Industrial and commercial South America

by Annie S. Peck

Physical Characteristics

In the study of South America one may observe certain points of resemblance with others of difference between that continent and North America. The outline of each, we perceive, is roughly triangular, broad at the north and tapering towards the south; but as the broad part of one is not far from the Arctic Circle while that of the other is near the equator, we find that the greater part of North America is in the temperate zone while most of South America is in the torrid; disparity in climate and productions follows.

The geological formation of the two continents is as similar as their outline. There is a correspondence on the northeast between what are called the Laurentian Highlands in Labrador and the uplands of Guiana; on the southeast between the Appalachian system of the North and the Serra do Mar of Brazil, each having a northeast to southwest trend and a fair similarity in height, though the tallest peak in either range is the Itatiaiá in Brazil, which by 3000 feet exceeds Mt. Mitchel, the highest of the Appalachians. A difference worth noting is that the Brazilian range is closer to the sea.

A similarity, perhaps greater, exists in the west where lie, close to the shore, the loftier ranges of the two continents, of much later origin than the eastern mountains, and containing many volcanic peaks. Each system includes several chains with valleys or plateaus between; but in the United States the system which includes the Rockies is wider than is that of the Andes at any point. The two systems are distinct, having neither the same origin nor the same trend, while the altitude of the South American massif greatly exceeds that of the North American mountains.

Between the coastal regions both continents have great basins sloping to the north, east, and south with a large river draining each: the Mackenzie and the Orinoco flowing north, the St. Lawrence and the Amazon east, the Mississippi and the Paraná south. Were the two continents side by side there would be a great resemblance in production instead of the present considerable diversity.

While in area South America is ranked as smaller than North America, it may be a trifle larger in land surface, especially in habitable regions, if the opinion of Humboldt is correct that the Amazon Basin will one day support the densest population on the globe. The southern continent, comprising no large bodies of water like Hudson Bay and our Great Lakes, also has, save the slopes of the highest mountains, no regions like those near the Arctic Circle, incapable of supporting more than the scantiest population.

The outline of the continent is less irregular than that of North America, consequently there are fewer good harbors, especially on the west coast.

Climate

As three quarters of South America lie within the tropics, the entire north coast, and the wider part of the continent including most of Brazil with the countries on the west as far down as the northern part of Chile, a tropical climate and productions might here be expected. But happily within the torrid zone of both hemispheres are the loftiest mountain ranges of the world. These modify the climate of large sections to such a degree that in many places there is perpetual spring, a perennial May or June; in other districts one may in comparatively few hours go from regions of eternal summer to perpetual snow, finding on the way the products of every clime. Thus the mountains and table-lands of South America are effective in causing moderate temperatures over extensive areas within the tropics, with accordant productions.

In comparing the climates of North and South America we must note that while the tropical region of the latter is much the larger, in corresponding latitudes it is in general cooler south of the equator than north. An examination of the isothermal lines, that is the lines of equal average heat around the globe, shows: