Major Cities
-
Bogotá: TopicThe capital of Colombia, on a central plateau of the E Andes: originally the centre of Chibcha civilization; founded as a city in 1538 by the Spaniards. Population: 6 004 782 (1997 est.).
-
Buenos Aires: TopicThe capital of Argentina, a major port and industrial city on the Río de la Plata estuary: became capital in 1880; university (1821). Population: 2 988 006 (1995 est.).
-
Caracas: TopicThe capital of Venezuela, in the north: founded in 1567; major industrial and commercial centre, notably for oil companies.
-
Cuzco: TopicCapital of Cuzco department, south-central Peru, 560 km/350 mi southeast of Lima.
-
Havana: TopicThe capital of Cuba, a port in the northwest on the Gulf of Mexico: the largest city in the Caribbean; founded in 1514 as San Cristóbal de la Habana by Diego Velásquez. Population: 2 241 000 (1995 est.).
-
Mexico City: Topic
Capital, industrial, and cultural centre of Mexico, 2,255 m/7,400 ft above sea level on the southern edge of the central plateau; population (2000 est) 8,605,200 (city), 18,327,000 (urban area; the largest urban agglomeration in the world).
-
Rio de Janeiro: TopicPort and resort in southeast Brazil; capital of Rio de Janeiro federal unit (state), and former national capital (1763-1960); population (2000 est) 5,850,500; metropolitan area (2000 est) 10,389,400.
Sites
-
Chichén Itzá: TopicToltec city situated among the Maya city-states of the Yucatán peninsula, Mexico.
-
Machu Picchu: TopicInca site in Peru, about 50 mi (80 km) NW of Cuzco.
-
Tenochtitlán: TopicThe capital of the Aztec, it was founded (c.A.D. 1345) on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco. It was a flourishing city (with an estimated population of between 200,000 and 300,000), connected with the mainland by three great causeways.
-
Teotihuacán: TopicOnce thought to be the great religious center of the Toltec, it is now held to be the relic of an earlier civilization.
Natural Geography
-
Amazon: Topic
River in South America, the second longest in the world, after the Nile; length 6,516 km/4,050 mi.
-
Andes: TopicMountain system, more than 5,000 mi (8,000 km) long, W South America.
-
Orinoco River: TopicRiver of Venezuela, estimated to be from 1,500 to 1,700 mi (2,410–2,735 km) long.
-
Atacama Desert: Topic
Arid region, c.600 mi (970 km) long, N Chile, extending south from the border of Peru.
-
Guiana Highlands: TopicMountainous tableland, c.1,200 mi (1,930 km) long and from 200 to 600 mi (322–966 km) wide, N South America, bounded by the Orinoco and Amazon river basins, and by the coastal lowlands of the Guianas.
-
Patagonia: Topic
The southernmost region of South America, in Argentina and Chile extending from the Andes to the Atlantic. Area: about 777 000 sq. km (300 000 sq. miles).
-
Caribbean Sea: TopicAn almost landlocked sea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, bounded by the Caribbean islands, Central America, and the N coast of South America. Area: 2,718,200 sq. km (1,049,500 sq. miles).
-
West Indies: TopicAn archipelago off Central America, extending over 2400 km (1500 miles) in an arc from the peninsula of Florida to Venezuela, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean: consists of the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas; largest island is Cuba.