Landforms of South America

Huacachina is a village built around a small desert lagoon. This natural oasis is surrounded by sand dunes in what is often referred to as the "Ica Desert." The city of Ica lies along the desert coast of southern Peru. Ica, as well as Huacachina, is famous for its Pisco.

Situated off the Colombian Pacific coast, the island of Gorgona once hosted a notorious prison. Today, it is a National Natural Park of Colombia, designated in order to preserve its endemic species, the richly varied wildlife of the tropical forest and the coral reefs offshore.

The Juan Fernández Archipelago is a sparsely inhabited group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chile. The islands occur where the peaks of the volcanic Juan Fernández Ridge protrude above sea level. Protected areas include the islands of Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk and Santa Clara.

The Juruá River is the most winding river in the Amazon Basin. Beginning in the highlands of east-central Peru and crossing into northwestern Brazil before it eventually empties into the Amazon River, it exhibits curvature and sluggishness as it traverses the low, half-flooded forest countryside.

Kaieteur National Park, located in the southern Pakaraima Mountains in the Potaro-Siparuni Region of Guyana, covers a broad range of habitat types and is home to many species unique to the region. The park is especially renowned for the Kaieteur Falls.

The Kanuku Mountains are a mountain group located within the Rupununi natural region in southwestern Guyana. The east-west range divides the Rupununi from the wetlands of the north and the savannas of the south. The mountains have been designated a National Protected Area.

Lake Llanquihue, situated in the southern Los Lagos Region of Chile, is the largest and one of the best-known Chilean lakes. Osorno volcano stands on the southeastern shore of Lake Llanquihue and is one of the most active volcanoes of the southern Chilean Andes.

Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish tidal estuary and an inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Variably considered a bay or lagoon, it lies in the Maracaibo Basin of northwestern Venezuela. It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by the Tablazo Strait.

Lake Poopó was the second largest lake in Bolivia and along with Lake Uru Uru, received most of its water from the Desaguadero River which flows from Lake Titicaca. By 2016, the lakes had lost nearly all of their waters due to glacial melt and water diversion for mining and agriculture.

Lake Titicaca is a large, deep lake located at the northern end of the Altiplano basin, on the border of Peru and Bolivia. Lying high up in the Andes at 12,500 ft, it is the world's highest navigable lake. By volume of water and by surface area, it is the largest lake in South America.