Facts about South America. Interesting facts about South America. Nature of South America Facts about South America

• South America is one of the seven continents of the world.
• It is located between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
• South America was discovered European explorer Amerigo Vespucci. There are 12 countries on its territory.
• By area, South America occupies fourth among the world's continents after Asia, Africa and North America.
• By population it ranks fifth, behind Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.
• South America has many natural resources, most of which are concentrated in the Amazon basin. The Amazon River is one of the largest rivers in the world.
• There are historical facts, proving that the civilization known as Chavin spanned the period from 900 century to 300 century BC.
• Many remnants of this civilization was found in Peru, in the area of ​​Chavin de Huanter, lying at an altitude of 3,177 meters above sea level. The trade network and agriculture developed during the Chavin civilization.
• One of the oldest civilizations in South America- Inca civilization.
• Capital of the Inca civilization was the city of Cusco in the Andes. The Incas were known for their unique, highly developed culture. The ruins of the Incan civilization indicate that the buildings of their cities were lined with excellent stonework and designed with great precision. Historians believe that the Incas successfully performed brain surgery.
• Natural resources of South America used by European countries such as Spain and Portugal. Many South American countries were colonies of these European states.
• South American country Brazil gave the world many outstanding and famous actresses, such as Florinda Bolkan, Sonia Braga, Xuxa, Bruna Lombardi and Vera Fischer.
• Based on the English film "Evita"(Evita), created by British director Alan William Parker, was based on the biography of the first lady of Argentina, Maria Eva Duarte de Peron.
• Colombia in the year 1971 was the hostess of the Pan American Games?
• In 1982, South American Gabriel José García Márquez(Gabriel Jose Garcia Marquez), received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• South America is the birthplace such world famous athletes as Joao Carlos de Oliveira, Robson Caetano da Silva, Joaquin Cruz and Rogerio Sampaio.
• Galapagos Islands in Ecuador(Galapagos Islands), Rapa Nui National Park in Chile, Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary in Colombia, Central Suriname Nature Reserve, Jesuit Missions of La Santisima- Trinidad de Parana in Bolivia (Jesuit Missions of La Santisima Trinidad de Parana), Noel Kempff Mercado National Park in Bolivia (Noel Kempff Mercado National Park) and Jesus de Tavarangue in Paraguay (Jesus de Tavarangue) are all South American sites have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• In 1982 in the city of Lima (Peru) The international beauty contest Miss Universe was held

The unique culture and nature annually attracts tourists to the countries of South America. The largest country on the mainland is Brazil with the famous Rio de Janeiro, which hosts popular carnivals. What other interesting but little-known facts about South America are useful to the inquisitive researcher?

Geography

South America is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east and the Caribbean Sea in the north. The continent is connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. The continent's landscapes are varied - deserts, forests, hills and plains.

The Amazon lowland is covered with tropical forest - the largest in the world, and it rains here two hundred days a year. The Amazon River originates in the Andes and irrigates half of the continent. The Amazon is the record holder among rivers for injecting fresh water into the ocean.

The Andes are a mountain system stretching over 7,240 km, the highest peak is Aconcagua at 6,960 meters. The Andes are home to the largest volcanoes on Earth, and in the far south of the mountains there are glaciers.

The geography of the mainland is amazing; there are unique areas here: the Brazilian and Guiana Highlands, the Llanos Plain and many amazing places. The southernmost point of the continent is Cape Horn; sailing past this point is a dangerous sea route. At the southern tip of the mainland lies the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, consisting of several islands. The archipelago was named after the first to circumnavigate the globe.

The Pampas, a plain known for cattle ranching, stretches for 1,600 km. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world, famous for its diversity of flora and fauna. Between the ocean and the Andes lies rocky and lifeless Patagonia, famous for its mountain views.

The Atacama Desert is located high in the Andes - it is cold in these places and there is no rain. The desert is covered with solidified lava flows and salt deposits.

The continent of South America is mentioned when talking about all kinds of records.

• The greatest river in the world, the Amazon, which has half a thousand tributaries, passes through the territory of Brazil.
• Angel Falls is the largest in the world, its height is 1,054 km. It is located in Venezuela, in a remote place. Local Indians call the waterfall Maiden's Eyebrow.
• The highest capital of La Paz in Bolivia, located at an altitude of 4 km above sea level.
• In Peru there is the ancient highland city of Machu Picchu.

Countries

South America is diverse, with swampy jungles adjacent to arid deserts. The Andes mountain range constantly supplies the continent with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. In the south of the continent there is the warm Caribbean Sea, and in the north there are cold storms of the Atlantic. You can talk about the climate of South America for hours; it is so diverse that the countries on the mainland differ radically.

• Brazil is the largest and most populous country on the continent. The capital is Brasilia. The famous city of Rio de Janeiro is constantly full of tourists.

• Argentina is a beautiful country, famous for its large carnival, which takes place annually on January 16th. The capital is Buenos Aires.
• Bolivia is different in that the government is located in the city of La Paz, although the real capital is Sucre.
• Venezuela is located in the north of the continent, in a warm climate. The capital is Caracas. The national park is world famous for its tropical wilderness.

• Guyana with its capital Georgetown. Guyana's territory is 90% occupied by jungle.
• Guiana is a French territory. The administrative center is Cayenne.
• Colombia - the capital of Bogota, is named after the discoverer of the continent. Indian and European culture are harmoniously intertwined here; the country has many museums that store historical rarities.

• Paraguay, with its capital Asuncion, is landlocked. There are many architectural monuments in the capital.
• Peru - the capital of Lima, a beautiful city on the coast, exciting the minds of fans of the culture of the ancient Incas.
• Suriname is a tropical country; the capital Paramaribo does not have a single high-rise building. The city has retained its originality, which is why it is interesting for tourists.

• Uruguay, with its capital Montevideo, is famous for its carnivals and preserved colonial architecture.
• Chile is located on a long, narrow strip along the ocean and in the Andes. The capital is Santiago, famous for its coups d'etat and balneotherapy.
• Ecuador, with its capital Quito, is located on the equator and is replete with ancient monuments, museums dating back to colonialism and enchanting mountain landscapes.

Flora

Plants of South America have evolved since the Mesozoic era. This development was never disrupted by glaciations or other destructive climate changes. The continent's flora was isolated for a long time from other areas of the earth's land. This explains the antiquity of the flora of this continent and its species diversity. The industry of the countries of the continent is not developed, which has a positive impact on the preservation of nature.

The population density of the mainland is small, and some areas are not inhabited at all; the flora is in a pristine state. The vegetation of South America is rightfully spoken of as a bottomless source of food, feed, and medicinal resources. The most cultivated plant on the continent is potatoes.

Rubber, cinchona and chocolate trees are also grown. The tropical forests of the mainland have no competitors on Earth in terms of the richness of species and the size of the occupied territories. The tropics have up to twelve tiers, and the height of some trees reaches 100 meters.

Fauna

South America has a rich wildlife. Even experienced travelers have something to marvel at on this continent. There are 600 species of mammals, 900 amphibians and 1,700 birds found on this continent.

Giant butterflies and ants live in tropical evergreen forests, parrots predominate among birds, and hummingbirds fly. Condors, the largest flying birds, are preserved in two places on the continent. Among the animals there are many endemics, such as the Titicaca whistler - a lake frog. The wingless great grebe nests on the floating islands of Lake Titicaca.

Only on this continent live Pudu deer, no taller than 40 cm, weighing up to 10 kg. The mystery of another animal, the capybara, led believers to turn to the Pope for clarification. Parishioners asked whether it was possible to eat capybara during fasting - it was not clear whether it was a fish or an animal. The capybara lives in water and on land, which confused believers.

The largest snake is the anaconda, it easily copes with the caiman. You can talk about the animals and plants of this continent for hours. Based on real stories of travelers in South America, many amazing adventure novels have been written for children and adults.

History of development

South America was discovered by a navigator who went in search of India, inspired by the fact that the Earth was round. The search for the sailors continued for a month, and three ships sailed to the new shores. In 1498, Columbus arrived in South America, convinced that it was India. The rediscovery of South America occurred in the 16th century, when the navigator arrived on the mainland and found out that Columbus was mistaken in considering these lands to be India.

After the discovery of the mainland, colonization began; conquerors called conquistadors set off to new lands in search of wealth. The newly discovered lands were subjected to plunder and devastation, and the indigenous peoples were enslaved and exterminated.

Simultaneously with the conquest, the study of the lands took place; the German scientist A. Humboldt organized an expedition to study nature and the indigenous population. The scientist’s research lasted twenty years and was so detailed that the release of the book was compared to the rediscovery of America.

Research within the continent was stimulated by rumors of the mythical country of Eldorado. Spanish and Portuguese expeditions in the 16th-18th centuries made conquests in search of treasures, exploring the mountain range, plateaus and numerous tributaries of the Amazon. These areas were studied by conquerors, scientists, and Jesuit missionaries.

Russian scientists also studied the exotic continent. Professor of botany Vavilov studied in detail cultivated plants native to South America in 1933.

There is a very interesting continent on our planet that we can talk about endlessly - this is South America.

South America is the fourth largest continent. The continent's area is 17.8 million km², population is 387,489,196 (2011) people (4th place among continents). On its territory there are 12 independent states and one overseas department of France - Guiana, by the way, the official currency of this territory is the euro)

Are you looking for a site where you can purchase a Minitractor Scout T 25 + rototiller? Then the link https://alliance-agro.ru/product/minitraktor-skaut-t-25-pochvofreza/ will be useful to you. Stop by.

The largest river in the world flows through this continent. The Amazon is about 7,000 km long. rivaling in length the Nile and more than half a thousand tributaries. The basin of this river is larger in area than Australia. In addition, you can get from the Amazon to the Orinoco, since there is a natural connection between the two water basins. It is carried out through the Casiquiare River (326 km long).

Venezuela is home to Maracaibo, the largest and second oldest lake on Earth. This is the pride and important source of wealth for Venezuela, because there are many oil deposits here. On the southern and western shores of Maracaibo, tribes cut off from civilization have lived in houses on stilts since ancient times.

It is in South America that the highest waterfall in the world is located - Angel, whose height is 1059 meters. The height of continuous free fall is 807 meters.

The largest salt flat in the world, the Salar de Uyuni is a dry salt lake in the south of the Altiplano desert plain, Bolivia at an altitude of about 3650 m above sea level. It has an area of ​​10,588 km² and is the largest salt marsh in the world. Due to its large size, flat surface and high albedo in the presence of a thin layer of water, as well as minimal changes in altitude, the Uyuni Salar is an ideal tool for testing and calibrating remote sensing instruments on orbiting satellites. Uyuni's clear skies and dry air allow satellites to be calibrated five times better than using the ocean surface.

Also on the continent is the highest navigable lake in the world - Titicaca. This picturesque lake is located in the Andes mountains between Peru and Bolivia. The height of the lake above sea level is 3812m.

Another world record holder is Mount Cotopaxi, which is the highest active volcano with a height reaching almost 6000 meters.

On the territory of the state of Chile there is a desert in which there has been no rain for 400 years, hence the Atacama Desert. It is considered the driest place on the planet.

The Colca Canyon, in Peru, which has a depth twice as deep as the famous American Grand Canyon, is located in the province of Cayoma, 148 km northeast of Arequipa. The Canyon is considered the deepest in the world. From the observation deck of Cruz Del Codor there is an unforgettable view of the canyon, at the bottom of which, at a depth of 1200 m, the Kolka River flows, and on the opposite side Mount Misti rises.

The summit of the Chimborazo volcano is the most distant point on the planet from the center of the Earth. Its height is 6267 m above sea level. If you measure the height of the mountain from the center of the Earth, the Chimborazo volcano will be several kilometers higher than Everest (6384.4 km versus 6381 km from the center of the planet)

Mount Roraima in South America. Located at the junction of Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana. The top of Roraima is a plateau with an area of ​​about 30 km². The height of the mountain is almost 3 km. In the clouds, the mountain looks like a huge ship sailing out of the fog. Roraima inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write his novel The Lost World.

The Licancabur volcano is located almost exactly on the border between Chile and Bolivia. In the crater on the top of the volcano at an altitude of 5916 m, over the many centuries that have passed since the last eruption, presumably more than 500–1000 years ago, a lake has managed to form, which is considered the highest mountain lake on Earth and most of the time, due to the fact that temperatures at this altitude they drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius, it is under the ice. Next to the volcano, on the Bolivian side, at an altitude of 4300 m, there is the salt lake Green Lagoon, which got its name for the emerald green color of its waters due to the copper mineral salts dissolved in it, on the surface of which you can even see people dancing in the salty crumbs flamingos and absolutely enchanting landscapes.

In the Patagonian Mountains in Chile there is a lake called Lago General Carrera, which is very popular among tourists. Its main feature is the Marble Caves (Las cavernas de marmol in Spanish). The lake is shared by Chile and Argentina, but the caves, located on a limestone peninsula, belong to Chile. The beauty of this Marble Cathedral (the second name of the caves) fascinates all beholders.

Caño Cristales (Crystal River) or the River of Five Colors, as it is called by locals, originates in the south of the Macarena mountain range, in Colombia, and flows east to its confluence with the Guayabero River. There are five colors found in the Caño Cristales bed: yellow, blue, green, black and red. All of them are a product of the vital activity of numerous algae and, depending on the time of year, the color saturation either weakens or intensifies. The Cristales flows in the jungle, its length does not reach 100 kilometers, and its width is 20 meters. There are no fish in the river.

In Venezuela, you can observe an unusual natural phenomenon - “Catatumbo lightning”, which occurs above the confluence of the Catatumbo River into Lake Maracaibo. The phenomenon is expressed in the occurrence of many lightning strikes continuously over a long period of time, mainly at night and with strong variation depending on the time of year (maximums occur in May and October). The probability of a lightning strike in this area is the highest in the world: 250 lightning strikes per square kilometer per year. The number of thunderstorm days per year varies from 70 to 200; at the peak of activity, which occurs from 19:00 to 04:00, up to 28 lightning strikes per minute are observed. Lightning can be seen from a distance of up to 400 km, which has given rise to the myth that lightning exists without accompanying acoustic effects. Due to the good visibility of these lightning bolts from a great distance, they were even used for navigation, which is why the phenomenon is also known as the “Maracaibo Lighthouse”. Catatumbo lightning is believed to be the largest single generator of tropospheric ozone on Earth. Winds coming from the Andes cause thunderstorms. Methane, which is rich in the atmosphere of these wetlands, rises to the clouds, fueling lightning strikes.

It is in South America that the “Pacific Ring of Fire” ends, which is the zone of the largest concentration of volcanoes and earthquakes in the world. There are about 450 volcanoes along the perimeter of this ring, and earthquakes can even occur here several times a day.

The most powerful and full-flowing waterfalls are located on the border of Brazil and Argentina. This fantastic complex of Iguazu Falls is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

In Brazil, at a depth of about 4,000 meters, scientists have discovered the longest underground river in the world. The river, originating in the foothills of the Andes, is 6 thousand kilometers long and stretches from west to east to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean almost under the Amazon River basin. This scientific discovery became public in August 2011 after a report made at a meeting of the Brazilian Geophysical Society in Rio de Janeiro. The river is unofficially named Hamza in honor of the pioneering scientist Walia Hamza. . The study found that, with the exception of flow direction, the Amazon (aboveground) and Hamza (underground) rivers have significantly different characteristics, the most obvious of which are their width and flow speed. However, the flow speed in the Amazon is five meters per second, and the speed in the underground river does not exceed 1 millimeter per second.

Brazil is the largest and most populous country on the continent. Territory - 8,515,770 km², which is 5.7% of the entire land area of ​​the world. Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world in terms of area and population. The capital is Brasilia. The famous city of Rio de Janeiro,

Chile is the longest (4300 km), narrowest (max 200 km, min 80 km) and southernmost (900 km from Antarctica) country in the world. The narrow Chilean strip was described by writer Benjamin Subercaseu as an exaggerated "geographical madness".

The huge continent of South America, open to Europeans in the era of great navigators, is a real treasure trove of ancient cultures, traditions and customs. Despite centuries under the rule of colonialists, many local peoples retained their traditional way of life, and those that were assimilated gave birth to an amazing cocktail of Indian and European cultures.

1. The largest South American country is Brazil. Next comes Argentina. Both of these states are the 6th and 7th in area among all countries in the world, respectively (see).
2. The average altitude of South America above sea level reaches almost 600 meters. 580 to be exact.
3. It is in South America that the wettest populated area on earth is located. This is the Colombian city of Buenaventura, where it rains more than anywhere else.
4. The driest of the hot deserts, the Atacama, is also located on the South American mainland. There hasn't been proper rain here for about 400 years (see).
5. In most countries in South America, the official language is Spanish, but other languages ​​are also common.
6. About half of the total South American population lives in Brazil. They speak the local dialect of Portuguese here.
7. In most large South American cities there are bad areas where even the police usually do not go. In Brazil they are called favelas, in some other countries - vizhs.
8. Ushuaia, the southernmost city on the planet, is located in South America. Standing on its shore and looking south, you realize that there, beyond the horizon, lies only one land - Antarctica (see).
9. Not all former New World colonies are South American. Many people confuse South America with Latin. The first is a geographical definition, and the second is rather ethnographic.
10. The only English-speaking country on the South American continent is Guyana, one of the poorest countries in the world.
11. French is also common here. It is spoken in French Guiana, an overseas possession of France.
12. The vast majority of the population of South America are Catholic Christians.
13. The Incan and Mayan empires once existed here, but they were crushed by the conquistador conquerors.
14. In Argentina and Uruguay, the majority of the population is direct descendants of the Spaniards and Italians, and the locals look like Europeans. And the largest Indian populations are in Bolivia and Peru (see).
15. South America is home to the world's highest capital, La Paz. True, this city is the capital of Bolivia only in fact, and not in name.
16. The South American salt flat of Uyuni, formed on the site of a dry lake, turns into the world's largest mirror during the rainy season.
17. In Paraguay, one of the countries in South America, duels are still allowed.
18. Among all the continents of the Earth, South America is the wettest.
19. The most famous waterfalls in the world are also located in South America. Angel is the tallest of them, and Iguazu is the most powerful (see).
20. Lake Titicaca, located here, is the highest navigable lake in the world.
21. In total, South America is home to 12 independent states plus dependent territories of other countries.
22. In the Republic of Chile, from 10 to 25% of the population, according to various estimates, come from the Spanish Basque Country and their direct descendants.
23. In Chile, about 3% of the population are ethnic Croats, and about half a million people are Germans.
24. The only country in South America where Dutch is spoken is Suriname, a former colony of the Netherlands.
25. In Bolivia and Peru, drinks infused with coca leaves are popular, but they cannot be exported to other countries.
26. It was here, in Argentina and Uruguay, that such a popular dance as tango originated.
27. The most popular sport in all South American countries is football.

North America is the third largest continent in the world. There is one of the most important countries in the world - the USA, highly developed Canada, densely populated Mexico and many small states with interesting Latin American traditions. North America stretches from the equator in the south to the polar latitudes in the north, so it has all the climate zones of the Earth. There are many interesting facts about North America - geography, nature, population.

Waterfall on the Niagara River

Geography

Interesting facts about North America - geography. North America has many freshwater bodies of water, for example, there is the world's largest freshwater lake system, the largest non-saltwater Lake Superior, and the Mississippi River, which is the fourth longest in the world (5969 kilometers).

Mississippi River

The highest point in the northern part of the American continent is located in Alaska - McKinley (6190 meters above sea level), this mountain was renamed Denali in 2015, which means “big” in the language of the local Indians. Among the seven highest mountains of the seven continents, it ranks third after Everest in the Himalayas and Aconcogua in South America. The height from the base to the top is 5500 meters, while Everest rises from the base to only 3700 meters.

Mount McKinley

In the states of California and Nevada, there is a desert depression between the mountains, which is called “Death Valley”. The highest temperature in the world was recorded in this desert, this record is 57 degrees Celsius. There is an interesting phenomenon in Death Valley - stones that move. They leave behind clear traces on the surface of the earth. It is believed that stones weighing from several to several to several hundred kilograms move across moistened clay under the force of a strong, constant wind.

In the western part of the mainland there are many dry lakes that have a perfectly flat surface. High-speed technology is tested on these lakes, since such salt surfaces are flat and planes and cars can accelerate to speeds of 1000 kilometers per hour on them without the threat of colliding with an obstacle or uneven surfaces. The highest speed achieved by a jet car on the bottom of a lake in Nevada is 1,226 kilometers per hour; the record was set by a Trust car with a jet engine in 1997.

North America has a temperate climate, so there are many rivers, including unusual ones. The most interesting river is in Florida, it flows from Lake Okeechobee, flows 16 kilometers and flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Its width is tens of kilometers, in some places up to 80 kilometers, while the depth is only about 15 centimeters. The reservoir is located in the Everglades National Park.

Lake Okeechobee

In the distant past, two continents - Asia and North America - were united by land - the Bering Land Bridge. At that time, the sea level was 50 meters lower, which is exactly the maximum depth of this strait, 96 kilometers long and 86 kilometers wide. Several times the continents were united by this isthmus and people, animals, plants of the two parts of the world could move, and thus America was populated several tens of thousands of years ago. It is impossible to cross this strait on ice, since even in thirty-degree frost it is a mixture of water and ice, a kind of ice swamp. There have been two official attempts to cross the strait on foot in the past, carried out by professional athletes with special equipment. Although it is possible that in history there were such a strong ice cover, in fact an ice bridge over which a person could walk in winter. In the summer, contacts could have been made by kayak - however, all this is hypothetical; in fact, in the distant past, people crossed the isthmus, which was land, and not an ice road or a water bridge.

Bering Strait Bridge Project

In North America, tornadoes are common - waterspouts that reach hundreds of meters in diameter. Objects caught in a tornado move at high speeds, and even small particles can cause significant damage. In 1896, a wooden stick caught in a whirlwind pierced a one-centimeter thick steel sheet. The heaviest object moved by the tornado was an iron suspension bridge weighing more than one hundred tons. The vortices act clearly within the limits of their physical dimensions - passing through a structure, they can destroy half of it, and the other half can be left undamaged.

In the state of Arizona there is a large meteorite crater with a diameter of 1200 meters, its depth is more than 160 meters, the shaft that was formed from the explosion rises 65 meters. The mass of the meteorite is estimated at 60 thousand tons. To achieve such explosive force, you need more than three million tons of TNT.

On the east coast of Canada, there is a waterfall with variable water direction on the St. Johns River. The reason is tides, the height of which is 18 meters. It is the tidal wave that forms on the river, which flows through a narrow rocky canyon, a waterfall that falls towards the usual direction of the flow.

Nature

One third of North America is covered with forests; there are more than 50 national parks, the largest of which are located in the United States - Yosemite and Yellowstone.

Volcano in Yellowstone

There are many cacti in Mexico that reach significant sizes. In the past, cacti were used to make bridges, fences, and used as roadside posts. They are also used as food and medicines are prepared from them. This plant is depicted on the Mexican national emblem.

About 600 species of birds live on the mainland - pelicans, flamingos, ibises, partridges, the great California vulture, and many species of tiny hummingbirds that live even in Alaska.

The plant kingdom has about 300 species. Sequoias, thujas, hickories, tulip trees, and magnolias grow in the forests. In the north, cold-loving berry bushes, dwarf willows, and birch groves grow.

In the north, in the tundra there are polar bears, arctic foxes, reindeer, weasels, and polar wolves. In the taiga there are sables, skunks, otters. The Porcupine rodent lives in the trees. The opossum, a marsupial rat, lives in deciduous forests. The forest-steppe is home to coyotes, bison, pronghorn antelope, and steppe ferrets.

Population

Although the United States is economically developed, the largest city in northern America is located in Mexico - the capital city of Mexico City with a population of almost 20 million people.

Here, on the outskirts of Mexico City, Guadalupe, there is a miraculous icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe; more than 14 million Christians from all over the world make a pilgrimage to it every year. The Virgin Mary is depicted on an agave canvas. The icon has amazing properties - a constant temperature of 36.6, you can listen to the heartbeat with a stethoscope, the stars on Mary’s cloak correspond to the constellations of the starry sky at the time of discovery, on the tiny pupils there are images of those present in the room when the image on the cloak of agave leaves was discovered. The cloak itself is also amazing - it should have fallen into disrepair within a few decades due to the fragility of the material, but for five centuries now it has looked like new without signs of aging of the material.

Image in the eyes of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The city of Washington was founded as the capital of the United States from the very beginning. Before this, the main city of the country was Philadelphia. There are no too tall buildings here - not a single building in the city can be higher than the Capitol, where the US Parliament meets. It is interesting that the Capitol was built by slaves, who were rented during its construction.

Slave's back after whipping

There are 27 countries in North America, home to more than half a billion people - less than 10 percent of the world's population. The largest country is Canada, the USA is the second largest country by area, but the largest country by population. The smallest country is Saint Christopher and Nevis - a former colony of Great Britain, it consists of two islands with a total area of ​​261 square kilometers and a population of 50 thousand people. This small state has a program according to which you can obtain citizenship for investing in the economy from 250 to 450 thousand dollars. However, this is not a very quiet place - the capital Basseterre is considered one of the most criminal cities in the world.

In Central Park in New York City there is an Egyptian obelisk called Cleopatra's Needle. It was brought from Egypt in 1890. This monument of ancient civilization is covered with inscriptions and drawings on the western and eastern sides. During the century of its stay in the USA, the obelisk was damaged more than during its three thousand years in Egypt - the inscriptions on the western side have almost disappeared. This is due to the presence of sulfur oxides in the air, which are emitted by industrial enterprises in the Great Lakes region. Combining with water in the atmosphere, these evaporations lead to acid rain, which destroys architectural monuments. Since the winds in this region predominantly blow from west to east, the inscriptions on the ancient Egyptian obelisk were better preserved on the eastern side, while on the western side they were damaged by acid rain.

The largest island on Earth, Greenland is located near Europe, but geographically belongs to North America. This area was covered and colonized by the Vikings back in the 10th century, these colonies existed until the 15th century, when climatic conditions and attacks by local tribes forced the Europeans to abandon this “Green Island”. About 80 percent of the island's surface is covered by glaciers up to 300 meters thick. However, there are areas that are protected from cold winds and washed by warm currents. Several cities have been built in such places with a relatively mild climate. Greenland is an autonomous state entity within Denmark. Despite the fact that the American island of Greenland has left the European Union, it is an associated member of this European organization.