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Three principal factors control the features of South America’s climate. The first and most important of them are the subtropical high-pressure air masses over the South Atlantic and South Pacific oceans and their seasonal shifts in position, which determine both large-scale patterns of wind circulation and the location of the rain-bearing intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). The second is the presence of cold ocean currents along the continent’s western side, which affect both air temperatures and precipitation along the Pacific coast; on the Atlantic coast, warm currents are predominant. Finally, the orographic barrier of the Andes produces a vast rain shadow ...(100 of 23598 words)