Americas and Australia Geography: Facts and PYQs

Three continents are put together in this chapter because examiners ask the same kind of question from each: the highest peak, the longest river, the grassland, the desert, the canal and the mineral belt. North America and South America are joined at the narrow isthmus of Panama, and Australia is the smallest continent and the only one that is also a single country. Learn each continent as a set of pairs and the questions become easy marks.

North America

The continent has three north to south belts. The young fold Rocky Mountains run along the west, the old fold Appalachians lie in the east and carry coal, and between them spread the Great Plains and the Prairies, the wheat granary of the world. The Canadian Shield in the north is an ancient plateau rich in metals, and the Mississippi, joined by the Missouri, is the longest river of the continent. The five Great Lakes, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, form the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world, Superior being the largest freshwater lake by area and Michigan the only one lying wholly within the United States. The Niagara Falls lie between Erie and Ontario, the Grand Canyon has been cut by the Colorado river in Arizona, and Death Valley in California is the lowest point of the continent at about eighty-six metres below sea level. Denali, formerly called Mount McKinley, in Alaska is the highest peak. The Panama Canal, opened in 1914, cuts through Central America and joins the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean, saving ships the long voyage around South America.

South America

The Andes, the longest mountain range on land, run for about seven thousand kilometres along the western edge and carry Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest peak of the continent and of the southern hemisphere. The Amazon drains the largest basin in the world and carries more water than any other river, and its dense equatorial forest, called Selvas, is often described as the lungs of the earth. The Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall in the world, Lake Titicaca on the border of Peru and Bolivia is the highest navigable lake, and the Atacama desert in northern Chile is the driest place on the earth. Patagonia in southern Argentina is a cold desert formed in the rain shadow of the Andes. Bolivia and Paraguay are the two landlocked countries of the continent, Brazil is the largest country and a leading grower of coffee, Chile is known for copper from Chuquicamata, and the Itaipu dam on the Parana is shared by Brazil and Paraguay.

Australia and Oceania

Australia lies wholly in the southern hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn crosses it. The Great Dividing Range runs along the east and carries Mount Kosciuszko, the highest point of the mainland. The Murray and its longer tributary, the Darling, form the chief river system, and the Great Artesian Basin below the eastern interior is the largest artesian basin in the world, which is what makes sheep rearing possible in the dry interior. The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland is the largest coral reef in the world. The Great Victoria Desert, the Great Sandy Desert and the treeless Nullarbor Plain cover the arid west and centre, Lake Eyre in South Australia is the lowest point of the continent, and Uluru, also called Ayers Rock, is the famous sandstone monolith of the Northern Territory. Iron ore comes from the Pilbara region, with Mount Whaleback as its best known mine, gold from Kalgoorlie, and copper, lead and zinc from Mount Isa and Broken Hill. Canberra is the capital, and across the Tasman Sea lie the two main islands of New Zealand, separated by the Cook Strait, with the Southern Alps and Aoraki, also called Mount Cook, on the South Island.

Grasslands and local winds to memorise

Points worth fixing in memory

• The equator crosses South America through Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil, and the Amazon flows close to it, which explains the equatorial climate of the basin.
• The West Indies lie between the two Americas, and Cuba is the largest island of the group; Greenland, the largest island of the world, belongs to North America.
• The Strait of Magellan and the Drake Passage lie at the southern tip of South America, and the Bass Strait separates Tasmania from the Australian mainland.
• Merino sheep and wool are associated with Australia, while beef and wheat from the Pampas are associated with Argentina.