O Amazons it is the second longest river on the planet, covering 6.4 thousand kilometers, being only smaller than the Nile River (7,400 kilometers). However, it has the highest water flow. The source of the Amazon River is located in Lake Lauri, in the Andes of Peru. The Amazon River is present in the countries of Peru, Colombia and Brazil, in its hydrographic basin there are also the countries of Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Guyana.
The river is born with the name of Vilcanota and later receives the names of Uicaiali, Urubamba and Marañón. When it enters Brazil, it becomes Solimões, until it meets the Rio Negro, near Manaus. From this point to the mouth it receives the name of Amazonas. In Brazilian territory, this large and important river descends from 82 meters in altitude, in Benjamin Constant, heading for the ocean after a trajectory of 3,165 kilometers.
The meeting of the Negro River with the Solimões River provides an image of great beauty, because the rivers have waters of distinct coloration, the Negro river presents dark waters due to the dissolution of humic acid, and the Solimões, waters clear; when they meet, their respective waters do not mix.
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The Negro River meets the Solimões River
In the 3,165 kilometers that it travels in Brazilian territory, the Amazon River suffers a smooth and progressive unevenness of only 82 meters, this feature provides excellent navigation conditions, receiving ships from its mouth, where the city of Belém is located, to Manaus. In 1997, the Madeira River waterway was inaugurated, which runs from Porto Velho to Itaquatiara.
Throughout its course, the Amazon River has a large number of tributaries, among the most important are the Huallaga, Ucayali, Pastaza, Napo (Peru); Javari, Juruá, Purus, Madeira, Tapajós, Xingu, Içá, Japurá, Negro, Trumpets, Paru and Jari (Brazil).
Another striking feature of the Amazon River is the pororoca phenomenon, which consists of the formation of waves from the violent encounter of the river waters with the Atlantic Ocean, the pororoca happens mainly in the month of October, because during this period the river level is low and the tide high.
By Wagner de Cerqueira and Francisco
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FRANCISCO, Wagner de Cerqueira and. "Amazon river "; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/brasil/rio-amazonas.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
