Tag Archives: South America

Which Country Eats the Most Beef?

South America is shaped somewhat like an ice-cream cone, and Argentina forms most of the “cone.” Slender Chile occupies the western side of the long, narrowing end of South America, while much larger Argentina occupies the eastern side. With an area of more than 1 million square miles, Argentina is the eighth largest country on earth [...]
Leave a comment

What was The War of the Triple Alliance?

During the 1860s, Paraguay tried to settle a boundary dispute with Brazil by invading that country. The war that followed was called the “War of the Triple Alliance” because Paraguay had to fight not only Brazil, but Argentina and Uruguay, too. When the war ended in 1870, Paraguay had suffered more, in relation to its size [...]
Leave a comment

How Long Is Chile?

On a map, some nations are easily recognized by their shape, but probably none as easily as Chile. This icicle-shaped country in South America stretches about 2,600 miles along the Pacific Ocean. Its average width is just 110 miles, and nowhere is Chile more than 250 miles wide! Though only about the size of Texas and [...]
Leave a comment

Why is the Guaira Falls the Greatest Waterfall on Earth?

If you’ve ever seen Niagara Falls, you know the tremendous amount of water that tumbles over the edge of the falls each second. Could you believe there’s a waterfall with a flow more than twice as great as Niagara? This waterfall, known as Guaira, is on the Parana River, on the border between Paraguay and Brazil. [...]
Leave a comment

Where Is the Driest Place on Earth?

You might guess that the driest place on earth would be found in the Sahara, the world’s largest desert. But there are places in the Sahara that could seem wet compared to a region of South America that can rightly claim to be the driest place on earth. The Atacama Desert is in the northernmost part [...]
Leave a comment

What did Explorers Find at the Top of Llullaillaco Volcano?

The highest mountain in the United States, and in all of North America, is Mount McKinley in Alaska, 20,320 feet high. But there was once a house in South America that stood at a higher altitude even than the peak of Mount McKinley! Llullaillaco is a 22,057-foot peak in the Andes Mountains, between Chile and Argentina. [...]
Leave a comment

What is The Giant of Atacama?

A pilot recently flew over the bleak Atacama Desert region of northern Chile in search of a “giant. He was looking for a man much larger than the yeti, or Abominable Snowman, and older than the nation of Chile itself. This-giant isn’t a living creature, though, but the representation of a man carved onto the [...]
Leave a comment

What in the World Is Antimony and Where in the World Would You Find It?

Antimony is a hard, silvery-white metal. It’s been known since ancient times, and its use was mentioned in the Old Testament. Today, antimony is used to strengthen alloys containing other metals. It is also used in pigments, medicines, and fireproofing materials. About 70,000 tons of antimony are produced around the world each year. Bolivia is the number-one [...]
Leave a comment

In Which Country is the Potosi Mine?

Since ancient times, silver and gold have been major sources of wealth in Europe and other parts of the world. Most of the silver deposits in Europe had already been mined by the time the New World was discovered. One of the reasons for Spain’s interest in America during the early days of exploration and conquest [...]
Leave a comment

What is The Mystery of the Tiahuanaco Ruins?

Near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, at an altitude of 13,000 feet, lie the ruins of an ancient city that has been a puzzle ever since it was discovered. The city, called Tiahuanaco, was built by a people who lived in the region before the Incas came to rule there. But who the builders of Tiahuanaco were, [...]
Leave a comment