Geography of South America world by drainage area—the Amazon River and the more southerly Paraná River. The other major river of this central lowland is the Orinoco River, which has a natural channel linking it with the Amazon. Most of this central lowland is sparsely populated because the soils are heavily leached, but in the south is the very fertile pampas of Argentina—one of the world's major food-producing regions where wheat and beef cattle are pre-eminent. The natural vegetation of the northern lowlands are either savanna in the northern "llanos" and southern "campos", or tropical rainforest throughout most of the Amazon basin. Efforts to
Union of South American Nations connections of the ports to Bolivia and more internal parts of Argentina, Peru And Brazil. The Pacific Highway, between Peru and Brazil, began to be built in September 2005, financed 60% by Brazil and 40% by Peru, and was completed in December 2010. The South American Energy Ring will interconnect Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay with natural gas from various sources, such as the Camisea Gas project in Peru and the Tarija gas deposits in Bolivia. Although this proposal has been signed and ratified, political and economic difficulties in Argentina and Bolivia have delayed this initiative, and to this