Drainage of Brazil

Drainage of Brazil:

There are three major river basins in Brazil as far as drainage is concerned. These are:  

1. Amazon Basin
2. Paraguay-Parana system in the southwest
3. Sao Francisco in the eastern part of the highlands, as well as other rivers on the coasts 

1) Amazon basin:

• Total catchment area : 70, 50, 000 sq.km.
• Total length of river : 6,400 kms
• Water discharge : 2,09,000 Cu.m. per sec
• The Amazon River gets its water from the eastern slopes of Peru's Andes Mountains.
• The Amazon River receives a massive discharge. This is about 2 lakh m³/s.
• As a result, Amazon washes away the load supplied by the catchment.
• Consequently, even at the mouth, sediments are not deposited.
• A dense network of distributaries, which is typical of river mouth areas, is largely absent in the Amazon mouth region.
• Instead, we find a series of islands formed along the Amazon River's mouth beyond the coastline into the Atlantic Ocean.
• It's worth noting that the Amazon channel is 150 kilometers wide at its mouth.
• Most of the course of the Amazon River is suitable for navigation. 

2) Paraguay-Parana system:

• The Paraguay-Paraná-Plata is Brazil's second-largest river system, draining large areas of Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay.
• These two rivers are located in southwestern Brazil.
• These two rivers, as well as the Uruguay River in the extreme south of the highlands, get their water from the southern portion of the highlands.  

3) Sao Francisco:

• It is Brazil's third most important river.
• This river's entire basin is located in Brazil.
• It is located in the highlands' eastern region.
• The river flows towards the north for a distance of about 1000 km over the plateau and then takes a sharp eastward turn to enter the coastal strip along the Atlantic Ocean.
• In its downstream reaches, the river is navigable for about 250 kilometers.  

4) Coastal Rivers:

• A number of short coastal rivers are part of Brazil.
• These rivers are important because the coastal area is densely populated.
• The rivers Paraniba and Itapecuru, which flow north, meet the North Atlantic Ocean.
• The rivers that flow into the South Atlantic Ocean have their origins along the escarpment.
• The Puraguaco River flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Salvador.