About the Rivers of South America

There are dozens of rivers in South America. Due to the continent's size, the majority of South American rivers at least touch Brazil, including the largest river in the world: the Amazon River. But there are many other rivers flowing through the countries of South America.

Size

The largest South American river, and the largest river is the world, is the Amazon that runs primarily through Peru, Columbia and Brazil. The Amazon is estimated at 6,280 km in length. The second longest river in South America is the Rio Parana, which runs through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for about 4,700 km. Madeira is the third longest river in South America. It runs through Bolivia and Brazil for about 3,240 km. It is difficult to measure the length of a river due to the many tributaries that branch off large rivers. Some of the tributaries of large rivers are considered rivers in their own right. Other major rivers include: Purus, Rio Sao Francisco, Rio Tocantins, Araguaia, Rio Pilcomayo, Rio Paraguay, Jurua, Orinoco, Xingu, Japura, Rio Salado, Tapajos, Rio Bermejo, Rio Maranon, Parnaiba, Rio Uruguay, Rio Putumayo, Rio Negro, Guapore, Rio Magdalena, Iguacu, Rio Branco and Rio Colorado.

History

South America was once part of the supercontinent known as Gondwanaland, which included all of Africa, South America, India, Antarctica, Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand. The theory of continental drift says that shifts in the earth over a long period of time caused the continents to split and move to where they are now. Many of the large rivers in South America were formed during this process. It is believed that the Amazon even changed its direction of water flow when South America broke away to form its own continent.

Geography

Most of South America is a tropical, with the Amazon River running straight through the ecologically-important rain forest. However, there are many mountain ranges, including the Peruvian Andes on the Pacific shore, which have regular snow and ice. There are even tropical penguins that live in the southern and coastal areas of South America where it is colder than the north. South America is the fourth largest continent. The Andes region, in particular, is prone to earthquakes and has many inactive volcanoes.

Significance

About two-thirds of South America's land mass is covered with rivers. The Amazon River is by far the biggest and most important river in South America, and possibly the world. Almost 60% of the water discharged from South America to the oceans comes from the Amazon River. The Amazon River by itself is covers 40% of South America and is the most important contributor to runoff all over the world. The Orinoco is rated the third highest contributor to water drainage in the world, and the Parana is rated eighth in the world.

Types

Habitats along South American rivers fall into seven different categories:

1. Tropical evergreen forests with no prolonged dry period. This is popularly known as the rain forest.
2. Tropical seasonal forests with a prolonged dry season.
3. Tropical savannas made up of natural or man-made grassland.
4. Andean mountain forests on the slopes of the Andes mountains.
5. Temperate forests in Chile and southern Brazil.
6. Temperate natural grasslands consisting almost exclusively of the plant species Stipa.
7. Semi-arid formations along the coasts.