Rivers of South America facts

None. The Portuguese were the Europeans who encountered Guanabara Bay on January 1,1502. They took it for a large river, which they named "Rio de Janeiro" ("January River"). Later it was discovered, that the presumed river was in fact a gulf, but the name remained.

Brazil and Paraguay. The Itaipu Dam is located on the Paraná River between Brazil and Paraguay. It is still the largest dam in terms of annual energy generation, even though its capacity is smaller than Three Gorges Dam. Of the twenty generator units, ten generate at 50 Hz for Paraguay and ten generate at 60 Hz for Brazil.

979 m (3,212 ft). Angel Falls is over twice as tall as the Empire State Building. It is one of Venezuela's top tourist attractions, though a trip to the falls is a complicated affair, as the falls are located in an isolated jungle.