what continent does the amazon river flow through?
South America
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 A river of sea water , called the Atlantic North Equatorial Current , flows westward off the coast of Central Africa . When this current interacts with the northeastern coast of South America , the current forks into two branches . One passes into the Caribbean Sea , while a second , the Antilles Current , flows north and east of the West Indies . These two branches rejoin north of the Straits of Florida . 

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 By volume , the Columbia is the fourth @-@ largest river in the United States ; it has the greatest flow of any North American river draining into the Pacific . The river 's heavy flow and its relatively steep gradient gives it tremendous potential for the generation of electricity . The 14 hydroelectric dams on the Columbia 's main stem and many more on its tributaries produce more than 44 % of total U.S. hydroelectric generation - much more hydroelectric power than those of any other North American river . 

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 7 The Lower Amazons — Obydos to Manaos , or the Barra of the Rio Negro 

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 The Columbia drains an area of about 258 @,@ 000 square miles ( 670 @,@ 000 km2 ) . Its drainage basin covers nearly all of Idaho , large portions of British Columbia , Oregon , and Washington , ultimately all of Montana west of the Continental Divide , and small portions of Wyoming , Utah , and Nevada ; the total area is similar to the size of France . Roughly 745 miles ( 1 @,@ 200 km ) of the river 's length and 85 percent of its drainage basin are in the US . The Columbia is the twelfth @-@ longest river and has the sixth @-@ largest drainage basin in the United States . In Canada , where the Columbia flows for 498 miles ( 801 km ) and drains 39 @,@ 700 square miles ( 103 @,@ 000 km2 ) , the river ranks 23rd in length , and the Canadian part of its basin ranks 13th in size among Canadian basins . The Columbia shares its name with nearby places , such as British Columbia , as well as with landforms and bodies of water . 

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 The Columbia receives more than 60 significant tributaries . The four largest that empty directly into the Columbia ( measured either by discharge or by size of watershed ) are the Snake River ( mostly in Idaho ) , the Willamette River ( in northwest Oregon ) , the Kootenay River ( mostly in British Columbia ) , and the Pend Oreille River ( mostly in northern Washington and Idaho , also known as the lower part of the Clark Fork ) . Each of these four averages more than 20 @,@ 000 cubic feet per second ( 570 m3 / s ) and drains an area of more than 20 @,@ 000 square miles ( 52 @,@ 000 km2 ) . 
