  300px|thumb|right|a satellite image of uruguay 300px|thumb|shaded relief map of uruguay 300px|thumb|political map of uruguay uruguay is a country in southern south america, bordering the south atlantic ocean, between argentina and brazil. it is located in the southern hemisphere on the atlantic seaboard of south america between 53 and 58 west longitude and 30 and 35 south latitude. it is bounded on the west by argentina, on the north and northeast by brazil, and on the southeast by the atlantic ocean. to the south, it fronts the rÃ­o de la plata, a broad estuary that opens out into the south atlantic. montevideo, the capital and major port, sits on the banks of the rÃ­o de la plata and is on approximately the same latitude as cape town and sydney. uruguay is the smallest spanish-speaking nation in south america with a land area of  and a water area of . ==topography and hydrography== most of uruguay is a rolling plain that represents a transition from the almost featureless argentine pampas to the hilly uplands of southern brazil. the country itself has flat plains on its eastern, southern, and western edges. the narrow atlantic coastal plain is sandy and marshy, occasionally broken by shallow lagoons. the littorals of the rÃ­o de la plata and the rÃ­o uruguay are somewhat broader and merge more gradually into the hilly interior. the remaining two-quarters of the country is a rolling plateau marked by ranges of low hills that become more prominent in the north as they merge into the highlands of southern brazil. even these hilly areas are remarkably featureless, however, and elevations seldom exceed 200 meters. uruguay is a water-rich land. prominent bodies of water mark its limits on the east, south, and west, and even most of the boundary with brazil follows small rivers. lakes and lagoons are numerous, and a high water table makes digging wells easy. three systems of rivers drain the land: rivers flow westward to the rÃ­o uruguay, eastward to the atlantic or tidal lagoons bordering the ocean, and south to the rÃ­o de la plata. the rÃ­o uruguay, which forms the border with argentina, is flanked by low banks, and disastrous floods sometimes inundate large areas. the longest and most important of the rivers draining westward is the [[rÃ­o neg
Geography_of_Uruguay