Geography of South America Great American Interchange. The Andes, likewise a comparatively young and seismically restless mountain range, runs down the western edge of the continent; the land to the east of the northern Andes is largely tropical rain forest, the vast Amazon River basin. The continent also contains drier regions such as eastern Patagonia and the extremely arid Atacama desert. The South American continent also includes various islands, most of which belong to countries on the continent. The Caribbean territories are grouped with North America. The South American nations that border the Caribbean Sea—including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana—are also known
South China (continent) years ago, Rodinia rifted and South China became an isolated continent. A hundred million years later, these fragmented pieces of continent assembled back together to create the supercontinent of Pannotia. South China collided with North China and Eastern Gondwana (mainly Australia). When Pannotia disintegrated 550 million years ago, South China (and North China) became part of and remained with Eastern Gondwana for millions of years. Late in the Silurian (175 million years later after Pannotia's disintegration), South China (and North China), rifted away from Gondwana and moved across the ancient, shrinking Proto-Tethys Ocean. A new ocean was forming , Paleo-Tethys