Over the course of millennia, Paleo-Indians spread throughout North and South ... they have been living there since their genesis, described by a wide range of ..... City of Caral, in the Supe valley, is one of the largest and best studied sites.
The archeological rests discovered at Caral (Supe Coastal Region, North-Central Peru) have been dated as the oldest ever found in America, from 5,000 years ago. These pertain to the Norte Chico or Cara-Supe civilization, a complex pre-Columbian society which developed between the fourth and second millenials BC, contemporary to the more widely known civilization in Ancient Egypt. These discoveries have shifted the focus of research from the Andean Regions of Peru to coastal regions.
It is surprising the small worlwide reknown reached by this complex and very ancient society if compared to others such as Egypt.
Mountains -South America’s primary mountain system, the Andes, is also the world’s longest. The range covers about 8,850 kilometers (5,500 miles). Situated on the far western edge of the continent, the Andes stretch from the southern tip to the northernmost coast of South America. There are hundreds of peaks more than 4,500 meters (15,000 feet) tall, many of which are volcanic.
Rivers- South America has three important river basins: the Amazon, Orinoco, and Paraguay/Paraná.
The Amazon River basin has an area of almost 7 million square kilometers (2.7 million square miles), making it the largest watershed in the world. The basin, which covers most of northern South America, is fed by tributaries from the glaciers of the Andes. Every second, the Amazon River empties 209,000 cubic meters (7,381,000 cubic feet) of freshwater into the Atlantic Ocean.
Plains-A coastal plain is an area of low, flat land next to a seacoast. South American coastal plains are found on the northeastern coast of Brazil, on the Atlantic Ocean, and the western, Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. The coastal plains of northeastern Brazil are extremely dry. The Brazilian Highlands act as a wedge that pushes moist sea winds away from the coastal plains.