Interesting facts about South America. The nature of South America

South America is a continent with many different climatic zones, where representatives of twelve states reside. Each of them has a bright culture and customs, and also boasts of natural beauty. The nature of South America is rich and diverse, which attracts many tourists to the continent, along with the unusual architecture of Argentina, the heritage of the Incas in Chile and Peru and the famous dance carnival in Brazil. What interesting things can you learn about the local parts?

Natural lighthouse

To begin to enumerate interesting facts about South America stands with unique natural phenomena. For example, it is here that the most famous lighthouse of natural origin is located. Even now, when the orientation to the sea and the ocean is very different, the sailors of the whole world are familiar with the view of the Itcalco volcano. It is located on the coast and rises by two thousand meters. Such famous Izkalko became because of volcanic activity. Every eight minutes there is a roar from the ground around the whole district, after which clouds of smoke rise above the crater. They grow up three hundred meters to the sky, while a hot lava flows from the volcano. The process of eruption remains unchanged for two hundred years. Impressive dimensions and such an unusual feature make the South American volcano Itzalko a reliable guide in any weather and different time of day. In addition, this place attracts tourists.

The driest desert in the world

The inner waters of South America include the pool of one of the most famous rivers in the world - the Amazon. Nevertheless, there are on the continent, mostly covered by tropical forests, and arid areas. The record holder is the Atacama Desert. This is the driest place on the planet. While mentioning interesting facts about South America, do not forget Atacama. In the desert, which is located in the north of Chile, there has been no precipitation for four centuries. Scientists have accurately recorded the interval from 1570 to 1971. In recent decades, there are still precipitation, but their number does not exceed a millimeter. The humidity in the desert is zero. That is why the local mountains, despite the impressive height of seven thousand meters, are completely devoid of a glacier on top. However, there are unique situations. In May 2010, snow suddenly began to snow here, snowdrifts covered all the nearest cities. The city infrastructure stopped working because of an emergency, and the children saw snow for the first time in their life.

Feast of death

Those who are fascinated by interesting facts about South America and its culture, can not but know about the mysterious Day of the Dead - Dia de los Muertos. This is an annual holiday dedicated to the deceased. It is known that the locals celebrated the Day of the Dead three thousand years ago, which makes it not only interesting, but also the most ancient celebration known to mankind. The emergence is associated with the culture of the Aztecs, who revered the goddess Miklosansuatl, patroness of the underworld. In those ancient times the celebration took several weeks and happened in the summer, in a special period, the exact scope of which is unknown. The conquistadors from Spain moved the date to November, so that the celebration was connected with the Day of All Saints, but these are completely different holidays, and they are not connected with each other. On the first day of November, it is customary to remember children, and on the second day - adults. Because of a completely different attitude towards death (it is believed that the dead are happy and go to a world where they are better than they were when they were alive), the holiday is not at all tragic. On the contrary, these days there are carnivals with bright traditional make-up, turning celebrating into walking skeletons.

Lime Lake

On the island of Trinidad, which is located near the coast of Venezuela, is an unusual pond. It is distinguished by its black color and unique composition. The internal waters of South America, and in general liquid in the usual sense, have no relation to it. Rather, it resembles a lake of natural asphalt. Waves consist of bitumen by forty percent, of clay - by thirty and only by another thirty - from salt water. This is the largest natural reservoir with asphalt on Earth. The locals gave him the name of Lake Degtya. The depth of the unusual pond is eighty two meters, and the area is forty-five hectares. Its exact parameters are still unknown to scientists, although they do not stop work on its study. The surface is covered with a dense asphalt crust, so strong that you can walk on it. But it's better not to do this: bubbles of sulfur dioxide gas burst from the depths , tearing the tar tarpaulin. Over the years, the lake becomes more and more, absorbing the buildings on the shores.

The invention of Panama

A lot of misconceptions are connected with this continent. For example, the discovery of South America - the achievement is not Columbus, but Magellan. The common name with the northern continent leads to errors. Misconceptions due to the name are associated with Panama. This hat was really invented in South America. It just happened that it's not in Panama at all. Invented it in Ecuador and still produce it there. In the early twentieth century, the hat became famous and compulsory for every mod. The name is associated with the country through which it was exported to the north and to Europe. To create a panama, you need a special fiber of a rare palm tree, which is then weaved by hand.

Unusual names

Interesting facts about South America are hidden in the names of the local states. For example, the country of Venezuela. Its name is due to Vespucci. He realized not only the discovery of South America, but also discovered on the coast of the continent the houses of local residents, who reminded the seafarer of his native city - Venice. In honor of it, he nicknamed the land open to them. This name was first used on maps in the sixteenth century. Another interesting name is Ecuador. The study and description of South America was actively conducted by conquistadors, and therefore the names often have a Spanish character. So Ecuador: in translation, the word means "equator" and is directly related to the geographical location of the state.