Bodies of Water of South America

Sometimes referred to as Amazônia, the Amazon Rainforest is a natural region and biome in northern South America that occupies the Amazon Basin, a drainage basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries. Nine countries have some parts of the Amazon region within their borders.

Bahía Portete – Kaurrele National Natural Park is situated on the La Guajira Peninsula in the extreme north of Colombia, along the coast of the Caribbean Sea. It conserves important ecosystems that include sedimentary beds, seagrass meadows, coral formations, mangroves, beaches and rocky coastline.

The Beni River flows north through Bolivia after rising in the Andean slopes of the Cordillera Real. The Mamoré River is formed by numerous headwaters that drain the Llanos de Moxos. The two rivers join to form the Madeira River on the border with Brazil.

The Caquetá River as it is known in Colombia, or the Japurá as it is known in Brazil, is a tributary of the Amazon River and has a total length of approximately 1,750 mi. About two-thirds of the tributary is in Colombia and the other one-third is in Brazil. The Caquetá-Japurá Basin is the ninth-largest tributary basin in the Amazon.

The Cauca River rises in southwestern Colombia and flows northward between the Occidental and Central cordilleras of the Colombian Andes until it joins with the Magdalena River before emptying into the Caribbean Sea. Its journey to the sea takes it through a spectacular canyon between the parallel mountain ranges.

The Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru, known for the soaring Andean Condors that can be seen throughout the year. The Colca Valley is a colorful Andean valley with pre-Inca roots and an area of astounding scenic beauty.

El Chaltén is a small mountain village in the Patagonian region of southern Argentina, near the border with Chile. It is a popular base for hiking numerous trails leading to the base of surrounding peaks and glacial lakes, including Mount Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre, and Lago del Desierto.

The Essequibo River is the longest and widest river in Guyana. The river flows north through forest and savanna, including one of the largest continuous tracts of relatively pristine lowland tropical rain forest in the world, before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

Guanabara Bay is a picturesque bay of the Atlantic Ocean, located in southeast Brazil, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lies the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and São Gonçalo. More than 130 islands dot the bay.

The Guaraní Aquifer System is a large underground groundwater reservoir and hydrogeological system. It is a transboundary aquifer, spread across four South American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.