Geography South America

Spanish explorer who led the first European excursion through the Amazon rainforest in 1541

Francisco de Orellana

The southernmost point of South America

Cape Horn

The longest continental mountain range in the world, stretching along the western coast of South America

Andes Mountains

The highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, located in the Andes near the Chile-Argentina border

Mount Aconcagua

The largest river basin and tropical rainforest in the world

Amazon Basin

The world's largest river by discharge volume of water

Amazon River

The largest lake in South America, situated in northwestern Venezuela

Lake Maracaibo

The world's highest navigable body of freshwater, located on the border between Peru and Bolivia

Lake Titicaca

A coastal plateau in South America recognized as the driest non-polar desert on Earth

Atacama Desert

The world's highest uninterrupted waterfall, situated in Venezuela

Angel Falls

The oldest permanent European settlement established in South America, located in Venezuela

Cumaná

The oldest surviving European-founded settlement in Colombia

Santa Marta

An active stratovolcano in the Andes of Ecuador, commonly recognized as one of the world's highest active volcanoes

Cotopaxi

An archipelago of volcanic islands situated in the Pacific Ocean roughly 600 miles west of Ecuador

Galápagos Islands

The Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru

Francisco Pizarro