Brazil is the largest country in South America, covering nearly half of the continent. With more than 200 million people, it is the fifth-most populous country in the world. The culture of Brazil is a fascinating blend of Native American, Portuguese, African, Japanese, and other influences. Over the past five decades, there have been many changes in Brazils society and economy. Schools and hospitals have become more available, highways have been built...

In 1499, the Spanish navigator Alonso de Ojeda explored the coast of South America. When his ships entered a gulf, he found that Amerindians had built their homes on stilts along the swampy shore of what became known as Lake Maracaibo. This reminded the explorers of the city of Venice, in Europe, so they named the region Venezuela (Spanish for "Little Venice"). The socialist government of Hugo Chávez, who ruled from 1999 until his death in 2011,...

Argentina, located in the southern part of South America, is the world's eighth-largest country. It is home to some of the world's tallest mountains, along with tumbling waterfalls, enormous grassland plains, and wide deserts. In the first half of the 20th century, Argentina was one of the most prosperous countries in the Southern Hemisphere. However, in recent decades Argentina's economy has been troubled by inflation and debt, and this has resulted...

The fourth-largest continent on earth, South America is a land of great extremes. The longest mountain range on the planet-the Andes-divides the continent from its northern coast on the sunny Caribbean to its southern tip at stormy Tierra del Fuego. Within its boundaries lies the world's highest active volcano (Chimborazo, in Ecuador), the world's highest waterfall (Angel Falls, in Venezuela), and the world's driest region (the Atacama Desert, of...

Nearly 500 years ago the representatives of two great, but very different, civilizations clashed in the Andes Mountains of modern-day Peru. The Incas who lived in the region had established a highly advanced civilization and built great cities and temples of stone. From Europe, Spanish soldiers led by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro came seeking the Incas' gold. In the five centuries since then, the blend of Spanish and Amerindian cultures has...

Located along the northeast coast of South America, Guyana is the only nation on the continent in which English, not Spanish, is the official language. Most of the country's 735,000 people, who are of East Indian, African, or mixed descent, live along the swampy coastal plain in the north. This tropical land was inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Carb peoples before Dutch colonists established settlements and sugar plantations there in the early...

Named for the equator, which passes through it, the Republic of Ecuador sits on the western coast of South America. One of the smallest countries of the continent, Ecuador nevertheless features a wide variety of terrain: high mountain peaks, tropical forests, grasslands, snow-capped volcanoes, and glacial lakes. Off the Pacific coast, about 600 miles (966 km) to the west, lie Ecuador's renowned Galápagos Islands, home to more than 5,000 species of...

"Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference. Portraits, family photographs, and candid images grace the pages, augmenting the emotional and physical journey each youth has taken. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful...

Describes how clues to the past are found by archeologists, linguists, and biologists and they help us understand where we came from and why we are here today.

Profiles the South American general and revolutionary who helped liberate several South American countries from Spanish domination.