The typical representatives of surface waters that are commonly emulated by aquarists are the biotopes found in the Amazon basin. There's a reason for this – the Amazon occupies about 1/3 of the area of South America (44%), being one of the richest rivers in the world in terms of diversity and number of fish species. Over 6000 species of freshwater fish live in South America, which constitutes 46% of all freshwater fish species in the world, and 10% of all known vertebrate species. Most of this wildlife can be found in the Amazon – its main course, tributaries, streams, floodplains, and oxbow lakes.
The Amazon crosses the central and eastern parts of South America, flowing through Brazil, Colombia and Peru. Its sources and tributaries also cross Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Venezuela, and Bolivia. The river holds numerous world records: it is the widest and deepest river in the world, has the largest catchment area (7.2 million km²), the largest average water flow (209000 m³/s), the largest delta (width 240 km), and has over 1100 tributaries, 17 of which are longer than 1600 km.
The sources of the Amazon are currently a matter of dispute (mainly because of the number of these sources and their varying lengths), but they definitely lie in the Peruvian Andes, at about 5200-5600 m above sea level.
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