Amazon basin
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Coordinates: 2.3096°S 54.8881°W
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the drainage basin. For the geologic feature, see Amazon
Basin (sedimentary basin).
Amazon River Basin (The southern Guianas,
not marked on this map, are a part of the basin.)
The mouth of the Amazon River
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon
River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about
7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi),[1] or about 35.5 percent of the South American
continent. It is located in the countries
of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela,
as well as the territory of French Guiana.[2][3]
Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon rainforest, also known as Amazonia.
With a 6 million km2 (2.3 million sq mi)[4] area of dense tropical forest, it is the
largest rainforest in the world.
Geography
Aerial view of the Amazon rainforest,
near Manaus Amazon basin seen from
the ISS
The Amazon River begins in the Andes Mountains at the west of the basin with
its main tributary the Marañón River and Apurimac River in Peru. The highest
point in the watershed of the Amazon is the second biggest peak of Yerupajá at
6,635 metres (21,768 ft).
The Amazon River Basin occupies the entire central and eastern area of South
America, lying to the east of the Andes mountain range and extending from the
Guyana Plateau in the north to the Brazilian Plateau in the south.
With a length of about 6,400 km (4,000 mi) before it drains into the Atlantic
Ocean, it is one of the two longest rivers in the world. A team of scientists has
claimed that the Amazon is longer than the Nile,[5] but debate about its exact
length continues.[6]
The Amazon system transports the largest volume of water of any river system,
accounting for about 20% of the total water carried to the oceans by rivers.
Some of the Amazon rainforests are deforested because of an increase in cattle
ranches and soybean fields. The Amazon basin formerly flowed west to
the Pacific Ocean until the Andes formed, causing the basin to flow eastward
towards the Atlantic Ocean.[7]
Politically the basin is divided into Peruvian Amazonia, Amazônia Legal of Brazil,
the Amazon natural region of Colombia, Amazonas (Venezuelan state), and
parts of Bolivia and Ecuador.
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Coordinates: 2.3096°S 54.8881°W
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the drainage basin. For the geologic feature, see Amazon
Basin (sedimentary basin).
Amazon River Basin (The southern Guianas,
not marked on this map, are a part of the basin.)
The mouth of the Amazon River
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon
River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about
7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi),[1] or about 35.5 percent of the South American
continent. It is located in the countries
of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela,
as well as the territory of French Guiana.[2][3]
Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon rainforest, also known as Amazonia.
With a 6 million km2 (2.3 million sq mi)[4] area of dense tropical forest, it is the
largest rainforest in the world.
Geography
Aerial view of the Amazon rainforest,
near Manaus Amazon basin seen from
the ISS
The Amazon River begins in the Andes Mountains at the west of the basin with
its main tributary the Marañón River and Apurimac River in Peru. The highest
point in the watershed of the Amazon is the second biggest peak of Yerupajá at
6,635 metres (21,768 ft).
The Amazon River Basin occupies the entire central and eastern area of South
America, lying to the east of the Andes mountain range and extending from the
Guyana Plateau in the north to the Brazilian Plateau in the south.
With a length of about 6,400 km (4,000 mi) before it drains into the Atlantic
Ocean, it is one of the two longest rivers in the world. A team of scientists has
claimed that the Amazon is longer than the Nile,[5] but debate about its exact
length continues.[6]
The Amazon system transports the largest volume of water of any river system,
accounting for about 20% of the total water carried to the oceans by rivers.
Some of the Amazon rainforests are deforested because of an increase in cattle
ranches and soybean fields. The Amazon basin formerly flowed west to
the Pacific Ocean until the Andes formed, causing the basin to flow eastward
towards the Atlantic Ocean.[7]
Politically the basin is divided into Peruvian Amazonia, Amazônia Legal of Brazil,
the Amazon natural region of Colombia, Amazonas (Venezuelan state), and
parts of Bolivia and Ecuador.
