Southern America

Region | Realm

Southern America covers most of the Neotropical realm with five major subrealms—Amazonia, Andes Mountains & Pacific Coast, South American Grasslands, Brazil Cerrado & Atlantic Coast, and Upper South America—with 23 bioregions in total as defined in the One Earth Bioregions Framework. At the heart of this realm is Amazonia, which groups the Amazon Basin rainforests into five major bioregions (central, north, south, east, and west). The Andes Mountains & Pacific Coast subrealm contain eight bioregions, defining the western edge of the Amazon Basin and extending from the very top of the continent all the way to the tip of Chile, incorporating the continent’s Pacific coast and the Galapagos and Juan Fernández Islands. The South American Grasslands subrealm groups together three large subtropical grassland and savanna bioregions, covering a majority of the southern continent. The Brazil Cerrado & Atlantic Coast subrealm is dominated by vast tropical savannas with adjoining coastal forests along the Atlantic. At the very top of the continent, Upper South America includes three unique bioregions spanning the Caribbean coastline and the Llanos tropical grasslands below.