A World of Words: South America - High School

Practice this vocabulary list and take a journey to South America. Review the names of South American countries and learn about South America's diverse ecosystems, native plants and animals, and more.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. agriculture
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  2. alpaca
    domesticated mammal with long silky fleece
  3. altitude
    elevation above sea level or above the earth's surface
  4. Amazon River
    a major South American river
  5. Amerindian
    a dated term applied to an Indigenous person living in the Americas
  6. anaconda
    a large boa of tropical South America
  7. anchovy
    small herring-like fish often canned whole or as paste
  8. Andean condor
    large vulture of the high Andes having black plumage and white neck ruff
  9. Andes
    a mountain range in South America running 5000 miles along the Pacific coast
  10. Angel Falls
    the highest waterfall
  11. Araguaya River
    a river in central Brazil that flows generally northward (with many falls) to join the Tocantins River
  12. Argentina
    a republic in southern South America
  13. Atacama Desert
    a desert in northern Chile rich in nitrate and copper deposits
  14. basin
    the geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries
  15. bauxite
    a clay-like mineral
  16. biodiversity
    the variety of plant and animal life in a habitat
  17. Bogota
    capital and largest city of Colombia
  18. Bolivia
    a landlocked republic in central South America
  19. Brasilia
    the capital of Brazil
  20. Brazil
    the largest Latin American country and the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world; located in the central and northeastern part of South America; world's leading coffee exporter
  21. brazil nut
    three-sided tropical American nut with white oily meat and hard brown shell
  22. Buenos Aires
    capital and largest city of Argentina
  23. cacao
    a tropical tree producing beans used to make chocolate
  24. cape
    a sleeveless garment worn over the shoulders
  25. Cape Horn
    a rocky headland belonging to Chile at the southernmost tip of South America (south of Tierra del Fuego)
  26. capybara
    pig-sized tailless South American amphibious rodent with partly webbed feet; largest living rodent
  27. Caracas
    the capital and largest city of Venezuela
  28. Cartagena
    a port city in northwestern Colombia on the Caribbean
  29. cartel
    a consortium formed to limit commercial competition
  30. cash crop
    a cultivated plant that is grown to be sold for profit
  31. cavy
    short-tailed rough-haired South American rodent
  32. cherimoya
    large tropical fruit with leathery skin and soft pulp
  33. Chile
    a republic in southern South America on the western slopes of the Andes on the south Pacific coast
  34. coastal
    of or relating to the shoreline
  35. coca
    dried leaves of the coca plant
  36. cocaine
    a narcotic extracted from coca leaves
  37. coffee
    a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
  38. Colombia
    a republic in northwestern South America with a coastline on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of Simon Bolivar; Spanish is the official language
  39. conquistador
    a 16th-century Spanish conqueror of Peru and Mexico
  40. conservation
    careful management of the environment and natural resources
  41. continent
    one of the large landmasses of the earth
  42. copper
    a ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element; occurs in various minerals but is the only metal that occurs abundantly in large masses; used as an electrical and thermal conductor
  43. coup
    a sudden and decisive change of government by force
  44. Cuzco
    a town in the Andes in southern Peru
  45. deforestation
    the state of being clear of trees
  46. desert
    arid land with little or no vegetation
  47. dialect
    the usage or vocabulary characteristic of a group of people
  48. dry season
    one of the two seasons in tropical climates
  49. earthquake
    vibration from underground movement along a fault plane
  50. ecosystem
    organisms interacting with their physical environment
  51. ecotourism
    tourism to exotic or threatened ecosystems to observe wildlife or to help preserve nature
  52. Ecuador
    a republic in northwestern South America
  53. elevation
    distance of something above a reference point
  54. El Nino
    a warm ocean current in the Pacific that sets off a chain of weather events
  55. equatorial
    of or existing at or near the geographic equator
  56. escarpment
    a long steep slope at the edge of a plateau or ridge
  57. estuary
    the wide part of a river where it nears the sea
  58. export
    sell or transfer abroad
  59. extinction
    the state of being no longer in existence
  60. extraction
    taking out something
  61. Falkland Islands
    a group of over 100 islands in the southern Atlantic off the coast of Argentina; a British Crown Colony
  62. fertilizer
    any substance used to improve the quality of soil
  63. foothill
    a relatively low hill on the lower slope of a mountain
  64. fossil fuel
    energy-producing substance derived from preserved organisms
  65. freshwater
    water that is not salty
  66. Galapagos
    a group of islands in the Pacific off South America
  67. gaucho
    a cowboy of the South American pampas
  68. giant tortoise
    very large tortoises of the Galapagos and Seychelles islands
  69. grassland
    land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life
  70. Guarani
    a member of the South American people living in Paraguay and Bolivia
  71. guava
    tropical fruit having green or yellow skin and pink pulp
  72. guerilla
    one who fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment
  73. Guiana Highlands
    a mountainous tableland in northern South America
  74. Guyana
    a republic in northeastern South America
  75. hydroelectric
    of or relating to or used in the production of electricity by waterpower
  76. immigrant
    a person who comes to a country in order to settle there
  77. Inca
    the small group of Quechua living in the Cuzco Valley in Peru who established hegemony over their neighbors in order to create an empire that lasted from about 1100 until the Spanish conquest in the early 1530s
  78. indigenous
    originating where it is found
  79. infrastructure
    basic facilities needed for the functioning of a country
  80. iron ore
    an ore from which iron can be extracted
  81. irrigation
    the act of supplying dry land with water by artificial means
  82. isthmus
    a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas
  83. landlocked
    surrounded entirely or almost entirely by land
  84. La Paz
    capital city in western Bolivia and the administrative seat of Bolivia's government; largest city in Bolivia
  85. Lima
    capital and largest city and economic center of Peru
  86. livestock
    any animals kept for use or profit
  87. llama
    a cud-chewing, South American animal related to the camel
  88. llano
    an extensive grassy and nearly treeless plain
  89. lumber
    the wood of trees prepared for use as building material
  90. Machu Picchu
    Inca fortress city in the Andes in Peru discovered in 1911
  91. maize
    corn
  92. Maracaibo
    a port city in northwestern Venezuela; a major oil center
  93. megalopolis
    a very large urban complex
  94. mestizo
    a Latin American with both European and indigenous heritage
  95. mining
    the act of extracting ores or coal from the earth
  96. mineral
    a solid inorganic substance occurring in nature
  97. Monroe Doctrine
    an American foreign policy opposing interference in the western hemisphere from outside powers
  98. mountainous
    containing many mountains
  99. natural gas
    a fossil fuel in the gaseous state
  100. natural resource
    material in the environment that can be used by people
  101. nitrate
    any compound containing the nitrate group
  102. Orinoco River
    a South American river 1,500 miles long
  103. pampas
    the vast grassy plains of northern Argentina
  104. papaya
    large oval melon-like tropical fruit with yellowish flesh
  105. Paraguay
    a landlocked republic in south central South America
  106. Parana River
    a South American river; tributary of Rio de la Plata
  107. pasture
    a field covered with grass and suitable for grazing
  108. Patagonia
    region in southern South America between the Andes and the South Atlantic
  109. Peru
    a republic in western South America
  110. pineapple
    large sweet fleshy tropical fruit with a terminal tuft of stiff leaves; widely cultivated
  111. piranha
    small carnivorous fish of South America
  112. plateau
    a relatively flat raised area of land
  113. Portuguese
    the Romance language spoken in Portugal and Brazil
  114. precious metal
    any of the less common and valuable metals often used to make coins or jewelry
  115. precipitation
    the falling to earth of any form of water
  116. quipu
    Incan device made of knotted cords for calculating
  117. Quito
    the capital of Ecuador
  118. rainforest
    a densely wooded tropical area with heavy precipitation
  119. rain shadow
    an area that has little precipitation because some barrier causes the winds to lose their moisture before reaching it
  120. ranching
    farming for the raising of livestock (particularly cattle)
  121. referendum
    a legislative act referred for approval to a popular vote
  122. Rio de Janeiro
    the former capital and 2nd largest city of Brazil
  123. Rio de la Plata
    an estuary between Argentina and Uruguay
  124. salt flat
    a flat expanse of salt left by the evaporation of a body of salt water
  125. samba
    a lively ballroom dance from Brazil
  126. Santiago
    the capital and largest city of Chile
  127. Sao Francisco
    a river in eastern Brazil flowing into the Atlantic Ocean
  128. Sao Paulo
    an ultramodern city in southeastern Brazil
  129. selva
    a rain forest in a tropical area
  130. shantytown
    a city district with large numbers of crude dwellings
  131. sodium nitrate
    (NaNO3) used especially as a fertilizer and explosive
  132. Spanish
    the Romance language spoken in most of Spain and the countries colonized by Spain
  133. strait
    a narrow channel joining two larger bodies of water
  134. Strait of Magellan
    the strait separating South America from Tierra del Fuego and other islands to the south of the continent; discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520; an important route around South America before the Panama Canal was built
  135. subsistence farming
    farming that provides for the basic needs of the farmer without surpluses for marketing
  136. Suriname
    a republic in northeastern South America on the Atlantic
  137. temperate
    mild or free from extremes
  138. terrace
    a level shelf of land interrupting a declivity
  139. terrain
    a piece of ground having specific characteristics
  140. Tierra del Fuego
    an archipelago off southern South America
  141. Tocantins River
    a river in eastern Brazil that flows generally north to the Para River
  142. tributary
    a branch that flows into the main stream
  143. tropical
    relating to part of the Earth's surface with hot climate
  144. urbanization
    the social process whereby cities grow
  145. Uruguay
    a South American republic on the southeast coast of South America; achieved independence from Brazil in 1825
  146. Venezuela
    a republic in northern South America on the Caribbean
  147. viceroy
    governor who rules as the representative of a sovereign
  148. volcano
    a fissure in the earth's crust through which gases erupt
Created on Fri Jan 13 09:39:34 EST 2017 (updated Fri Apr 07 15:16:42 EDT 2017)

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