Amazon basin Amazon basin 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 , or roughly 40 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia. With a area of dense tropical forest, this is the largest rainforest in the world. The Amazon River rises in the Andes Mountains at the west of the basin with its main
Amazon River the world's largest, draining the most extensive area of rainforest on the planet. Paralleling the Amazon River is a large aquifer, dubbed the Hamza River, the discovery of which was made public in August 2011. More than one-third of all known species in the world live in the Amazon rainforest, a giant tropical forest and river basin with an area that stretches more than . It is the richest tropical forest in the world in terms of biodiversity. There are over 3,000 species of fish currently recognised in the Amazon basin, with more being discovered every year. In addition to