South America

South America is the world’s fourth largest continent, it is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the northwest, the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast, east, and southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is separated from Antarctica by the Drake Passage and is joined to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. Area: 6,882,027 sq mi (17,824,370 sq km). Pop., 2008 est.: 378,448,500.