South America

What is the name's origin?l Amerigo Vespucci was the a cartographer ,among other things, that proved that Brazil and the west indies did not represent the same coastal pattern as Asia and thought of it as an entirely different continent. The name “America” is his first name in Latin and the south comes from the fact that it is the southern most of the two continent discovered

Amerigo Vespucci

Tectonic Plates•South America is all on one tectonic plate called the, "South American Plate"

http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/plate.html

When did it take shape?

l The most recent transformation of its shape was 3,000,000 year ago when Panama was formed connecting North and south America.

When did it reach it's position?l It also reached its present position 3,000,000 years ago when it became connected to North America.

http://www.worldmapsonline.com/academia/murals/academia_south_america_physical_map_wall_mural.htm

Thing unique to the continentl South America contains

l The Amazon rainforest has an abundance of plant and animal life

l The Amazon river which is the largest river in drainage

l Arctic birds because it is the southernmost continent

l Animals like llamas, anacondas, and pirana

l The Andes Mountain

What cause it to be to have the life and features it has now?

l The continent has the Andes because of the Nazca plate meeting with the South American plate and collide making the mountains.

l The continent has Arctic birds because the shortest distance from it to Antarctica is 1000 km meaning it is very close to the south pole and cold enough to sustain birds like that.

Work citedl "Continents." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://education.nationalgeographic.com/encyclopedia/continent/>.

l Wheeler, Heather Y. "South America." Natural History on the Net. N.p., 26 May 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://naturalhistoryonthenet.com/Continents/south_america.htm>.