Bolivia - Geography - Hydrography

Hydrography

Bolivia has three drainage basins that flow into the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean.

• Amazon Basin, also called the North Basin (724,000 km² / 66% of the territory). The rivers of this basin generally have big meanders, thereby forming lakes such as the Murillo Lake in Pando Department. The main Bolivian tributary to the Amazon basin is the Mamoré River, with a length of 2000 km running north to the confluence with the Beni River, 1,113 km of length and the second most important river of the country. The Beni River, along with the Madeira River, forms the main tributary of the Amazon River. From east to west, the basin is formed by other important rivers such as the Madre de Dios River, Orthon River, Abuna River, Yata River and the Guaporé River. The most important lakes are the Rogaguado Lake and the Rogagua Lake.
• Rio de la Plata Basin, also called the South Basin (229,500 km² / 21% of the territory). The tributaries are in general less abundant than the ones forming the Amazon basin. It is mainly formed by the Paraguay River, Pilcomayo River and Bermejo River. The most important lakes are the Uberaba Lake and the Mandioré Lake, both located in the Bolivian marshland.
• The Central Basin, which is an endorrheic basin (145,081 km² / 13% of the territory). The Altiplano has large numbers of lakes and rivers that do not run into any ocean, as they are enclosed by the Andean mountains. The most important river is the Desaguadero River, with a length of 436 km, the longest river of the Altiplano; it begins in Lake Titicaca and then runs in a southeast direction to the Poopó Lake. The basin is then formed by the Lake Titicaca, Lake Poopó, the Desaguadero River and great salt flats as the Salar de Uyuni and the Coipasa Lake.