Rivers in South America Ranked by Discharge

Name: Rivers in South America Ranked by Discharge
Creator: Wikidata
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Rivers recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Average discharge. Figures for long rivers vary between sources, depending on where the source and mouth are measured. Only items Wikidata places in South America (directly or through their country) are included. Source: Wikidata (CC0 1.0 (public domain)).

Summary

Amazon River ranks #1 with 209,000 m³/s. That is 2.1 times Solimões in second place (100,000 m³/s). The top five are Amazon River, Solimões, Esmeraldas River, Madeira River and Rio Negro. The median across all 50 is 3,889 m³/s; Limay River is last at 700 m³/s.

#1: Amazon River · 209,000 m³/s
Median: 3,889 m³/s
Coverage: 50 rivers in South America
Data year: As recorded in Wikidata
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: Average discharge (m³/s). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Amazon River 209,000; 2. Solimões 100,000; 3. Esmeraldas River 31,217; 4. Madeira River 31,200; 5. Rio Negro 30,000; 6. Orinoco River 30,000; 7. Río de la Plata 22,000; 8. Marañón River 16,708; 9. Paraná River 16,000; 10. Japurá River 13,915.

Full ranking

Rivers in South America Ranked by Discharge
Rank	River	Location	Average discharge (m³/s)
1	Amazon River	Brazil, Peru	209,000
2	Solimões	Brazil	100,000
3	Esmeraldas River	Ecuador	31,217
4	Madeira River	Brazil, Bolivia	31,200
5	Rio Negro	Brazil, Venezuela, RB	30,000
6	Orinoco River	Venezuela, RB, Colombia	30,000
7	Río de la Plata	Uruguay, Argentina	22,000
8	Marañón River	Peru	16,708
9	Paraná River	Brazil, Argentina	16,000
10	Japurá River	Brazil, Colombia	13,915
11	Tapajós River	Brazil	13,000
12	Ucayali River	Peru	12,600
13	Mamoré River	Brazil, Bolivia	11,649
14	Tocantins River	Brazil	11,364
15	Xingu River	Brazil	9,680
16	Guaviare River	Colombia	8,200
17	Magdalena River	Colombia	7,200
18	Putumayo River	Ecuador, Brazil	7,000
19	Meta River	Venezuela, RB, Colombia	6,496
20	Araguaia River	Brazil	6,172
21	Atrato River	Colombia	4,900
22	Caroní River	Venezuela, RB	4,850
23	Juruá River	Brazil, Peru	4,765
24	Paraguay River	Brazil, Argentina	4,696
25	Teles Pires River	Brazil	3,978
26	Huallaga River	Peru	3,800
27	Caura River	Venezuela, RB	3,500
28	Tigre River	Peru, Ecuador	2,700
29	Tietê River	Brazil	2,500
30	Javary River	Brazil, Peru	2,463
31	Jutai River	Brazil	2,400
32	Casiquiare canal	Venezuela, RB	2,387
33	Essequibo River	Venezuela, RB, Guyana	2,104
34	Grande River	Brazil	2,000
35	Jacuí River	Brazil	1,900
36	Iguazu River	Brazil, Argentina	1,746
37	Maroni	France, Suriname	1,700
38	Santiago River	Peru, Ecuador	1,530
39	Paranaíba River	Brazil	1,505
40	Cauca River	Colombia	1,350
41	Guayas River	Ecuador	1,157
42	Río Negro	Argentina	1,014
43	Bío Bío River	Chile	899
44	Aguaytía River	Peru	880
45	Paraíba do Sul River	Brazil	840
46	Oyapock	France, Brazil	835
47	Arauca River	Venezuela, RB, Colombia	800
48	Bueno River	Chile	760
49	Yelcho River	Chile	735
50	Limay River	Argentina	700