This region is characterized by substantial inequality in the economic development of countries. And the capital cities here often have higher standards of living compared to other towns.

South America, fourth largest of the world’s continents. It is the southern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, or simply the Americas. The continent is compact and roughly triangular in shape, being broad in the north and tapering to a point—Cape Horn, Chile—in the south.

South America is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the northwest and north, the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast, east, and southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. In the northwest it is joined to North America by the Isthmus of Panama, a land bridge narrowing to about 50 miles (80 km) at one point. Drake Passage, south of Cape Horn, separates South America from Antarctica.

Relatively few islands rim the continent, except in the south. These include the glaciated coastal archipelagoes of Argentinaand Chile. The Falkland (Malvinas) Islands are east of southern Argentina. To the north, the West Indies stretch from Trinidad to Florida, but those islands usually are associated with North America. Of the remainder, most are small oceanic islands off the coasts of South America, including the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, in the Pacific Ocean.

Alphabetical list of capital cities in South America

South American Trivia

• South America, at (17,819,000 sq km), is the fourth largest continent in the world.
• La Paz, Bolivia is the highest capital city in the world.
• Brazil, at 8,456,510 sq km, (3,265,059 sq miles), is the fifth largest country in the world. Argentina, at 2,736,690 sq km, (1,056,636 sq miles) is the eighth largest.
• Two of the five longest rivers in the world are in South America: the Amazon at 4,087 miles and the Parana at 3,032 miles. The Amazon is visible from space.

• For sheer volume of water, the Amazon is the Greatest River.
• The Amazon river basin is the largest contiguous tropical rainforest in the world. The Amazon and its tributaries form an area called Amazonia.​
• The Andes are the longest mountain range in the world, extending more than 4000 miles through seven countries down the western portion of South America.
• The highest waterfall in the world is Angel Falls, Venezuela where water falls 3,281 feet from the top to the base in a series of steps.
• Buenos Airesis the second largest city with with 11.96 million inhabitants living within the city limits. With those outside the city limits, it has 12.91 million inhabitants, making it the fourteenth largest city.
• São Paulo, Brazil with 18.5 million inhabitants is the fifth largest city in the world and the largest in South America. Population Density
• Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world.

• Buenaventura, Colombia with 267″ rain per year is the wettest inhabited place on earth. Other sources say Quibido, Colombia, the rainiest place in South America, receives more than 350 inches (890 centimeters) of rain.
• The third, fourth and fifth inhabited places with the least recorded rainfall are Arica Desert, Chile 0.04″, Ica, Peru 0.1″ and Antofagasta, Chile 0.2″.

• The Atacama desert of Chile with 54,000 sq. miles is the largest cool, coastal desert. The oasis at San Pedro de Atacama has supported life for thousands of years. Driest Place .
• The Argentine Patagonian desert with 260,000 sq. miles is the second largest cold winter desert.
• Suriname has the tenth lowest density population of 7.0 people per square mile.
• Chile had the world’s greatest recorded earthquake in 1960. Greatest Earthquake
• Iguazu Falls are shared by two countries: Argentina and Brazil.
• The only still growing glacier is Perito Moreno. Read more about the Glaciers of Argentina
• While most of South America was liberated from the colonial powers of Spain and Portugal, two small areas of the continent are still administered by European countries, and in terms of per capita income are the wealthiest areas of the continent. French Guiana is located on the north coast of the continent, while off the east coast of Argentina, the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas by Argentinians, is a British Overseas Territory.
• The Amazon rainforest is considered to have the greatest biodiversity in the world, with hundreds of different animals species, around 40,000 plant species and a stunning 2.5 million different species of insects.
• Religion is an important part of the culture in South America, and across the continent, around 90% of people identify themselves as Christians. 82% of the continent’s population consider themselves to be Roman Catholic.
• Chile is home to the world’s driest non-polar desert, the Atacama Desert, and parts of the central desert area are known to regularly go without rain for up to four years at a time.
• South America was discovered by the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, and at the end of the 15th century and the start of the 16th century, he spent a long time exploring the eastern coast of the continent.

References:

http://www.countries-ofthe-world.com. (n.d.). List of South American capitals. Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.countries-ofthe-world.com/capitals-of-south-america.html

Ramos, V. A., Avila, H. F., Germani, G., Griffin, E. C., Dorst, J. P., & Gade, D. W. (2018, September 26). South America. Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/place/South-America

http://www.tripsavvy.com. (n.d.). South American Trivia. Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.tripsavvy.com/south-american-trivia-1635478

Brogan, A. (2018, October 28). 15 Things You Need to Know About South America. Retrieved January 13, 2019, from https://www.tripsavvy.com/interesting-facts-about-south-america-1637247