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 American Parliament the region. Thus the Bank of the South, based in Venezuela and sub-offices in Buenos Aires and La Paz, in conjunction with the General Secretariat, based in Quito, and now with the South American Parliament, based in Cochabamba, is to seek economic and social well being throughout the continent and to advance the goal of establishing a future "Ciudadano Americano" (American Citizen). Other agreements would also enable the citizens of the twelve countries to move freely within the UNASUR area with only the National Identity Document of each country. The Bolivian government has launched the start of construction of the