South America Crossword Puzzle Printable

Print a South America vocabulary crossword clued by geography: countries, capitals, mountains, rivers and wildlife, with its answer key.

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South America Crossword

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Answer key: South America Crossword

1MA2TEO3V4PERU5FROGCL6ALPACANA7T8ANA9CONDO10RPADEICE11BEARASDO

Across 1 MATE · 4 PERU · 5 FROG · 6 ALPACA · 9 CONDOR · 11 BEAR

Down 2 TOUCAN · 3 VOLCANO · 7 TAPIR · 8 ANDES · 9 CACAO · 10 REED

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Countries 19

  • Argentina Country whose name comes from the Latin word for silver
  • Bolivia Country with no seacoast and two capital cities
  • Brazil Largest country of the continent, probably named for a red dyewood tree
  • Chile Long, narrow country squeezed between the Pacific and the mountains
  • Colombia Country with one coast on the Pacific and another on the Caribbean
  • Ecuador Country named for the equator, which runs through it
  • Guiana French ___, a part of France on the northeast coast
  • Guyana The continent's only country where English is the official language
  • Landlocked Word for a country with no seacoast; the continent has two
  • Panama Central American country that joins the continent at its northwest corner
  • Paraguay Inland country that shares its name with the river that splits it in two
  • Peru Country whose flag is red, white and red in upright bands
  • Peso Name of the money in four of the continent's countries; Spanish for weight
  • Real Brazilian money; in English the word means not make-believe
  • Sun Golden face that shines on both the Argentine and the Uruguayan flag
  • Suriname Once ruled by the Netherlands, it is the smallest independent country of the continent
  • Twelve Number of independent countries in South America
  • Uruguay Small country on the north shore of the wide Plata estuary
  • Venezuela Country whose name is said to mean little Venice

Capitals and Cities 30

  • Arequipa Peruvian city known for buildings of white volcanic stone
  • Asunción Paraguayan capital, on the river that shares the name of the country
  • Belém Brazilian port near the mouth of the continent's largest river
  • Bogotá Colombian capital, set on a high plateau in the mountains
  • Brasília Brazilian capital, a planned city that opened in 1960
  • Buenos Aires Argentine capital, whose name means good airs or fair winds
  • Caracas Venezuelan capital, in a mountain valley near the Caribbean
  • Cartagena Walled Colombian port on the Caribbean
  • Cayenne Chief city of France's territory on the continent; a hot pepper shares its name
  • Cusco Peruvian city high in the mountains that was once the capital of an empire
  • Georgetown Guyanese capital, at the mouth of the Demerara River
  • Guayaquil Chief Ecuadorian port, on a river near the Pacific
  • Iquitos Peruvian river city that no road reaches
  • La Paz Bolivian city where the government sits, more than 3,500 meters above the sea
  • Lima Peruvian capital, founded near the sea in 1535
  • Manaus Brazilian river city deep in the jungle
  • Medellín Colombian city in a mountain valley, nicknamed the city of eternal spring
  • Montevideo Uruguayan capital, on the Plata estuary
  • Paramaribo Surinamese capital, on the river that shares the name of the country
  • Plaza Open square at the heart of a Spanish-speaking town
  • Potosí Bolivian mining city beside a mountain once rich in silver
  • Quito Ecuadorian capital, high in the mountains and close to the equator
  • Recife Brazilian port named for the reefs along its shore
  • Rio de Janeiro Brazilian city below Sugarloaf Mountain, the capital until 1960
  • Salvador Coastal city that was the first capital of Portuguese America
  • Santiago Chilean capital, in a valley below snowy peaks
  • São Paulo Brazilian giant: the most populous city in the Americas
  • Sucre Bolivian capital under the constitution, named for a hero of the wars against Spanish rule
  • Ushuaia Argentine city at the far tip, often called the southernmost city in the world
  • Valparaíso Chilean port of steep hills climbed by old funicular lifts

Mountains, Rivers and Land 33

  • Aconcagua Argentine peak, the highest mountain outside Asia
  • Altiplano High plateau of the central mountains; its name means high plain
  • Amazon Giant river that crosses the continent from the mountains of the west to the Atlantic
  • Andes Longest mountain range on any continent, running down the west side
  • Angel Falls Venezuelan wonder: the tallest unbroken waterfall in the world
  • Atacama Chilean desert, the driest on Earth outside the poles
  • Basin All the land drained by one river and its branches
  • Capricorn Tropic of ___, the southern edge of the tropics, which crosses the continent
  • Chaco Gran ___, the vast semiarid lowland in the continent's middle
  • Cotopaxi Snow-capped Ecuadorian cone that still erupts
  • Drake ___ Passage, the rough sea between the southern tip and Antarctica
  • Earthquake Shaking of the ground; the strongest ever recorded struck the Pacific coast in 1960
  • El Niño Warming of the Pacific off the west coast that returns at irregular times; Spanish for the boy
  • Fjord Narrow sea inlet between steep sides, common on the Chilean far-south coast
  • Galápagos Ecuadorian islands on the equator, about 900 km out in the Pacific
  • Glacier Slow river of ice, like Perito Moreno in the far south
  • Horn Cape ___, the stormy headland at the continent's southern tip
  • Humboldt Cold ocean current that flows north along the Pacific coast
  • Iguazu Falls on the Argentine and Brazilian border, split into hundreds of drops
  • Isthmus Narrow neck of land; one ties the continent to North America
  • Llanos Grassy lowlands of the Venezuelan and Colombian north; Spanish for plains
  • Magellan Strait of ___, the sea passage that cuts across the southern tip
  • Maracaibo Venezuelan lake that opens to the sea, with oil under its waters
  • Orinoco Great Venezuelan river, one of the longest of the continent
  • Pampas Wide, fertile grasslands of the southeast, long grazed by cattle
  • Pantanal Mostly Brazilian wetland, the largest tropical one in the world
  • Paraná The continent's second-longest river, flowing south to the Plata
  • Patagonia Southern region shared by two countries, with steppe, fjords and glaciers
  • Rainforest Hot, wet woodland; the world's largest spreads across the continent's north
  • Tepui Flat-topped table mountain of the Venezuelan highlands
  • Titicaca Lake high on the Peruvian and Bolivian border, the largest of the continent
  • Uyuni Bolivian salt flat, the largest in the world
  • Volcano Mountain that can erupt; dozens line the continent's Pacific side

Animals and Plants 44

  • Açaí Dark purple palm berry from the river forests
  • Alpaca Fleecy Andean animal raised for soft wool, smaller than its pack-carrying cousin
  • Anaconda Heavy green snake of rivers and swamps, among the largest snakes on Earth
  • Anteater Toothless mammal with a long snout and a sticky tongue
  • Armadillo Mammal in a suit of bony plates; its Spanish name means little armored one
  • Banana Yellow fruit shipped by the boatload from Ecuadorian ports
  • Bear The spectacled kind is the continent's only one
  • Cacao Tree whose beans become chocolate
  • Caiman Relative of the alligator that basks on river banks
  • Capybara Barrel-shaped rodent, bigger than any other, that lives in groups near water
  • Cassava Starchy root crop, also called manioc or yuca
  • Chinchilla Andean rodent with very dense, soft fur, now also kept as a pet
  • Coffee Bean crop of which the continent's largest country is the world's top grower
  • Condor Andean vulture with one of the widest wingspans of any flying bird
  • Dolphin The pink river kind, called the boto, swims among flooded trees
  • Flamingo Pink wading bird of the high salt lakes
  • Frog Tiny, brightly colored kinds of the wet forest carry poison in their skin
  • Guanaco Wild relative of the camel that roams the southern steppe
  • Guinea pig Small pet rodent first tamed in Andean villages
  • Howler ___ monkey, whose loud calls carry far through the forest
  • Hummingbird Tiny hovering bird found only in the Americas
  • Iguana Large lizard; one kind feeds in the sea off the Pacific islands
  • Jaguar Largest cat of the Americas, with rosettes on its coat
  • Llama Woolly pack animal of the high mountains, a cousin of the camel
  • Macaw Long-tailed parrot in scarlet, blue or gold
  • Morpho Big butterfly whose wings flash metallic blue
  • Ocelot Small spotted wild cat of the forest
  • Otter The giant kind, the longest of its family, hunts fish in the rivers
  • Peanut Underground 'nut' first grown on this continent
  • Penguin Flightless seabird; the Magellanic kind nests on the far-south coasts
  • Pineapple Spiky-topped fruit that first grew on this continent
  • Piranha Small river fish known for its sharp teeth and strong jaws
  • Potato Root crop first grown in the Andean highlands thousands of years ago
  • Puma Large tawny cat found from Canada to the far south; also called a cougar
  • Quinoa Andean seed crop cooked like a grain
  • Rhea Tall bird of the grasslands that runs but cannot fly
  • Rubber Tree of the wet forest tapped for its milky latex
  • Sloth Leaf-eater that spends most of its life hanging from branches
  • Tamarin Squirrel-sized monkey; one kind has a golden mane
  • Tapir Stout plant-eating mammal with a flexible snout, related to horses and rhinos
  • Tomato Red fruit whose wild ancestors come from the western side of the continent
  • Tortoise Giant land reptile of the islands on the equator
  • Toucan Forest bird whose enormous, colorful beak is light for its size
  • Vicuña Wild Andean animal whose wool is among the finest in the world

People and Culture 35

  • Arepa Round cornmeal cake of the Venezuelan and Colombian table
  • Asado Barbecue of the southern grasslands, and the gathering around it
  • Aymara People and language of the high plateau around the great lake
  • Bolívar Leader called the Liberator, who helped free the continent's north from Spanish rule
  • Capoeira Brazilian art that blends dance, music and fighting moves
  • Carnival Festival of parades and costumes held each year before Lent
  • Ceviche Peruvian dish of raw fish cured in citrus juice
  • Charango Small Andean lute, typically with ten strings
  • Chullo Knitted Andean hat with earflaps
  • Colony Land ruled from far away, as most of the continent was until the 1800s
  • Copper Reddish metal dug from huge Chilean mines; no country produces more
  • Cumbia Colombian dance music with drums and flutes
  • Emerald Green gem for which Colombian mines are famous
  • Empanada Baked or fried turnover stuffed with a filling
  • Fiesta Party, in the language of most of the continent's countries
  • Gaucho Skilled horseman and cattle herder of the southern grasslands
  • Guarani Native language that most Paraguayans speak beside Spanish
  • Hammock Hanging bed of net or cloth, first made by native peoples of the Americas
  • Inca Empire of the mountains that Spanish invaders began to conquer in 1532
  • Independence What most of the continent won from Spain and Portugal in the early 1800s
  • Lithium Light metal used in batteries, found under the high salt flats
  • Machu Picchu Stone city of the 1400s on a Peruvian mountain ridge
  • Mapuche Native people of the Chilean and Argentine south
  • Maracas Gourd rattles played in pairs, one in each hand
  • Mate Leafy tea of the Southern Cone, sipped through a metal straw
  • Nazca Lines and giant figures scratched into the Peruvian desert long ago
  • Panpipe Wind instrument of bound reeds, heard in Andean music
  • Poncho Blanket-like cloak with a hole for the head
  • Quechua Language family of the Andean highlands, with millions of speakers today
  • Quipu Knotted cords used to keep records in the old mountain empire
  • Reed Tall water plant woven into boats and floating islands on the high lake
  • Samba Brazilian music and dance with roots in Bahia
  • Soccer Sport called futebol in Portuguese and fútbol in Spanish
  • Tango Dance for couples that began in the 1880s along the Plata
  • Terrace Step cut into a mountainside to make a level field

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site for grade 3 to 8 geography classes, in five sets: countries, capitals and cities, the land, animals and plants, and people and culture. Places, superlatives and dates were checked against English Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA 4.0) in October 2026. Accents are kept in the list (Bogotá, Asunción). Disputed territories are left out, and no clue was copied from a published puzzle. Licence: own work

How it works

This South America crossword puzzle, printable on Letter or A4, is a criss-cross vocabulary grid. It opens on 12 easy words such as Peru, Andes and Condor.

Read the full guide

Five sets, from Aconcagua to Ushuaia

Countries has all twelve, each clued by a fact of the map: Chile is long and narrow, Bolivia has no seacoast. Capitals and Cities runs from Bogotá to Ushuaia. Mountains, Rivers and Land has Atacama, Patagonia, Titicaca and Aconcagua. Animals and Plants has Capybara, Condor and Quinoa. People and Culture has Quechua, Gaucho and Quipu.

Solve it with an atlas

A capital clue gives its country as an adjective, such as Peruvian capital or Chilean capital, so a class with a map of the continent can find every answer. Bolivia has two capitals, and both Sucre and La Paz are in the set.

  • Accents are printed in the full clue list below (Bogotá, São Paulo, Asunción); the grid and the answer key use plain letters.

Questions and answers

Are all 12 South American countries in the crossword?

Yes. All twelve are answers in the Countries set, from Argentina to Venezuela, and so is Guiana, for French Guiana, which is part of France. Each capital is an answer in Capitals and Cities.

What grade is the South America crossword for?

Easy South America Words suits grades 3 to 5, with answers such as Chile, Lima and Sloth. The five themed sets suit grades 6 to 8. These bands are our judgement, not a published standard.

Is the South America crossword puzzle free to print, with an answer key?

Yes. It is free, with no sign-up. The answer key prints last, on a sheet of its own.

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