South America! Trivia Quiz

Answer: A tree

The name comes from the Portuguese word 'brasa', which means 'ember'. The brazilwood tree produces a very bright red dye that was used in the clothing industry, and the tree was extensively harvested in the eastern parts of South America in the early 1500s.

Pictured are a few items from around my house, that were probably NOT dyed with brazilwood tree, but at least they are red!

Answer: River

Paraguay is also known as Corazon de America, which translates as Heart of America. It is a small landlocked country that is roughly in the centre of the continent. The Paraguay River flows from Brazil, through the centre of Paraguay and out the southern end of the country, into Argentina. The capital, Asuncion, lies on the river.

Answer: Patagonia

Patagonia roughly translates to 'land of the big feet', and subsequent landings in the area seemed to confirm Magellan's (flawed) observations.

The Atacama Desert takes its name from the ancient tribe that calls it home, the Atacameņos. Amazonia is another term for the Amazon River area of Brazil, the name deriving from ancient Greek mythology. Magellan did not really come close to the Amazon area- he would have been about 1500 kms (900 miles) to the east of the delta of the river.

Brobdingnag is a fictitious place and comes from the Jonathan Swift novel, "Gulliver's Travels". It was occupied by giants who are "tall as an ordinary spire-steeple" and "take ten yards at every stride".

Answer: Land of Fire

The islands were named by Ferdinand Magellan. When he sailed through the seaway that now bears his name, he saw the fires lit by the local residents and thought they were attacking; they weren't- they were just trying to stay warm. Electric blankets had not yet been invented!

The photo is of an equilateral triangle, the alchemic symbol for fire.

Answer: A town in Scotland

The discoverer of the islands, (and the Falkland Strait which runs between the two main islands), named them after the Treasurer of the Navy, the Viscount of Falkland. The Spanish name comes from their translation of the French port of St Malo, the home port of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, a French explorer who re-discovered the island group in 1764.

In 1982, Argentina and Britain went to war over the ownership of the islands. The conflict lasted for two months, and resulted in the South Americans surrendering, the Brits winning and the locals rather confused. Both sides lost a naval vessel and about 900 people died.

The picture is of Port Stanley War Memorial, in Stanley, the capital of the islands.

Answer: Venezuela

Strait of Magellan was named after the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan. It is located at the south of Chile, between the mainland and Tierra del Fuego.

The Drake Passage is the large body of water between Antarctica and the lower tip of South America, and is named after the British explorer, Sir Francis Drake. It is where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet.

Colombia was named for an Italian sailor who achieved fame for discovering the New World. His name? Christopher Columbus, of course.

Venezuela was named by another explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, because it reminded him of the Italian city of Venice. The picture is of a canal in Venice.

Answer: Greek

Atlas was the bloke in Greek mythology that was forced to hold the world on his shoulders. He also lent his name to the Atlas Mountains in northern Africa, the mythological continent of Atlantis and to a collection of maps.

My photo is NOT of the Atlantic Ocean- it is the Gulf of St Vincent, an offshoot of the Southern Ocean, and shows Glenelg, one of the best-known beaches in Adelaide, capital of South Australia.

Answer: Our Lady of Peace

The full name, in Spanish, is Nuestra Seņora de La Paz. It is one of two capitals of the country, the other being Sucre, and it is one of the highest capital cities in the world. It is 3,600m (almost 12,000 feet) above sea level, and has a population of over two million.

The flower is a Spathiphyllum cannifolium, commonly known as the peace lily. It grows quite well in Bolivia.

Answer: Old peak

Set high in the Andes, the enormous site (about 30,000 hectares) was not discovered until 1911. Buildings, terraces, roads and canals are giving archaeologists a real insight into Incan culture from hundreds of years ago.

The city was abandoned about 100 years after being built, but researchers are not sure why. The spread of foreign diseases introduced by the Spaniard conquistadors, such as Pizarro, may have had something to do with it.

Answer: Cordoba

The central Argentinian city is twinned with Cordoba in Spain, and also Cordoba in Mexico. de Cabrera named the settlement after his wife's historic birthplace, which is in southern Spain.

Canberra is not in South America- it is the capital city of Australia. Bogota means 'field' in the local language and Sao Paulo ('St Paul') was named by Portuguese missionaries in 1554.

The coin shown in the picture is of the Nicaraguan coin, also known as a Cordoba.