South America physical map
South America is located south and east of the Panama-Colombia border. Some consider it to be south and east of the Panama Canal. Geographically, Panama, and particularly the eastern part of the canal, is generally considered part of North America.
South America has a land area of 18,005,000 km². Its coasts have a length of about 39,910 km. It is divided into three main sections: the mountain range, the interior lowlands, and the continental shield.
The Andes mountain range is the longest and youngest mountain range in the world, as well as the highest after the Himalayas. The origin of the mountain range is the result of subduction of the Nazca plate under the South American plate at a speed close to 9 cm/year. It crosses the countries of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. Several of its highest peaks exceed 6000 masl, such as the Aconcagua (6961.0 masl).
The lowlands are usually classified into three systems: the Orinoco plains, the Amazon plains and the Chaco-Pampeana plains, formed by the sedimentation produced by the rivers that cross them and the deposit of particles produced by wind erosion. The continental shield separates in three unequal sections the Brasilia massif, the Guiana Shield, and the Patagonian massif.
The countries located in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire have one of the highest levels of seismicity and volcanism in the world.