<P> The Río de la Plata basin ( Spanish : Cuenca del Plata , Portuguese : Bacia do Prata ) , more often called the River Plate basin in scholarly writings , sometimes called the Platine basin or Platine region , is the 3,170,000 - square - kilometre ( 1,220,000 sq mi ) hydrographical area in South America that drains to the Río de la Plata . It includes areas of southeastern Bolivia , southern and central Brazil , the entire country of Paraguay , most of Uruguay , and northern Argentina . Making up about one fourth of the continent 's surface , it is the second largest drainage basin in South America ( after the Amazon basin ) and one of the largest in the world . </P>
the la plata river basin of south america is also known as
River Plate basin Platine basin Platine region