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 Exploring Latin America

Rain Forests and Mountains Parts of Latin America are tropical and do not have four different seasons like Europe and North America. Along the western coast there are some very high snow-covered mountains which contrast with the almost-constant summer of the rest of the continent. A series of rivers flow east from these mountains to make up some important fluvial basins . Among them is the biggest one on Earth— the Amazon Basin. The Amazon River flows from the west to the east, roughly along the line of the Equator to form a great mass of water at the hottest point on the planet. A large part of this water evaporates and then falls as rain. This combination of rain and hot weather helped to form the Amazonian rain forest which is full of exotic animals and plants.

L atin America’s landscape varies greatly. This is the dramatic Cuemos del Paine mountain in Chile. Cuernos means horn in Spanish.

T his is the River Ucayali winding through the Peruvian rain forest. The Ucayali flows into the Amazon, the world’s second longest river.

P oison from the skin of the Arrow Poison frog (above) is used by Indians to tip hunting arrows. A jaguar of the Amazon region (below).

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