The Amazon Basin is a large sedimentary basin (620,000 square kilometres (240,000 sq mi)) located near the middle and lower course of the Amazon River, south the Guiana Shield and north of the Central Brazilian Shield.

The basin developed on a rift that originated about 550 million years ago during the Cambrian.

The Amazon Basin was developed on a rift, called the Sub-Amazonal Rift, that originated about 550 million years ago during continental collision of the West African Craton.

[1] The Amazon Basin evolved through tectonic activity including continental collision, subduction, and distortion of parts of the Andes Mountain Range.

[2] The Amazon basin hosts large deposits of the aluminum-rich sedimentary rock bauxite.