Question

The central lowlands of South America consists of which of the following river basins?
A)Orinoco river basin
B)Amazon river basin
C)La Plata basin
D)All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The central lowlands, also known as the Midland Valley or Central valley, is a geologically specified area of relatively low lying land in South America.

Complete answer:
The central lowlands of South America consists of all the Orinoco river basin, Amazon river basin, and La Plata basin.

South America, the fourth largest continent. South America is roughly triangular in shape, being broad in the north and narrowing to a point-Cape Horn, Chile in the south. The central lowlands of South America has three important river basins:

The Amazon river basin has a region of almost 7 million square kilometers, making it the largest watershed in the world. The basin, which surrounds most of Northern South America, is generated by tributaries from the glaciers of the Andes.

The Orinoco River flows north of the Amazon. It flows in a massive arc for more than 2736 kilometers, beginning in the Guiana highlands of northern Brazil and discharging in the Atlantic ocean in Venezuela. The Orinoco river basin covers a region of about 9,48,000 square kilometers and covers approximately 80percent of Venezuela.

The paraguay or La Plata river basin covers around 2.8 million square kilometers which is much of Southeastern Brazil and Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina. This river discharges into the Rio de la Plata estuary between Argentina and Uruguay.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D)

Note: The name America is acquired from that of the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, one of the earliest European travellers of the world. South America is a continent of extremes. It has the world’s largest river ( the Amazon), the world’s driest place (the Atacama desert), the world’s longest mountain ranges (the Andes).