Venezuela, the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam and French Guiana) and Brazil are rich in natural resources such as oil, bauxite, silver and other minerals. Brazil also produces coffee, sugar and fruit for export, while Guyana has large sugar plantations. Despite these resources, there is a great contrast in the distribution of wealth. A few people are very rich, while others live in poverty. The towns and cities are densely populated with people looking for work. Clusters of poor housing known as shantytowns, built from whatever materials can be found, sprawl around the edges of cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
The northern Andean countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia are also rich in minerals. Fertile farming land is scarce, so farmers have cut terraces into the hillsides to form level fields. Cotton, sugarcane, coffee and bananas are grown in the warm lowlands, while cereals and potatoes grow in higher, cooler regions. Economic problems and political unrest have caused poverty in these countries.
Further south is the long, narrow country of Chile. Mining, especially copper, is very important in the Andes Mountains, while the valleys are fertile, producing cereals, fruits and vines. East of the Andes are the open grasslands, known as pampas, of Argentina and Uruguay. Here, millions of cattle and sheep graze on vast ranches. They are exported for their meat and wool. Chile, Uruguay and Argentina all have modern cities and a high standard of living.
The Gran Chaco, a dry, scrubland plain, covers much of northwest Paraguay. Cattle are farmed and cotton grown in the more fertile south and east. Paraguay has the world’s largest hydro-electric project, the Itapúa Dam on the Parana River.
Picture Credit : Google
