South American Plateaus Quiz – Facts Worth Knowing

Take the South American plateaus quiz to explore the Altiplano, the Brazilian Highlands, the Guiana Shield, tepuis and the Patagonian plateau. Ten questions with facts worth knowing about the continent's high flatlands.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Altiplano
The Altiplano is one of the world's largest high plateaus outside which region?
Brazil
Which plateau covers much of central and eastern Brazil?
Guiana
Which ancient rock formation underlies Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela?
Tepuis
What are tepuis?
Brazil
Which savanna covers much of Brazil's central plateau?
Brazil
Which mountain is the highest point of the Guiana Highlands?
Bolivia
Which mining city on the Altiplano was once among the world's largest?
Argentina
What type of landscape is the Patagonian plateau?
Brazil
Which tableland in Bahia has caves and waterfalls?
Brazil
Which Brazilian plateau is home to Brasília?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: The Altiplano is one of the world's largest high plateaus outside which region?
Answer: Tibet
The Altiplano averages about 3,750 meters and holds Lake Titicaca and huge salt flats.
Q2: Which plateau covers much of central and eastern Brazil?
Answer: Brazilian Highlands
The Brazilian Highlands are ancient and worn down, with tablelands and escarpments.
Q3: Which ancient rock formation underlies Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela?
Answer: Guiana Shield
The Guiana Shield is among the oldest rock on Earth, about 1.7 billion years old or more.
Q4: What are tepuis?
Answer: Flat-topped table mountains
Tepui means house of the gods in the Pemón language.
Q5: Which savanna covers much of Brazil's central plateau?
Answer: Cerrado
The Cerrado is one of the most biodiverse savannas and is being cleared for soy and cattle.
Q6: Which mountain is the highest point of the Guiana Highlands?
Answer: Pico da Neblina
Pico da Neblina, about 2,995 meters, lies on the Brazil-Venezuela border.
Q7: Which mining city on the Altiplano was once among the world's largest?
Answer: Potosí
Silver from Cerro Rico made Potosí one of the largest cities in the world in the 1600s.
Q8: What type of landscape is the Patagonian plateau?
Answer: Dry, windswept steppe
It rises in steps from the Atlantic toward the Andes.
Q9: Which tableland in Bahia has caves and waterfalls?
Answer: Chapada Diamantina
Diamond miners settled there in the 1800s, giving the region its name.
Q10: Which Brazilian plateau is home to Brasília?
Answer: Central Plateau
Brasília sits about 1,170 meters above sea level on the Planalto Central.

South American Plateaus Quiz – High Flatlands

South America's plateaus include some of the oldest and highest flat lands on Earth. The Altiplano lies high in the Andes, while the Guiana Shield and Brazilian Highlands are ancient rocks worn down over a billion years.

Tepuis rise like islands in the sky. Their isolated tops have plants and animals found nowhere else, and their cliffs pour waterfalls such as Angel Falls into the forest below.

Plateaus support people in different ways. The Altiplano has herders and miners, Brazil's central plateau grows crops and holds the capital and Patagonia's steppe supports sheep farms.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is for students and travelers learning South America's plateaus.

What the Altiplano is
What tepuis are
Why the Guiana Shield is ancient
What the Cerrado is
Which city sits on the central plateau

Did You Know?

Roraima's top has pink crystals and black rocks.
The Altiplano has active volcanoes.
Chapada dos Veadeiros is a UNESCO site.
The Caatinga is a dry forest.
Potosí sits at about 4,000 meters.