The Rio de la Plata (River Plate) occupies the lower part of the second most important catchment of South America: the de la Plata catchment. It covers some 3,200,000 km², which includes Argentinean, Bolivian, Brazilian, Paraguayan and Uruguayan territories. It is a funnel like shaped water body with a northeast – southeast orientation. It is 320 long and has a width which varies between 2 km at the source and 230 km at the mouth, which is typically considered as the line which joins the Punta del Este (Uruguay) with Punta Rosa (Argentina). Its surface area is 35,000 Km² and its average depth is 5 m.