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Colombia
Peru
Easter Island
Argentina
Uruguay
Bolivia
Ecuador
Galapagos
Falklands
South America stretches 65 degrees of latitude all the way from  the warm Caribbean Sea to cold and windy Cape Horn deep south, covering steamy rainforests, mighty rivers, dry deserts, towering snow-capped volcanoes and icy glaciers.
 
The 7000km long Andes mountain range that splits east and west  is rich in minerals like gold, copper and lithium.
The
 Amazon rainforest functions as the lungs of the world. At least according to some.
 
Pundits think first humans entered the continent on foot 15.000 years ago, but the Monte Verde site is older, so others propose a much earlier date via coastal migration by people with common ancestry to modern-day Australiods.
Until we find their travel diaries we just do not know.
 
First Europeans arrived in the 16th century and Spanish and Portuguese  conquistadors overpowered the local civilizations, robbed their gold and colonized the continent.
 
In the 19th century the colonies gained independence and, after a century of military regimes, dictatorships and bloody revolutions, today 11 of the 12 countries in South America are democracies, be it with a very Latin touch. The exception being Venezuela.
 
The economy of most of the countries depends heavily on mining, agriculture, forestry and petroleum industry.
Chile
Tierra del Fuego
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Iguazu Falls