South America is dominated by the Andes mountains; in contrast, the eastern part contains both highland regions and vast lowlands where rivers such as the Amazon, Orinoco and Paraná flow. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of the Southern Cone located in the middle latitudes.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to South America. South America is the southern continent of the two Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly (about 3/4) in the Southern Hemisphere. It lies between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Patagonia (Spanish pronunciation: [pataˈɣonja]) is a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile.The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers in the west and deserts, tablelands, and steppes to the east.
The border between North America and South America is at some point on the Darién Mountains watershed that divides along the Colombia–Panama border where the isthmus meets the South American continent (see Darién Gap). Virtually all atlases list Panama as a state falling entirely within North America and/or Central America. [116] [117]
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 7,000,000 km 2 (2,700,000 sq mi), [ 1 ] or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent.
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The northern portion of the Arid Diagonal is a result of the blocking of the trade winds by the barrier formed by the Central Andes and the South Pacific High. [5] To the south in the westerlies, the rain shadow that the Southern Andes cast over eastern Patagonia similarly blocks moisture. [1]