Class 7 South America – Land of Andes
I. Answer the following:
1. Why are natives of the
South American continent called Red-Indians?
Ans: When Christopher Columbus reached the continent. He mistook it for India. He
called brown colored natives of that land as the red Indians and that had
given the name West Indies.
2. Explain the location and
extent of South America.
Ans: a) The continent lies mainly in the southern hemisphere.
b) A small portion is found in the northern hemisphere.
c) The equator and the tropic of Capricorn pass through the continent.
d) Its latitude and longitudinal extent is 12° N to 56° S latitudes and 35° W to 81° W longitudes.
e) It is located in the Western hemisphere.
f) The continent is surrounded by water bodies on all sides except in north.
g) Panama separates South America and North America.
h) Atlantic ocean in the east and northeast, the Pacific Ocean lies in the west and the south is bordered by the icy waters of America.
i) South America is three and a half times bigger than India.
3. Name the big and small
countries of South America.
Ans: Countries of South America are
Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Columbia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Paraguay, Ecuador, Guyana, Uruguay, Surinam, French Guiana (French territory).
4. Which is the largest
waterfall of the World found in South America? On which river it is formed?
Ans: Angel Falls is the world’s highest waterfall. It is formed on river Churn
a tributary of Orinoco, in the Guyana shield.
5. Mention the important grasslands
of South America.
Ans: South America is the land of grasslands. Major grasslands of the continent
are:
a) Llanos in the Orinoco river basin.
b) Compass in the Brazilian highlands
c) Pampas of Argentina temperate grasslands
6. Name the important
plants & wild animals of South America.
Ans: The
Equatorial region of the Amazon basin has dense tropical rainforest. It is the world’s
largest rainforest, locally
called Selvas. Evergreen trees of hard wood with dense canopy
of trees are found here. Mahogany and Ebony are the valuable
trees in this area. The rubber trees found here are used to
make latex. On either side of the equatorial forests, grass lands are found.
These are known as Llanos in the Orinoco river
basin (Venezuela) and as Campos in the Brazilian high lands.
The south eastern coast of Brazil has tropical deciduous forest.
South America has a variety of wild animals, birds and reptiles. The condor is the biggest bird of prey in the world. Rhea is a large bird which cannot fly, like the Ostrich in Australia. Spider monkey, Owl monkey and Squirrel monkey live in the trees of the Amazon forests. Anaconda Python is the largest reptile and it lives in the rain forest. Puma and Jaguar are large animals of prey which feed on monkeys and smaller animals. The Liama and Alpaca are animals similar to camels as they have long necks. These are domesticated bythe native inhabitants for working. Galapagos Islands are well known for their giant tortoise. There are spiders and insects like tsetse flies which cause sleeping sickness. The Amazon River has varieties of fish such as the sting ray, electric fish and Piranha (most dangerous fish in the world).
7. Mention the important
racial groups found in South America.
Ans: The inhabitants of South America belong to mixed racial groups. Europeans
settled here in search of gold and other natural resources. Slaves were brought
from Africa to work in plantations. The natives are Red Indians. Intermarriage
among these groups has formed mixed races.
8. Name the important
cities with a high density of population in South America?
Ans: Most of the population of South America is concentrated in big cities and
ports like Buenos Aires, Rio-de-Janeiro, Valparaiso, Sao Paulo, etc., Density
of population is mainly found in the coastal belt.
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