this landform can occur in the interior of our continent or in coastal areas and is relatively flat.

With an unparalleled number of plant and animal species, South America’s rich biodiversity is unique among the world’s continents. One of the continent’s river basins (the Amazon) is defined by dense, tropical rain forest, while the other (Paraná) is made up of vast grasslands. Within a few hundred kilometers, South America’s coastal plains’ dry desert biome rises to the rugged alpine biome of the Andes mountains.

A biome is a community of animals and plants that spreads over an area with a relatively uniform climate.

South America’s extreme geographic variation contributes to the continent’s large number of biomes. Mountains and coastal plains generally run in a north-south direction, while highlands and river basins generally run in an east-west direction. South America can be divided into three physical regions: mountains and highlands, river basins, and coastal plains. South America’s physical geography, environment and resources, and human geography can be considered separately. South America, the fourth-largest continent, extends from the Gulf of Darién in the northwest to the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego in the south.

This landform can occur in the interior of our continent or in coastal areas and is relatively flat.