Amazon River

src: i0.wp.com

Amazon River ( US: or UK: ; Spanish and Portuguese: < i> Amazonas ) in South America is the largest river with water volume discharge in the world, and both longest and longest longest.

The Upper ApurÃÆ'mac River in Nevado Mismi has been considered for almost a century as the furthest source in the Amazon, until a study of 2014 found that it was Cordillera Rumi Cruz in the upper Mantaro River in Peru. The Mantaro and Apuracac join, and with other tributaries form the Ucayali River, which in turn meets the MaraÃÆ'  ± ÃÆ'³n River Upstream Iquitos, Peru, to form countries other than Brazil that are considered the main stem of the Amazon. The Brazilians call this part of the River Solimà © above his encounter with Rio Negro to form what Brazil calls the Amazon at the Watering Meeting (Portuguese: Encontro das ÃÆ' guas ) in Manaus, the largest city on the river.

With an average discharge of about 209,000 cubic meters per second (7,400,000 cuÃ,ft/s; 209,000,000 L/s; 55,000,000 USgal/s) - approximately 6,591 cubic kilometers per year (1,581 cuÃ, mi/a) , larger than the next seven largest independent rivers combined - the Amazon represents 20% of the global river flow to the oceans. The Amazon Basin is the largest drainage basin in the world, with an area of ​​about 7.050,000 square kilometers (2,720,000 sq./n mi). Part of the river drainage basin in Brazil alone is larger than other river basins. Amazon enters Brazil with only one fifth of the stream being eventually dumped into the Atlantic Ocean, but already has a larger flow at this point than the discharge of other rivers.

Video Amazon River

Histori

Era pra-Columbus

During what many archaeologists call the formative stage, the Amazon community is deeply involved in the emergence of the highland agrarian system of South America. Trade with the Andean civilization on the upstream terrain of the Andes, forms an important contribution to the social and religious development of higher altitude civilizations such as Muisca and Incas. Early human settlements are usually based on hills or lowland mounds.

Shell mounds are the earliest evidence of shelter; they represent a pile of human trash and especially dated between 7500 and 4000 years BP. They are related to the ceramic era culture; no preceramic combat mounds have been documented so far by archaeologists. The artificial earth platform for the whole village is the second type of mound. They are best represented by the Marajoara culture. Figurative mounds are the most recent type of work.

There is much evidence that the area around the Amazon River is home to a large and complex indigenous population, especially the tribes that build big cities and big cities. Archaeologists estimate that by the time the Spanish conquistador De Orellana traveled through the Amazon in 1541, more than 3 million indigenous people live around the Amazon. This pre-Columbian settlement created a highly developed civilization. For example, pre-Columbian natives on the island of MarajÃÆ'³ may have developed social stratification and supported a population of 100,000 people. To achieve this level of development, indigenous Amazonian rainforests change the forest ecology by selective cultivation and fire use. Scientists argue that by repeatedly burning the forest area, indigenous peoples cause the soil to become richer in nutrients. This creates a dark ground area known as terra preta de ÃÆ'ndio ("dark earth indian"). Because of terra preta, indigenous peoples are able to create fertile land and thus sustain for large-scale agriculture needed to support their large populations and complex social structures. Further research has hypothesized that this practice began about 11,000 years ago. Some say that its influence on forest ecology and regional climates explains the unexplained low rainfall bands through the Amazon basin.

Many indigenous tribes engage in constant warfare. James Stuart Olson writes: "The expansion of Mundurku dislocated and fleeing Kawaha, breaking the tribe into smaller groups... [Munduruku] first became the attention of Europeans in 1770 when they initiated a series of widespread attacks on Brazilian settlements along the Amazon River."

European Discovery

In March 1500, the Spanish conqueror Vicente YÃÆ'¡ÃÆ' Â ± ez PinzÃÆ'³n was the first documented European to sail to the Amazon River. PinzÃÆ'³n calls the river RÃÆ'o Santa MarÃÆ'a del Mar Dulce , then shortened to Mar Dulce , literally, sweet sea , because its fresh water pushes out into oceans. Another Spanish explorer, Francisco de Orellana, was the first European to travel from the origin of the upstream river basin, located in the Andes, to the mouth of the river. On this journey, Orellana baptized some of the Amazon people like Rio Negro, Napo and Jurua. The name Amazonas was taken from indigenous fighters who attacked this expedition, mostly women, who remind De Orellana of the mythical Amazon female warriors of the ancient Hellenic culture in Greece.

Exploration

Gonzalo Pizarro departed in 1541 to explore eastern Quito to the interior of South America in search of El Dorado , "golden city" and La Canela, "cinnamon valley". He was accompanied by his command, Francisco de Orellana. After 170 kilometers (110 miles), the Coca River joins the Napo River (at a point now known as Puerto Francisco de Orellana); the party stopped for a few weeks to build a boat upstream from this meeting. They continue downriver through uninhabited areas, where they can not find food. Orellana offers and is instructed to follow the Napo River, later known as the RÃÆ'o de la Canela ("Sweetwood River") and return with food for the party. Based on the intelligence received from a captive prisoner named Delicola, they expect to find food within a few days downstream by riding another river to the north.

De Orellana brought about 57 men, boats and some canoes and left the Pizarro army on December 26, 1541. However, De Orellana seemed to miss the meeting (probably with Aguarico) where he sought supplies for his men. By the time he and his men reached other villages, many of them were sick from starvation and eating "dangerous plants", and almost died. Seven men were killed in the village. His men threatened to rebel if he followed his orders and the expedition returned to join the larger Pizarro party. He accepted to change the purpose of the expedition to find new land on behalf of the king of Spain, and the men built larger boats to navigate downstream. After traveling 600 km down the Napo River, they reached the next big gathering, at a point near modern Iquitos, and then followed the upper Amazon, now known as SolimÃÆ'Âμes, 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) to its encounter with Rio Negro ( near the modern Manaus), which they reached on June 3, 1542. On the Nhamunda River, the lower Amazon tributary of Manaus, Orellana's party had a fierce battle with the fighters who, they reported, were led by a ferocious female warrior who defeated the men to death with the club if they try to back off. Orellana's men began to refer to women as Amazon, a reference to the female warrior tribe of Greek mythology. This river was originally known as MaraÃÆ'Â ± ÃÆ'³n (the name of which parts of the Peruvian river are still known today) or Rio de Orellana . This came to be known as Rio Amazonas , a name that is still known in Spanish and Portuguese.

Regarding the initial mission of finding cinnamon, Pizarro reported to the king that they had found a cinnamon tree, but that they could not be harvested profitable. In fact, real cinnamon ( Cinnamomum verum ) is not native to South America. Other cinnamon-containing plants (from the Lauraceae family ) are quite common in parts of the Amazon and Pizarro may see some of them. The expedition reached the Amazon estuary on 24 August 1542, demonstrating the practical navigation of the Great River.

In 1560, another Spanish conquistador, Lope de Aguirre, might have made his second descendent on the Amazon. Historians are unsure whether the rivers he descended are the Amazon or the Orinoco River, which runs roughly parallel to the Amazon in the north.

The Portuguese explorer Pedro Teixeira was the first European to travel all over the river. He arrived in Quito in 1637, and returned via the same route.

From 1648 to 1652, Brazilian Portuguese bandeirante AntÃÆ'³nio Raposo Tavares led an expedition from SÃÆ'ÂÂ o Paulo to the mouth of the Amazon, investigated many tributaries, including the Rio Negro, and traveled over 10,000 km (6,214 mi ).

In what is currently Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, a number of colonial and religious settlements are established along the banks of primary rivers and tributaries for trade, hard work and evangelization among indigenous peoples. rainforest, like Urarina. In the late 1600s, Father Samuel Fritz of Spain, the apostle of Omaguas, founded forty mission villages.

Scientific exploration

Initial exploration, zoological and botanical exploration of the Amazon River and the basin occurred from the 18th century until the first half of the 19th century.

• Charles Marie de La Condamine explored the river in 1743.
• Alexander von Humboldt, 1799-1804
• Johann Baptist von Spix and Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, 1817-1820
• Henry Walter Bates and Alfred Russel Wallace, 1848-1859

Post-colonial exploitation and settlement

The Cabanagem Rebellion (1835-1840) was directed against the white ruling class. It is estimated that from 30 to 40% of the population of GrÃÆ' Â £-Pará, an estimated 100,000 people, dies.

The total population of the Brazilian part of the Amazon basin in 1850 may be 300,000, of which about two-thirds were Europeans and slaves, slaves numbering about 25,000. The main commercial city of Brazil, Pará, (now Belà © m), has 10,000 to 12,000 inhabitants, including slaves. City of Maná¡os, now Manaus, in the mouth of Rio Negro, has a population between 1,000 and 1,500. All remaining villages, as far as Tabatinga, on the Brazilian border of Peru, are relatively small.

On September 6, 1850, Emperor Pedro II of Brazil approved a law allowing steam navigation in the Amazon and gave the Viscount of MauÃÆ'¡ (Irineu Evangelista de Sousa) the duty to enforce it. He organized the "Companhia de NavegaÃÆ'§ÃÆ' o o e Comà ©  © rcio do Amazonas" in Rio de Janeiro in 1852; in the following year he started operations with four small steamships, Monarca ('Monarch'), CametÃÆ'¡ , MarajÃÆ'³ and Rio Negro .

Initially, navigation was basically confined to the main river; and even in 1857 the modification of the government contract only required the company to service monthly between Pará and Manaus, with a 200 ton steam cargo vessel, the second line to make six rounds a year traveling between Manaus and Tabatinga, and third, two trips a month between Parà ¡And Cametá. This is the first step in opening a spacious interior.

The success of this effort drew attention to the economic exploitation opportunities of the Amazon, and the second company immediately opened trade in Madeira, PurÃÆ'ºs and Negro; the third forming the line between Pará and Manaus; and the fourth found it advantageous to navigate some of the smaller streams. In the same period, Amazonas Company increased its fleet. Meanwhile, private individuals built and operated their own small steamers on the main river as well as in many of its tributaries.

On July 31, 1867 the Brazilian government, constantly pressured by maritime power and by countries that surround the upper Amazon valley, especially Peru, set the opening of the Amazon to all countries, but they limit this to certain points: Tabatinga - on Amazon; Cametá - in Tocantins; SantarÃÆ'Â © m - di Tapajó; Borba - in Madeira, and Manaus - in Rio Negro. Brazil's decision entered into force on 7 September 1867.

Thanks in part to the development of trade related to steamboat navigation coupled with international demand for natural rubber, Peru's Iquitos became a rapidly growing cosmopolitan trading center. Foreign companies reside in Iquitos, from where they control rubber extraction. In 1851 Iquitos had a population of 200, and in 1900 the population reached 20,000. In the 1860s, about 3,000 tons of rubber were exported annually, and by 1911 annual exports had grown to 44,000 tons, representing 9.3 per cent of Peru's exports. During the rubber explosion it was estimated that diseases carried by immigrants, such as typhoid and malaria, killed 40,000 native Amazonians.

The first direct foreign trade with Manaus began around 1874. Local trades along the river were undertaken by British successors to the Amazonas Company - the Amazon Steam Navigation Company - as well as many small steamers, owned by companies and companies involved in rubber trade, navigating Negro, Madeira , PurÃÆ'ºs and many other tributaries, such as MaraÃÆ' Â ± ÃÆ'³n, to a port that is as far away as Nauta, Peru.

At the turn of the 20th century, Amazon's basin exports were India-rubber, cocoa beans, Brazil nuts and some other less important products, such as exotic fur and forest products (resins, bark, wicker hammocks, feathered birds, live animals) and items taken, such as wood and gold.

twentieth century development

Since colonial times, the Portuguese portion of the Amazon basin remains a land largely undeveloped by agriculture and occupied by indigenous survivors of European disease.

Four centuries after the European discovery of the Amazon river, the total cultivation area in its basin may be less than 65 square kilometers (25 m²), excluding areas cultivated in a limited and rough way among the mountains in its extreme upstream. This situation changed dramatically during the 20th century.

Wary of the exploitation of the nation's resources, the Brazilian government in the 1940s began to develop the interior, away from the coastal areas where foreigners had large land. The original architect of this expansion was president GetÃÆ'ºlio Vargas, with rubber demand from Allied forces in World War II providing funds for the drive.

In the 1960s, the economic exploitation of the Amazon basin was seen as a way to ignite the "economic miracle" that occurred at the time. This resulted in the development of "Operation Amazon", an economic development project that brings large scale farming and animal husbandry to Amazonia. This is done through a combination of credit and fiscal incentives.

However, in the 1970s the government took a new approach with the National Integration Program. A large-scale colonization program saw families from northeastern Brazil move to "land without people" in the Amazon Basin. This is done in conjunction with infrastructure projects especially the Trans-Amazonian Highway ( TransamazÃÆ'Â'nica ).

The Trans-Amazonian Highway Three Highway was completed in ten years but never fulfilled their promise. Most of the Trans-Amazonian and accessory streets, such as the BR-319 (Manaus-Porto Velho), are stranded and impassable in the rainy season. Small towns and villages are scattered throughout the forest, and because the vegetation is so dense, some remote areas are still unexplored.

Many settlements grew along the road from Braslia to Belà © m with highways and the National Integration Program but the program failed because the settlers could not live in the fragile rainforest ecosystem. This, although the government believes it can sustain millions of people, but it can survive very little.

With a population of 1.9 million people by 2014, Manaus is the largest city in the Amazon. Manaus alone constitutes about 50% of the population of Brazil's largest Amazonas state. City's racial makeup is 64% pardo (mulatto and mestizo) and 32% white.

Although the Amazon River is largely dismantled, about 412 dams operate in the rivers of the Amazon. Of the 412 dams, 151 are built on six major rivers that flow into the Amazon. Since only four percent of Amazon's hydropower potential has been developed in countries such as Brazil, more exterminator projects are underway and hundreds more are planned. After witnessing the negative effects of environmental degradation, sedimentation, navigation, and flood control caused by the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, scientists fear that building more dams in the Amazon would endanger biodiversity in the same way as "hamper-spawning fish, reducing the flow of essential oil nutrients and clearing the forest ". Damaging the Amazon River has the potential to produce "free-flowing rivers" and contribute to the "ecosystem collapse" that will cause major social problems.

Maps Amazon River

Course

Origins

The most distant sources of the Amazon are thought to be in the drainage of the Apuracac river for nearly a century. Such studies continue to be published even recently, such as in 1996, 2001, 2007, and 2008, in which various authors identified the 5.597 m (18,336 ft) snow-capped peak of Nevado Mismi, located approximately 160 km (99 mi ) west of Lake Titicaca and 700 km (430 mi) to the southeast of Lima, as the source of the most distant river. From that point, Quebrada Carhuasanta emerged from Nevado Mismi, joined the Quebrada Apacheta and immediately formed RÃÆ'o Lloqueta who became RÃÆ'o Hornillos and eventually joined RÃÆ'o ApurÃÆ'mac.

A 2014 study by Americans James Contos and Nicolas Tripcevich in the Area, the peer-reviewed journal of the Royal Geographical Society, however, identifies the farthest source of the Amazon as it is actually in the RÃÆ'o Mantaro drainage. A variety of methods are used to compare Mantaro River vs. Apuracac rivers from their farthest source point to their meetings, indicating longer Mantaro lengths. Then the distance from Lago JunÃÆ'n to some potential source point on the upper Mantaro river is measured, allowing them to determine that Cordillera Rumi Cruz is the farthest water source in the Mantaro basin (and hence across the Amazon basin). The most accurate measurement method is the direct GPS measurement obtained by kayaking down from each river from their source point to their meeting (done by Contos). Getting these measurements is difficult given the class IV-V properties of each of these rivers, especially in their lower "Abyss" section. In the end, they decided that the most distant point in the Mantaro drainage was nearly 80 km upstream compared to Mt. Mismi in ApurÃÆ'mac drainage, and thus the maximum length of the Amazon river is about 80 km longer than previously thought. Contos continues downriver to the sea and completes the first complete descendant of the Amazon river from a newly identified source (completing November 2012), a journey repeated by two groups after the news has spread.

After about 700 km (430º, mi), ApurÃÆ'Âmmac joined Ráo Mantaro to form Ene, who joined Perene to form Tambo, who joined the Urubamba River to form Ucayali. After meeting ApurÃÆ'Âmmac and Ucayali, the river left the Andes plains and surrounded by flood plain. From this point to the Ucayali and MaraÃÆ'Â ± ón meetings, about 1,600 km (990 mi), forested forests are just above the water and flooded away before the river reaches the maximum flood stage. The low riverbed is interrupted by only a few hills, and the river enters the enormous Amazon rainforest.

Amazon Hulu or SolimÃÆ'Âμes

Although the meeting of Ucayali-MaraÃÆ' Â ± ÃÆ'³n is the point where most geographers put the start of the Amazon River, the Brazilian river is known at this point as SolimÃÆ'Âμes das ÃÆ' guas . River systems and floodplains in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, whose waters flow into SolimÃÆ'Âμes and its tributaries, are called "Hulu Amazon".

The right Amazon mostly runs through Brazil and Peru, and is part of the border between Colombia and PerÃÆ'º. It has a series of major tributaries in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, some of which flow into MaraÃÆ'Â Â ± ÃÆ'³n and Ucayali, and others directly into the Amazon precisely. These include the Putumayo, CaquetÃÆ'¡, VaupÃÆ' Â © s, Guaina, Morona, Pastaza, Nucuray, Urituyacu, Chambira, Tigre, Nanay, Napo, and Huallaga rivers.

At some point the river splits into anabranches, or multiple channels, often very long, with inland and lateral channels, all connected by a complex, intricate, culminate, low-altitude, flat system of igapÃÆ'³ , which is never more than 5 meters (16 feet) above a low river, to many islands.

From the city of Canaria on the great curve of the Amazon to Negro, the vast area of ​​land is submerged in high water, above it only the top of a bleak forest tree appears. Near the mouth of the Rio Negro to Serpa, almost opposite the Madeira river, the low edge of the Amazon, up to Manaus, they rise into the hills.

Amazon Bottom

The Lower Amazon begins where dark water from Rio Negro meets sand-colored Rio SolimÃÆ'Âμes, and over 6 km (4 mi) of these waters runs side-by-side without mixing. At ÃÆ' "bidos, a 17-foot (56-foot) cliff over the river is supported by low hills. The lower Amazon seems to have been the Gulf of the Atlantic Ocean, a waterslide washing near ÃÆ'" bidos.

Only about ten percent of the Amazon water enters the downstream ÃÆ' "bidos, very little coming from the northern slopes of the valley." The drainage area of ​​the Amazon basin above ÃÆ' "bidos city is approximately 5,000,000 square kilometers (1,900,000 sq./n mi), and , below, only about 1,000,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq. n, mi) (about 20%), exclusive of 1,400,000 sq km (540,000 sq., mi) of the Tocantins basin. The Tocantins River enters the southern part of the Amazon delta.

In the lower part of the river, the northern edge consists of a row of steep hills, tables extending about 240 kilometers (150 miles) across the mouth of Xingu as far as Monte Alegre. These hills are cut down into a sort of terrace between them and the river.

On the southern edge, above the Xingu, the low cliff border bordering the floodplain extends almost to SantarÃÆ'Â © m in a series of soft curves before they bend to the southwest, and, bordering on Lower Tapaj³, joining the cliffs that form the core margin TapajÃÆ'.s river valley.

Mouth

Belà © m is the main city and harbor at the mouth of the river in the Atlantic Ocean. The definition of exactly where the Amazon lies, and how broad it is, is a matter of dispute, because of its distinctive geography in that area. The ParÃÆ'¡ and Amazon are connected by a series of river channels called furos near the town of Breves; among them lies MarajÃÆ'³, the largest combined river/sea island in the world.

If the river ParÃÆ'¡ and the ocean front of the island MarajÃÆ' are included, the Amazon estuary is about 325 kilometers (202Ã, mi) wide. In this case, the width of the mouth of the river is usually measured from Cabo Norte, a cape located east of PracuÃÆ'ºba in the state of Brazil AmapÃÆ'¡, to Ponta da Tijoca near the city of CuruÃÆ'§ÃÆ'¡, in the state of Pará.

More conservative measurements, except the river estuary of Pará, from the mouth of the Araguari River to Ponta do Navio on the north coast of MarajÃÆ'³, will still provide the mouth of the Amazon with a width of more than 180 kilometers (110 mi). If only the main river channel is considered, between the islands of CuruÃÆ'¡ (state of AmapÃÆ'¡) and Jurupari (Pará state), its width drops to about 15 kilometers (9.3 mi).

The plume is generated by river debris covering up to 1.3 million square kilometers and is responsible for a muddy bottom affecting the tropical North Atlantic area in terms of salinity, pH, light penetration, and sedimentation.

Dispute related to length

While the debate over whether the Amazon or the Nile is the longest river in the world that has lasted for years, the historical consensus of geographical authority has regarded the Amazon as the second longest river in the world, with the Nile being the longest. However, Amazon has been measured by various geographers as anywhere between 6,259 and 6,992 kilometers (3,889 and 4,345Ã, mi) long. It is often said to be "at least" 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) long. The Nile is reported to range from 5,499 to 6,690 kilometers (3,417 to 4,157 mi). It is often said that the length is "about" 6,650 kilometers (4,130Ã, mi). There are many factors that can influence this measurement.

A study by Brazilian scientists concludes that the Amazon is actually longer than the Nile. Using Nevado Mismi, which in 2001 was labeled by the National Geographic Society as a source of Amazon, these scientists made new calculations from the length of the Amazon. They calculated the length of the Amazon as 6,992 kilometers (4,345 mi). Using the same technique, they calculated the length of the Nile as 6,853 kilometers (4,258 mi), which was longer than previously thought but still shorter than the Amazon. They are possible by measuring the downstream Amazon to the beginning of the tidal estuary of the Canal do Sul and then, after a sharp turn back, following the tidal channels around the island of MarajÃÆ'³ and eventually including the ocean waters. from RÃÆ'o ParÃÆ'¡ the bay across its length. Guido Gelli, director of science at Brazil's Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), told Brazil's Globo TV network in June 2007 that it could be considered the fact that the Amazon is the longest river in the world. However, other geographers have access to the same data since 2001, and consensus has not yet emerged to support the claims of these Brazilian scientists. The length of the Amazon and the Nile remains open for further interpretation and debate.

src: ichef.bbci.co.uk

Water Stream

The Amazon Basin, the largest in the world, covers about 40% of South America, covering an area of ​​approximately 7,050,000 square kilometers (2,722,020 square meters). It flows from west to east, from Iquitos in Peru, across Brazil to the Atlantic. It collects its water from 5 degrees north latitude to 20 degrees south latitude. Its most remote source is found in the highlands between the Andes, not far from the Pacific Ocean.

The Amazon River and its tributaries are characterized by a vast forest area that is flooded every rainy season. Every year, the river rises over 9 meters (30 feet), flooding the surrounding forest, known as vÃÆ'¡rzea ("flood forest"). The Amazon rainforest is the most extensive example of this type of habitat in the world. In the average dry season, 110,000 square kilometers (42,000 sq. Km) of land is covered with water, while in the rainy season, the flooding area of ​​the Amazon valley rises to 350,000 square kilometers (140,000 sq. Mi).

The amount of water released by the Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean is very large: up to 300,000 cubic meters per second (11 million cuÃ, ft/s) in the rainy season, with an average of 209,000 cubic meters per second (7.400.000 cuÃ, ft/s ) from 1973 to 1990. Amazon is responsible for about 20% of the fresh water of the Earth entering the oceans. The river pushes a large clump of fresh water into the ocean. The boasts about 400 kilometers (250 miles) long and between 100 and 200 kilometers (62 and 124Ã mi) wide. Fresh water, which is lighter, flows over the seawater, thinns salinity and changes sea-level surface over an area of ​​up to 2.5 million km2 (970,000 sq. Mi) so far. For centuries the vessels have reported fresh water near the mouth of Amazon but far from the land view in a seemingly open ocean.

The Atlantic has enough tide and energy to carry most of Amazon's sediment to the sea, so Amazon does not form the true delta. The world's major deltas are all in relatively protected waters, while the Amazon is directly on the turbulent Atlantic.

There is a natural water pool between the Amazon and the Orinoco basin, called the Casiquiare canal. Casiquiare is a river distribution of the upper Orinoco, which flows south to the Rio Negro, which in turn flows into the Amazon. Casiquiare is the largest river in the world that connects two major river systems, called bifurcation.

Flooding

Not all Amazon tributaries flooded at the same time this year. Many branches begin to flood in November and may continue to rise until June. The rise of Rio Negro starts in February or March and begins to recede in June. The Madeira River rises and falls two months ahead of most of the Amazon's remaining rivers.

The depth of the Amazon between Manacapuru and ÃÆ' "bidos has been calculated between 20 to 26 meters (66 to 85 feet) In Manacapuru, the Amazon water level is only about 24 meters (79 feet) above the average sea level. Amazon Manacapuru is below sea level, at the bottom of the Amazon average depth of 20 to 50 meters (66 to 164 ft), in some places as much as 100 meters (330 feet).

The main river is navigated for large ocean vessels to Manaus, 1,500 kilometers (930Ã, mi) from mouth to head. Ships smaller than 3,000 or 9,000 tons (3,000 or 8,900 tons long, 3,300 or 9,900 short tons) and 5.5 meters (18 ft) can reach as far as Iquitos, Peru, 3,600 kilometers (2,200 mi) from the sea. Smaller river boats can reach 780 kilometers (480 mi) higher, as far as Achual Point. Beyond that, small boats often ride to Pongo de Manseriche, just above Achual Point in Peru.

Annual floods occur in the late northern latitudes of winter at high tide when the Atlantic waters enter the Amazon delta. Unconventional undular tubes called pororoca , with main waves up to 25 feet (7.6 m) tall and can travel up to 500 miles (800 km) on land.

src: i.ytimg.com

Geology

The Amazon River originated as a transcontinental river in the Miocene period between 11.8 million and 11.3 million years ago and took its present form some 2.4 million years ago in the Early Pleistocene.

The Proto-Amazon during Limestone flows to the west, as part of the proto-Amazon-Congo river system, from the interior of Africa today when the continent is connected, forming west of Gondwana. Fifteen million years ago, the major tectonic increase phase of the Andean chain began. This tectonic movement is caused by the subduction of the Nazca Plate under the South American Plate. The emergence of the Andes and the association of Brazilian and Guyana bedrock shields, blocked the river and caused the Amazon Valley into a vast inland sea. Gradually, this inland sea becomes a massive swamp lake of freshwater and marine populations that adapt to life in fresh water. For example, more than 20 species of stingrays, most closely related to those found in the Pacific Ocean, can be found today in freshwater Amazon.

Eleven to ten million years ago, waters worked through sandstone from the west and the Amazon began to flow eastward, leading to the emergence of the Amazon rainforest. During the glacial period, sea levels decline and large Amazon lakes rapidly dry up and become rivers, which will eventually become the largest in the world, depleting the world's largest rainforest area.

Paralleling The Amazon River is a major aquifer, dubbed the River Hamza, an invention published in August 2011.

src: www.charismaticplanet.com

Protected area

src: i.ytimg.com

Flora and fauna

Flora

Fauna

More than one third of all known species in the world live in the Amazon rainforest, giant tropical forests and river valleys with an area spanning more than 5,400,000 square kilometers (2,100,000 sq., Mi). It is the world's richest tropical forest in terms of biodiversity. There are more than 3,000 species of fish currently known in the Amazon basin, with more to be found each year. In addition to thousands of species of fish, the river supports crabs, algae, and turtles.

Mammals

Together with the Orinoco, Amazon is one of the main habitats of boto , also known as the Amazon dolphin ( Inia geoffrensis ). It is the largest species of river dolphins, and can grow up to a length of 2.6 meters (8 ft 6 inches). Skin color changes with age; Young animals are gray, but become pink and then white as they mature. Dolphins use ecolocation to navigate and hunt in difficult river depths. The boto is the subject of a legend in Brazil about dolphins turning into a man and teasing girls by the river.

The tucuxi ( Sotalia fluviatilis ), also a species of dolphin, is found in rivers in the Amazon basin and in coastal waters of South America. The Amazonian manatee ( Trichechus inunguis ), also known as "seacow", is found in the valley of the northern Amazon river and its tributaries. These are mammals and herbivores. Its population is limited to freshwater habitats, and, unlike other manatees, it does not venture into saltwater. This is vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Amazon and its tributaries are the main habitat of the giant otter ( Pteronura brasiliensis ). Sometimes known as the "wolf river" it is one of the top carnivores of South America. Due to habitat destruction and hunting, the population has declined dramatically. It is now listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which effectively prohibits international trade.

Bird

Reptile

Anaconda is found in shallow waters in the Amazon basin. One of the largest species of snakes in the world, anaconda, spends most of its time in the water only with its nostrils above the surface. The caiman species, associated with other crocodiles and crocodiles, also inhabit the Amazon as well as turtle varieties.

Fish

The Amazon fish fauna is a center of diversity for neotropic fish. 5,600 species are currently known, and about fifty new species are discovered each year. The Arapaima, known in Brazil as , is a South American tropical freshwater fish, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, with a length of up to 15 feet (4.6 m). Another Amazon freshwater fish is arowana (or aruanÃÆ'Â £ in Portuguese), like the silver arowana ( Osteoglossum bicirrhosum ), which is a predator and very similar to arapaima, but only reaching a length of 120 cm (47 inches). Also present in large numbers are the famous piranhas, omnivorous fish that gather in large schools and can attack cattle and even humans. There are about 30 to 60 piranha species. However, only a few of the species are known to attack humans, especially Pygocentrus nattereri , red-abdominal piranhas. The candirÃÆ'º, native to the Amazon River, is a species of freshwater parasitic catfish in the Trichomycteridae family, just one of more than 1,200 species of catfish in the Amazon basin. Other catfish walk on their ventral stomach, while kumakuma ( Brachyplatystoma filamentosum ), aka piraiba or "goliath catfish", can reach 3.6 meters (12 feet) in length and 200 kilograms (440 pounds) in weight. Electrical eels ( Electrophorus electricus ) and more than 100 species of electric fish (Gymnotiformes) inhabit the Amazon basin. The river stingray (Potamotrygonidae) is also known. The bull shark ( Carcharhinus leucas ) has been reported 4,000 kilometers (2,500Ã, mi) above the Amazon River at Iquitos in Peru.

Butterfly

Microbiota

Freshwater microbes are generally not very well known, let alone for pure ecosystems like Amazon. Recently, metagenomics has provided an answer to what kind of microbes inhabit the river. The most important microbes in the Amazon River are Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Crenarchaeota.

src: backroads-web.s3.amazonaws.com

The main tributary

Amazon has over 1,100 tributaries, 12 of which over 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) long. Some of the more important are:

List by length

1. 6,259Ã, km (3,889Ã, mi) to 6,992Ã, km (4,345Ã mi) - Amazon, South America
2. 3,250 km (2,020Ã mi) - Madeira, Bolivia/Brazil
3. 3,211 km (1.995Ã, mi) - PurÃÆ'ºs, Peru/Brazil
4. 2,820 km (1,750Ã, mi) - Japurá or Caquetá, Colombia/Brazil
5. 2,639 km (1,640 miles) - Tocantins, Brazil
6. 2,627 km (1.632Ã, mi) - Araguaia, Brazil (tributary of Tocantins)
7. 2,400 km (1,500Ã mi) - JuruÃÆ'¡, Peru/Brazil
8. 2,250 km (1,400 mi, mi) - Rio Negro, Brazil/Venezuela/Colombia
9. 1,992 km (1.238Ã, mi) - Tapajós, Brazil
10. 1.979 km (1.230Ã, mi) - Xingu, Brazil
11. 1,900 km (1,200 mi) - River Ucayali, Peru
12. 1,749 km (1.087a, mi) - GuaporÃÆ' ©, Brazil/Bolivia (Madeira tributary)
13. 1,575 km (979Ã, mi) - IÃÆ'§ÃÆ'¡ (Putumayo), Ecuador/Colombia/Peru
14. 1,415 km (879Ã, mi) - MaraÃÆ'Â ± ó³n, Peru
15. 1,370 km (850Ã, mi) - Teles Pires, Brazil (Tapajás stream)
16. 1,300 km (810Ã, mi) - Iriri, Brazil (Xingu tributary)
17. 1,240 km (770Ã, mi) - Juruena, Brazil (Tapajás stream)
18. 1,130 km (700Ã mi) - Madre de Dios, Peru/Bolivia (Madeira tributary)
19. 1,100Ã, km (680 mi) - Huallaga, Peru (tributary of MaraÃÆ'Â ± ÃÆ'³n)

src: i.ytimg.com

Also see

• natural Amazon region
• 1930 CuruÃÆ'§á River show
• Sungai Hamza
• Amazon Peru

src: s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com

Note

src: i.pinimg.com

Reference

Bibliography

• Ã, articleÃ, it contains the text of the current publication in the public domain: Ã, citing id = "CITEREFChurch1911" class = "encyclopedic excerpts"> Church, George Earl (1911). "Amazon". In Chisholm, Hugh. EncyclopÃÆ'Â|dia Britannica . 1 (edition 11). Cambridge University Press. pp.Ã, 783-90 Ã,
• Wohl, Ellen (2011). Amazon: Dolphin Blushing River . World of Rivers . The University of Chicago Press.

src: shannonleegilstad.me

External links

• Information on Amazon from Extreme Knowledge
• Photography trips to the Amazon River from the mouth to its source
• Amazon Alive: Light & amp; Shadow documentary film about the Amazon river
• The Amazon River Ecosystem
• Research on the effects of the Amazon River in the Atlantic Ocean at Southern California University
• Geographical data is related to the Amazon River in OpenStreetMap

Source of the article : Wikipedia