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South America is the world's fourth largest continent. The countries of South America are also part of a larger cultural region known as Latin America, in which most of the...

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The golden poison dart frog has enough poison to kill 20,000 mice.

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With a range of bright colors-yellows, oranges, reds, greens, blues-poison dart frogs aren't just big show-offs either. Those colorful designs tell potential predators, "I'm toxic. Don't eat me." For example, the golden poison dart frog has enough poison to kill 20,000 mice. Scientists think that poison dart frogs get their toxicity from some of the insects they eat.

How do poison dart frogs capture their prey? Slurp! With a long, sticky tongue that darts out and zaps the unsuspecting bug! The frogs eat many kinds of small insects, including fruit flies, ants, termites, young crickets, and tiny beetles, which are the ones scientists think may be responsible for the frogs' toxicity.

Poison dart frogs live in the rain forests of Central and South America.

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These frogs are considered one of Earth's most toxic, or poisonous, species. For example, the golden poison dart frog has enough poison to kill 20,000 mice. With a range of bright colors-yellows, oranges, reds, greens, blues-they aren't just big show-offs either. Those colorful designs tell potential predators, "I'm toxic.

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Our South America Facts for Kids bring you lots of interesting and fun facts on the South American continent.

South America is the fourth largest continent in size and the fifth largest when we consider population.

The South American continent is located in the western hemisphere and mainly in the southern hemisphere.

Top 20 South America Facts

1. There are 12 countries in South America (see list on the right) and 3 dependencies with a total of more than 433 million people living on the continent.

Click on the flags to learn more about these countries:

2. Largest Country: Brazil. The country is covering more than half the continent's landmass. Did you know that Brazil is only slightly smaller than the USA?

3. Largest City: Sao Paolo in Brazil. With more than 22 million inhabitants (2021) Sao Paulo is also one of the ten biggest cities in the world.

4. Smallest Country: Suriname. The country is one of the 10 most sparsely populated countries in the world.

5. Biggest Island: Tierra del Fuego (Spanish meaning: Land of Fire), at the southern tip of Argentina and Chile

6. Longest River: Amazon River (6,437 km/ 4,000 miles). The Amazon is not only the second longest river in the world after the Nile, but also the Amazon carries more water than the world's other 10 biggest rivers combined!

7. Highest Mountain: Aconcagua in Argentina. The mountain (6,961 m/ 22,837 ft) is located in the Andes mountain range.

The Aconcagua is considered the second highest of the world's Seven Summits after Mount Everest which is in Asia.

8. Biggest Lake: Lake Titicaca (shared by Bolivia and Peru)

9. Driest Place: While South America's rain forests also are some of the wettest places on the earth, the Atacama desert in Chile is considered the driest place on earth. Read more about the world's deserts here.

10. There are two landlocked countries in South America: Paraguay and Bolivia are located in the interior of the continent and have neither access to the Atlantic Ocean nor to the Pacific Ocean.

More South America Facts

11. History: Evidence of human life in South America dates back to 10,000 BC. One of the earliest South American civilisations are recorded in Peru. South America was colonised from the late 15th century by foreign conquistadores mainly from Spain and Portugal, but also from the Dutch, British and French.

12. People of South America: The Incas were the largest group of indigenous people in South America when the Europeans arrived. The Incan Empire lasted from 1438 until 1533. Indigenous cultures still are present in South America but the numbers are diminishing. There are still Arawaks and Caribs in Venezuela as well as Guarani in Brazil.

13. Languages in South America: Spanish is the main language in South American countries, only in Brazil people speak Portuguese and in Surinam, formerly a Dutch colony, the official language is still Dutch. Many people speak also English as a second language. Quechua, the language spoken by the Inca, is the most common indigenous language.

14. Religion: Most of the South American people are Catholics (90%), some Protestants, Jews and some indigenous people have their indigenous beliefs.

15. Tourist attractions in South America: The most popular attractions are:

Macchu Picchu in Peru

Iguazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil

Angel Falls in Venezuela

Rio de Janeiro and its Carnival in Brazil

Patagonia in Argentina/Chile

Amazon in Ecuador

Pantanal in Paraguay/Brazil

Torres del Paine National Park in Chile

16. Biggest Cities: The most populous city in South America is Sao Paulo. Almost half of the population of the South American continent lives in Brazil.

Other big cities in South America are:

Lima (Peru)

Bogota (Colombia)

Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

Santiago (Chile)

Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Did you know? The southernmost city in the world is on the South American continent! The city is called Ushuaia, is located on the Argentinian part of the Tierra del Fuego and more than 55,000 people live there. Read more about Argentina here.

17. Animals: In South America there are tapirs, piranhas and anacondas and many other animals.

South America is also home to many endangered animals such as the jaguar, the giant otter or the Amazonian manatee.

18. Main natural resources in South America are minerals such as iron ore (used to make steel) or copper and agricultural produce such as corn, coffee, wheat, soybean and cocoa.

19. Nature superlatives:

Atacama desert is the driest place in South America

Angel Falls are the world's highest waterfalls

Amazon River Basin is the world's largest river basin

The Andes are the world's longest mountain range

20. South America's landscape is dominated from mountains and highlands such as the Andes, river basins such as the Amazon and Orinoco and coastal plains where the Atacama Desert also belongs to.

Countries in South America that are located in the Northern Hemisphere:

Venezuela

Guyana

Suriname

French Guiana

and (the northern regions of) Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil

Test your Knowledge

Popular Pages

Useful Resources for South America Facts

Central Intelligence Agency. "South America." WorldFactBook. Last accessed 14 February 2023

National Geographic. "World Atlas for Young Explorers". Washington: 2010. pages 86-92

Millennium. "Earth Condensed - The World Atlas." Millennium House. 2009

Image Credits on South America Facts page: Shutterstock.com and wikipedia commons Return from South America Facts to Kids-World-Travel-Guide Homepage
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South America Facts for Kids | Geography | Attractions | People | Food

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20 Top South America Facts for Kids provide information on the 12 countries, lots of interesting superlatives and fun facts about the South American continent.

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Vampire bats bite humans for blood!

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Vampire bats glide stealthily through the night air as they search for food. Like the legendary monster that they're named after, these small mammals drink the blood of other animals for survival. They feed on cows, pigs, horses, and birds. Found in Mexico and Central and South America, vampire bats even occasionally bite humans for blood. (But it's very rare!)

Rather than sucking blood like a vampire, these bats make a small cut with their teeth, then lap up the flowing blood with their tongues. The animals are so light and graceful that they can sometimes drink blood from an animal for more than 30 minutes without waking it up. The blood-sucking doesn't even hurt their prey. (Find out about Bat Myths Busted.)

Vampire bats have special adaptations to help them with the special way they feed. For instance, researchers discovered that the flying mammals can locate prey by sensing the sound of an animal breathing. These bats can even recognize the breathing patterns of one animal, like a cow, and return to feed from it night after night.

Unlike other species of bats, vampire bats can walk, run, and jump, which helps them attach to their prey. Heat sensors on their noses help them find a good spot on an animal's body to feed. And strong hind legs and a special thumb help them take off after feeding.

What happens if vampire bats don't get their nightly meal? If they can't find blood for two nights in a row, they'll die. But some vampire bats seem to be generous. Well-fed bats will often regurgitate-or spit up-blood to share with others in exchange for grooming. Captive female bats seem especially friendly toward new mothers. After a baby is born, other bats have been observed feeding the mom for about two weeks after the birth.

Even though bat bites don't hurt, vampire bats can spread a disease called rabies. This can hurt farmers' livestock, especially cattle herds. However, vampire bats can actually be quite tame, and even friendly to humans. One researcher reported that he had vampire bats that would come to him when he called their names. (But you should never try to handle a wild animal!)

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While much of the world sleeps, vampire bats emerge from dark caves, mines, tree hollows, and abandoned buildings in Mexico and Central and South America. They glide stealthily through the night air as they search for food. Like the legendary monster from which they get their name, these small mammals drink the blood of other animals for survival.

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Famous Rainforests

There are rainforests in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Central and South America. The biggest rainforest is the Amazon rainforest. It's about the size of the contiguous United States, which doesn't include Alaska or Hawaii. More than half of it is in Brazil, but parts are in several other South American countries, including Ecuador and Bolivia. The next biggest rainforest is the Congo in Africa. Parts of the Congo can be found in several other countries too, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.

Most rainforests are found along or near the Equator, where it tends to be hot. But some rainforests grow in temperate regions where it's cooler. Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park on the Pacific northwest coast of North America is an example of a temperate rainforest. Like tropical rainforests, temperate rainforests get lots of, well, rain.

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The brown-headed spider monkey has a prehensile tail, which means it can grasp and can be used like a fifth limb to grab trees. During the day, the spider monkey searches for fruit, which makes up the main part of its diet. They will also eat flowers, seeds, bark, leaves, and small insects during the dry season when fruit isn't available. They spend most of the daylight hours climbing and swinging through the high canopy of trees.

The brown-headed spider monkey lives in a large community of about 20 to 100 male and female monkeys. They split into smaller groups for feeding. Females usually give birth to only a single baby each year or two.

Young monkeys are carried on their mothers' stomachs until about 16 weeks old. Then they are strong enough to ride on their mothers' backs. All brown-headed spider monkey infants are born with a pink face and ears.

Spider monkeys hug each other and wrap their tails around each other. They are very intelligent and have robust memories.

They were named spider monkeys because they look like spiders as they hang upside down from their tails with their arms and legs dangling.

Their genus name is Ateles, which means "imperfect." This refers to the fact that they don't have thumbs.

Hunting the brown-headed spider monkey is now prohibited in Ecuador, but humans have killed them for their meat for hundreds of years.

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Spider Monkey Animal Profile - National Geographic Kids

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Spider monkeys have long, thin arms with hooklike hands that allow them to swing through the trees. They do not have opposable thumbs. The brown-headed spider monkey has a prehensile tail, which means it can grasp and can be used like a fifth limb to grab trees.

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Check out these photos of the wacky animals that call the rainforest home.

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Kids Try Brazilian Food | Kids Try | HiHo Kids

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A jaguar paces at the edge of a rainforest in Brazil. The big cat once roamed through a jungle packed with trees, but now part of its home is a working farm with herds of cattle that have taken over the jaguar's territory.

A hundred years ago, jaguars ranged from the southwestern United States to Argentina, in South America. Today their territory has shrunk by more than half, and they live mostly in the Amazon rainforest. And jaguars aren't the only animals losing their homes-according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, habitat loss is the main threat to about 85 percent of all endangered plant and animal species.

LIVING ON THE EDGE

Tropical rainforests cover only about 7 percent of Earth's land, but they're home to an estimated half of all known plant and animal species. Most experts agree that about 80,000 acres disappear every day when trees are cut down for lumber and land is cleared for farms. Trees also play an important role in absorbing the carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change. Fewer forests means that more greenhouse gases remain trapped in the atmosphere.

Grasslands, underwater habitats, and wetlands are also at risk of habitat loss. For instance, the World Wildlife Fund estimates that about half of the world's wetlands have disappeared in the last hundred years due to being drained for farmland or other industries. That means less space for animals to feed, breed, and raise their young.

SHARING WITH WILDLIFE

Finding a balance between what humans and animals need will help prevent habitat destruction. Some scientists think that if we put aside half of Earth's land and water for nature, we could save up to 90 percent of all species. In the meantime, your everyday actions can build a better planet. Check out these tips to find out what you can do to protect Earth's wild places.

Habitat: The area where a plant or animal lives

Wetland: A habitat where water doesn't drain well-think swamps and marshes.

Grassland: A habitat where the majority of the plants are grasses

Sustainability: Using Earth's resources in a way that doesn't permanently harm the planet. For example, sustainable paper likely is made from trees that will be replaced in their environment.

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Clearing trees and and draining wetlands destroy habitats and affects the animals that live there. Here's how you can help.

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The Lost City of Machu Picchu - Educational Facts for Kids

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OFFICIAL NAME: Federal Republic of Brazil

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Democratic federal republic

CAPITAL: Brasilia

POPULATION: 208,846,892

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Portuguese

MONEY: Real

AREA: 3,286,470 square miles (8,511,965 square kilometers)

MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Serra do Mar, Serra do Espinhaço

MAJOR RIVERS: Amazon, São Francisco, Paraná, Tocantins

Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest nation in the world. It forms an enormous triangle on the eastern side of the continent with a 4,500-mile (7,400-kilometer) coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. It has borders with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador.

The Brazilian landscape is very varied. It is most well known for its dense forests, including the Amazon, the world's largest jungle, in the north. But there are also dry grasslands (called pampas), rugged hills, pine forests, sprawling wetlands, immense plateaus, and a long coastal plain.

Northern Brazil is dominated by the Amazon River and the jungles that surround it. The Amazon is not one river but a network of many hundreds of waterways. Its total length stretches 4,250 miles (6,840 kilometers). Thousands of species live in the river, including the infamous piranha and the boto, or pink river dolphin.
Map created by National Geographic Maps

PEOPLE & CULTURE

Most Brazilians are descended from three ethnic groups: Amerindians, European settlers (mainly from Portugal), and Africans. Starting in the 19th century, waves of immigrants from Europe, the Middle East, and even Japan added to this mix. This diversity of cultures has created a rich religious, musical, and culinary culture.

Brazilians are soccer crazy, and their country has produced some of the best players. The most famous of all is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé. Brazil has won the World Cup soccer finals five times, more than any other nation.

Brazil has the greatest variety of animals of any country in the world. It is home to 600 mammal species, 1,500 fish species, 1,600 bird species, and an amazing 100,000 different types of insects. Brazil's jungles are home to most of its animal life, but many unique species also live in the pampas and semidesert regions.

In the central-western part of Brazil sits a flat, swampy area called the Pantanal. This patchwork of flooded lagoons and small islands is the world's largest wetland. Here live giant anacondas, huge guinea pig relatives called capybaras, and fierce South American alligators called caimans.

For thousands of years, people have been exploiting the jungles of Brazil. But since Europeans arrived about five centuries ago, forest destruction has been rampant. Most of Brazil's Atlantic rain forest is now gone, and huge tracts of the Amazon are disappearing every year. The government has established many national parks and refuges, but they only cover about 7 percent of the country.

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY

Brazil is a federal republic with a president, a National Congress, and a judiciary. From 1888 until recently, the country struggled with democracy. But in 1985, the military government was peacefully removed, and by 1995, Brazil's politics and economy had become fairly stable.

Brazil has many different soils and climates, so it can produce a great variety of crops. Its agricultural exports include sugarcane, latex, coffee, cocoa beans, cotton, soybeans, rice, and tropical fruits.

Brazil is also South America's most industrial nation, producing chemicals, steel, aircraft, and cars.

Until recently, scientists thought Brazil was first settled by Asians about 10,000 years ago. But new evidence shows there were people living there at least 32,000 years ago. Some experts think they may have arrived from islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Brazil was added to the map of the world during the great European explorations in the late 15th century led by Portugal and Spain. When Europeans first reached the coast of Brazil, the country was home to about 30 million indigenous people, or Amerindians. Today, only about 300,000 remain, living primarily in Brazil's remotest places.

Portugal established its first colony in Brazil in 1530. Colonists created sugarcane plantations along the coast and sent diamonds and gold back to Europe. Soon, people from West Africa were brought to Brazil to work as slaves. The discovery of large inland gold reserves brought thousands of people from the coasts and as far away as Europe to the interior of the country.

In 1789, Brazilians tried to kick out their Portuguese rulers. The rebellion was soon put down, but it started a movement toward independence. By 1822, Brazil was a sovereign nation. Kings of Portuguese blood ruled until 1888, when military leaders and landowners expelled the king, and Brazil became a federal republic.

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Brazil Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest nation in the world.