Amazon_River

{{Geobox River

| name = Amazon
| other_name = Apurímac
| other_name1 = Ene
| other_name2 = Tambo
| other_name3 = Ucayali
| other_name4 = Amazonas
| other_name5 = Solimões

| map = Amazon river basin.png
| map_caption = Map showing the course of the Amazon, selected tributaries, and the approximate extent of its drainage area

| country = Peru
| country1 = Colombia
| country2 = Brazil
| country3 = Bolivia
| country4 = Ecuador
| country5 = Venezuela
| length = 6400
| length_round = -2
| length_note = approx.
| watershed = 7050000
| watershed_round = -4
| watershed_note = approx.
| discharge_location = mouth
| discharge_average = 219000
| discharge_round = -3
| discharge_average_note = approx.
| discharge_max_month =
| discharge_max =
| discharge_min_month =
| discharge_min =
| discharge1_location =
| discharge1_average =

| source_name = Apacheta cliff
| source_location = Nevado Mismi
| source_region = [[Arequipa Region|Arequipa]]
| source_country = Peru
| source_country1 =
| source_elevation = 5170
| source_lat_d = 15
| source_lat_m = 31
| source_lat_s = 05
| source_lat_NS = S
| source_long_d = 71
| source_long_m = 45
| source_long_s = 55
| source_long_EW = W

| mouth_name =
| mouth_location = Atlantic Ocean
| mouth_country = Brazil
| mouth_country1 =
| mouth_elevation = 0
| mouth_lat_d =
| mouth_lat_m =
| mouth_lat_s =
| mouth_lat_NS =
| mouth_long_d =
| mouth_long_m =
| mouth_long_s =
| mouth_long_EW =

| tributary_left = [[Marañón River|Marañón]]
| tributary_left1 = [[Japurá River|Japurá]]
| tributary_left2 = Rio Negro
| tributary_right = Purus
| tributary_right1 = [[Madeira River|Madeira]]
| tributary_right2 = Tapajós
| tributary_right3 = [[Xingu River|Xingu]]
| tributary_right4 = [[Tocantins River|Tocantins]]

| image = Mouths of amazon geocover 1990.png
| image_size =
| image_caption = Mouth of the Amazon River
}}
:''This article is about the river. For other uses, see [[Amazon (disambiguation)]]''

The '''Amazon River''' or '''River Amazon''' ({{lang-pt|Rio Amazonas}}; {{lang-es|Río Amazonas}}) of South America is the [[list of rivers by length|largest river]] in the world by volume, with a total river flow greater than the next top ten largest rivers flowing into the ocean combined.

The Amazon River accounts for approximately 1/5 of total world's river flow, and it has the largest [[drainage basin]] in the world. There is an [[#Dispute regarding length|ongoing dispute regarding its length]], and along with the [[Nile]] it is one of the contenders for the position as the longest river in the world. Because of its vast dimensions, it is sometimes called ''The River Sea'' (''o rio-mar'' in Portuguese), and at no point is it crossed by bridges.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571466/Amazon_(river).html|title= Amazon (river)|publisher=Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia|edition=2007
|accessdate=2007-08-12}}</ref> In 1500, Vicente Yañez Pinzón was the first European to sail into the river. Pinzón called the river flow "Río Santa María de la Mar Dulce", later shortened to "Mar Dulce" (sweet sea).

==Drainage basin==
The Amazon drains an area of some 6,915,000 square kilometres (2,670,000 sq mi), or some 40 percent of South America. It gathers its waters from 5 degrees north latitude to 20 degrees south [[latitude]]. Its most remote sources are found on the inter-[[Andes|Andean]] plateau, just a short distance from the [[Pacific Ocean]]. It has the biggest Drainage basin in the world.

The area covered by the water of the River and its tributaries more than triples over the course of a year. In an average dry season 110,000 [[square kilometre]]s (42,000 [[square mile|sq mi]]) of land are water-covered, while in the wet season the flooded area of the Amazon Basin rises to 350,000 square kilometres (135,000 sq mi).{{Fact|date=February 2007}} At its widest point the Amazon River can be 11 kilometres (7 mi) wide during the dry season, but during the rainy season when the Amazon floods the surrounding plains it can be up to 45 kilometres (28 mi) wide.

[[Image:Amazon-river-delta-NASA.jpg|thumb|right|A satellite image of the mouth of the Amazon River, looking south]]

The quantity of fresh water released by the Amazon to the [[Atlantic Ocean]] is enormous: up to 300,000 m³ per second in the rainy season. The Amazon is responsible for a fifth of the total volume of [[fresh water]] entering the oceans worldwide. Offshore of the mouth of the Amazon, [[potable]] water can be drawn from the ocean while still out of sight of the coastline, and the salinity of the ocean is notably lower a hundred miles out to sea. This area near the mouth of the Amazon is sometimes called a "freshwater sea."

==Origins of the river==
The Amazon has changed its course several times. In early [[Cenozoic]] times, before the uplifting of the [[Andes]], it flowed westward.<ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6080232.stm Amazon river 'switched direction']." Published [[24 October]] [[2006]]. Retrieved [[25 October]] [[2006]].</ref>

[[Image:Amazon origin at Mismi.jpg|thumb|left|The Amazon originates from the Apacheta cliff in Arequipa at the [[Nevado Mismi]], with a sole sign of a wooden cross.]]
Today, the Upper Amazon has a series of major river systems in [[Peru]] (many of which are alike in [[Ecuador]]) that flow North and South into the [[Marañón River|Marañón]] and [[Amazon River]]. Among others, these include the following rivers: [[Morona]], [[Pastaza]], [[Nucuray]], [[Urituyacu]], [[Chambira]], [[Tigre]], [[Nanay]], [[Napo]], [[Huallaga]], and [[Ucayali]]. The same as in the snow-crested [[Andes]] high above Lake Lauricocha in central Peru, the headstream of the Marañón River rises in the glaciers in what is known as the Nevado de Yarupa. Rushing through waterfalls and gorges in an area of the high jungle called the ''[[pongo (geography)|pongo]]s'', the Marañón River flows about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from west-central to northeast Peru before it combines with the [[Ucayali River]], just below the provincial town of [[Nauta]], to form the mighty Amazon River. The primary tributaries of the Marañón River are--from south to north--the Crisnejas, Chamayo, Urtcubamba, Cenepa, Santiago, Moroña, Pastaza, Huallaga, and Tiger Rivers (Cavero-Egusquiza 1941:49-51).The most distant source of the Amazon was firmly established in 1996<ref>[http://www.palkiewicz.com/ekspedycje/index.php?p=zrodl_amaz Source of the Amazon River Identificated (Jacek Palkiewicz)]</ref>, 2001 <ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2000/12/1221amazon.html Explorers Pinpoint Source of the Amazon (National Geographic News)]</ref> and 2007<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6759291.stm Amazon river 'longer than Nile' (BBC news)] (2007-06-16)</ref> as a glacial stream on a snowcapped 5,597 m (18,363 ft) peak called [[Nevado Mismi]] in the Peruvian [[Andes]], roughly 160 km (100 mi) west of Lake [[Titicaca]] and 700 km (430 mi) southeast of [[Lima, Peru|Lima]]. The waters from Nevado Mismi flow into the Quebradas [[Carhuasanta]] and Apacheta, which flow into the [[Río Apurímac]] which is a tributary of the [[Ucayali]] which later joins the [[Marañón River|Marañón]] to form the Amazon proper. [[Image:The Source of the Amazon River.jpg|thumb|right|Source of the Amazon]]

Formally, though, the union of the Ucayali and the Marañón form the [[Río Amazonas]], which changes its name to [[Solimões]] on the triple frontier between [[Peru]], [[Colombia]] and [[Brazil]], and later changes its name back to the Amazon only after it meets the [[Rio Negro (Amazon)|Rio Negro]] near [[Manaus]]. After the confluence of [[Río Apurímac]] and [[Ucayali]], the river leaves Andean terrain and is instead surrounded by [[flood plain]]. From this point to the [[Marañón River|Marañón]], some 1,600 km (990 mi), the forested banks are just out of water, and are inundated long before the river attains its maximum flood-line. The low river banks are interrupted by only a few hills, and the river enters the enormous [[Amazon Rainforest]].

The river systems and flood plains in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela whose waters drain into the ''Solimões'' and its tributaries are called the "Upper Amazon".

==Cousteau expedition==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=November 2007}}

Using an international team of twelve and bringing in expeditionary specialists from Germany, France, Argentina, Peru and the USA, [[Jean-Michel Cousteau]] put together resources and logistics to cover a thousand miles of unknown jungle.

The upper Amazon expedition (The Flying Expedition) included an Eastern-European multi-axled reticulated land rover, a float plane, Papagaiu for air support and reconnaissance, and a Peruvian Air Force high-elevation helicopter for the upper reaches of the [[Cordillera de Chilca]] in [[Peru]]. Expedition support bases were remote and needed to surmount language, terrain, and logistical difficulties as the mountain team made their way up [[Río Selinque]] to the flanks of [[Mount Mismi]], where Jean-Michel Cousteau dispatched a team of German alpinists to summit the 18,000-foot volcano. On their descent, the expedition found melt water tumbling into a deep fissure to create a stream flowing nearly fifty meters. Its depth was enough to float a kayak. On June 1982, assisted by pack llamas, kayaker Caril Ridley was brought to the sight and became the first person to run the origins of the Amazon. Later expeditions refined understanding of the river's many origins and flow to the Atlantic.

==Amazonian Rainforest==
{{main|Amazon Rainforest}}
The Amazon [[Rainforest]] begins from the eastern edge of the [[Andes]]. It is the largest rainforest in the world and is of great [[ecological]] significance, as its biomass is capable of absorbing enormous amounts of [[carbon dioxide]]. [[Conservation ethic|Conservation]] of the Amazon Rainforest has been a major issue in recent years.

The rainforest is supported by the extremely wet climate of the Amazon basin. The Amazon, and its hundreds of tributaries, flow slowly across the landscape, with an extremely shallow gradient sending them towards the sea: [[Manaus]], 1,600 km (1,000 mi) from the [[Atlantic]], is only 44 m (144 ft) above sea level.

The [[biodiversity]] within the rainforest is extraordinary: the region is home to at least 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammals. One fifth of all the world's species of birds can be found in the Amazon rainforest.

The diversity of plant species in the Amazon basin is the highest on Earth. Some experts estimate that one square kilometre may contain over 75,000 types of trees and 150,000 species of higher plants.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} One square kilometre of Amazon rainforest can contain about 90,000 tons of living plants.

==Flooding==
[[Image:Amazon-river-NASA.jpg|thumb|right|A [[NASA]] satellite image of a flooded portion of the river.]]
The average depth of the river in the height of the rainy season is 40 m (131 ft) and the average width can be nearly 40 km (25 mi){{Fact|date=February 2007}}. It starts to rise in November, and increases in volume until June, then falls until the end of October. The rise of the Negro branch is not synchronous; the rainy season does not commence in its valley until February or March. By June it is full, and then it begins to fall with the Amazon. The Madeira rises and falls two months earlier than the Amazon.

The main river (which is between approximately one and six miles wide) is navigable for large ocean steamers to [[Manaus]], 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) upriver from the mouth. Smaller ocean vessels of 3,000 tons<ref>[http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571466/Amazon.html Amazon] uk.encarta.msn.com. Retrieved [[1 October]] 2006.</ref> and 5.5 metres (18 ft) [[Draft (hull)|draft]] can reach as far as [[Iquitos, Peru]], 3,600 kilometres (2,240 mi) from the sea. Smaller riverboats can reach 780 kilometer (485 mi) higher as far as [[Achual Point]]. Beyond that, small boats frequently ascend to the [[Pongo de Manseriche]], just above Achual Point.

==Towards the sea==
The breadth of the Amazon in some places is as much as 6 km (4 mi) to 10 km (6 mi) from one bank to the other{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. At some points, for long distances, the river divides into two main streams with inland and lateral [[channel (geography)|channels]], all connected by a complicated system of natural [[canal]]s, cutting the low, flat igapo lands, which are never more than 5 m (16 ft) above low river, into many islands.

From the village of Canaria at the great bend of the Amazon to the Negro 1,000 km (600 mi) downstream, only very low land is found, resembling that at the mouth of the river. Vast areas of land in this region are submerged at high water, above which only the upper part of the trees of the sombre forests appear. Near the mouth of the Rio Negro to Serpa, nearly opposite the river Madeira, the banks of the Amazon are low, until approaching Manaus, they rise to become rolling hills. At Óbidos, a bluff 17 m (56 ft) above the river is backed by low hills. The lower Amazon seems to have once been a [[Headlands and bays|gulf]] of the [[Atlantic Ocean]], the waters of which washed the cliffs near Óbidos.

Only about 10% of the water discharged by the Amazon enters the mighty stream downstream of Óbidos, very little of which is from the northern slope of the valley. The drainage area of the Amazon basin above Óbidos is about 5 million km² (2 million mile²), and, below, only about 1 million km² (400,000 mile²), or around 20%, exclusive of the 1.4 million km² (600,000 mile²) of the Tocantins basin.

In the lower reaches of the river, the north bank consists of a series of steep, table-topped hills extending for about 240 km (149 mi) from opposite the mouth of the Xingu as far as [[Monte Alegre]]. These hills are cut down to a kind of [[Terrace (agriculture)|terrace]] which lies between them and the river.

Monte Alegre reaches an altitude of several hundred feet. On the south bank, above the Xingu, an almost-unbroken line of low [[Hill|bluffs]] bordering the flood-plain extends nearly to Santarem, in a series of gentle curves before they bend to the south-west, and, abutting upon the lower Tapajos, merge into the bluffs which form the terrace margin of the Tapajos river valley.

==Mouth of the river==
The Amazon [[estuary]] is some 330 kilometres (207 mi) wide:
[[Image:Mouths of amazon geocover 1990.png|thumb|right|Mouth of the Amazon River]]
The width of the mouth of the river is usually measured from [[Cabo do Norte]] to [[Punto Patijoca]]. But this includes the ocean outlet, 60 km (40 mi) wide, of the Para river, which should be deducted, as this stream is only the lower reach of the Tocantins. It also includes the ocean frontage of [[Marajó]], an island lying in the mouth of the Amazon. This means that the Amazon is wider at its mouth than the entire length of the [[Thames]] in [[England]].

==Tidal bore==
Following the coast, a little to the north of Cabo do Norte, and for 160 kilometres (99 mi) along its Guiana margin up the Amazon, is a belt of half-submerged islands and shallow sandbanks. Here the tidal phenomenon called the [[tidal bore|bore]], or ''[[pororoca]]'', occurs, where the depths are not over 7 metres (23 ft). The tidal bore starts with a roar, constantly increasing, and advances at the rate of from 15 km/h (9 mph) to 25 km/h (16 mph), with a breaking wall of water from 1.5 m (5 ft) to 4 m (13 ft) high. The bore is the reason the Amazon does not have a [[river delta|delta]]; the ocean rapidly carries away the vast volume of [[silt]] carried by the Amazon, making it impossible for a delta to grow. It also has a very large tide sometimes reaching 20 feet (6 m) and has become a popular spot for [[river surfing]].[http://fogonazos.blogspot.com/2007/03/pororoca-surfing-amazon.html]

[[Image:riverguama1.jpg|left|thumb|Amazon River at dawn]]

==Wildlife==
More than one third of all species in the world live in the [[Amazon Rainforest]], a giant tropical forest and river basin with an area that stretches more than 2.1 million square miles and is among the richest tropical forests in the world. Amazon river has over 3,000 recognized species of [[fish]] and that number is still growing. Some estimates go as high as 5,000.

The waters of the Amazon support a diverse range of wildlife. Along with the [[Orinoco]], the river is one of the main habitats of the [[Boto]], also known as the Amazon River Dolphin. The largest species of river dolphin, it can grow to lengths of up to 2.6 metres (9 ft).

Also present in large numbers are the notorious [[Piranha]], carnivorous fish which congregate in large schools, and may attack livestock and even humans. Although many experts believe their reputation for ferocity is unwarranted, a school of piranha was apparently responsible for the deaths of up to 300 people when their boat capsized near [[Óbidos, Pará|Óbidos]] in 1981. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} However, only a few species attack humans, and many are solely fish-eaters, and do not school.

The [[Bull Shark]] has been reported 2,220 miles (4000 km) up the Amazon River at [[Iquitos]] in [[Peru]]. The [[Arapaima]], or pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) is a South American tropical [[freshwater fish]]. It is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, reportedly with a maximum length in excess of 3 m (9.8 ft.) and weight up to 200 kg (440 lb.).

The [[Anaconda]] snake is found in shallow waters in the Amazon basin. One of the world's largest species of snake, the Anaconda spends most of its time in the water, with just its nostrils above the surface. Anacondas have been known to occasionally attack fishermen {{Fact|date=May 2007}}.

The river supports thousands of species of fish, as well as crabs, algea, and turtles.'''

==The Colonial Encounter and Amazonia==
During what many [[archaeologist]]s call the ''formative period'', Amazonian societies were deeply involved in the emergence of South America's highland [[agriculture|agrarian]] systems, and possibly contributed directly to the social and religious fabric constitutive of the [[Andean]] civilizational orders[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Empire].

For 350 years after the European ''discovery'' of the mighty Amazon by [[Vicente Yáñez Pinzón]], the Portuguese portion of the basin remained an untended former food gathering and planned agricultural landscape occupied by the [[Indigenous people]]s who survived the arrival of European diseases. There is ample evidence for large-scale, pre-Columbian social formations, including [[chiefdoms]], in many areas of Amazonia (particularly the inter-fluvial regions).

In what is currently [[Brazil]], [[Ecuador]], [[Bolivia]], [[Colombia]], [[Peru]], and [[Venezuela]] a number of [[colonial]] and [[religious]] settlements were established along the banks of primary rivers and tributaries for the purpose of trade, slaving and evangelization among the putatively [[savage]] [[indigenous people]]s of the vast rain forest.

The total population of the Brazilian portion of the Amazon basin in 1850 was perhaps 300,000, of whom about two-thirds comprised by Europeans and slaves, the slaves amounting to about 25,000. In Brazil, the principal commercial city, Para (now [[Belém]]), had from 10,000 to 12,000 inhabitants, including slaves. The town of Manáos, now [[Manaus]], at the mouth of the Rio Negro, had from 1,000 to 1,500 population. All the remaining villages, as far up as [[Tabatinga]], on the Brazilian frontier of Peru, were relatively small.

On [[September 6]] [[1850]], the emperor, [[Dom Pedro II]], sanctioned a law authorizing steam navigation on the Amazon, and gave Barão de Mauá ([[Irineu Evangilista de Sousa]]) the task of putting it into effect. He organized the "Compania de Navigacao e Commercio do Amazonas" at Rio de Janeiro in 1852; and in the following year it commenced operations with three small steamers, the ''Monarch'', the ''Marajó'' and ''Rio Negro''.

At first, navigation was principally confined to the main river; and even in 1857 a modification of the government contract only obliged the company to a monthly service between Pará and Manaus, with steamers of 200 tons cargo capacity, a second line to make six round voyages a year between Manaus and Tabatinga, and a third, two trips a month between Para and Cameta. This was the first step in opening up the vast interior.

The success of the venture called attention to the opportunities for economic exploitation of the Amazon, and a second company soon opened commerce on the Madeira, Purus and Negro; a third established a line between Pará and Manaus; and a fourth found it profitable to navigate some of the smaller streams. In that same period, the Amazonas Company was increasing its fleet. Meanwhile, private individuals were building and running small steam craft of their own on the main river as well as on many of its tributaries.

On [[July 31]] 1867 the government of Brazil, constantly pressed by the maritime powers and by the countries encircling the [[upper Amazon]] basin, especially [[Peru]], decreed the opening of the Amazon to all flags; but limited this to certain defined points: Tabatinga—on the Amazon; Cameta—on the Tocantins; Santarem—on the Tapajos; Borba—on the Madeira and Manáos—on the Rio Negro. The Brazilian decree took effect on [[7 September]] [[1867]].

Thanks in part to the [[mercantile]] development associated with [[steam boat]] navigation, coupled with the internationally driven demand for natural [[rubber]] (1880-1920), Manáos (now Manaus), Para ([[Brazil]]), and [[Iquitos]], [[Peru]] became thriving, cosmopolitan centers of commerce and spectacular—albeit illusory—''modern'' "urban growth". This was particularly the case for [[Iquitos]] during its late 19th and early 20th century ''Rubber Bonanza'' zenith when this dynamic boom-town was known abroad as the [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] of the Amazon.

The first direct foreign trade with Manáos was commenced around 1874. Local trade along the river was carried on by the English successors to the Amazonas Company—the Amazon Steam Navigation Company—as well as numerous small [[steamboats]], belonging to companies and firms engaged in the rubber trade, navigating the Negro, Madeira, Purfis and many other tributaries, such as the Marañón to ports as distant as [[Nauta]], [[Peru]].

By the turn of the 20th century, the principal exports of the Amazon Basin were [[Rubber|india-rubber]], [[cacao]], [[Brazil nut]]s and a few other products of minor importance, such as [[pelts]] and ''exotic'' forest produce ([[resin]]s, barks, woven [[hammocks]], prized bird [[feathers]], live animals, etc.) and extracted goods ([[lumber]], [[gold]], etc.).

==20th century concerns==
Four centuries after the European discovery of the Amazon river, the total cultivated area in its basin was probably less than 25 square miles (65 km²), excluding the limited and crudely cultivated areas among the mountains at its extreme headwaters. This situation changed dramatically during the 20th century.

[[Image:Manaus-Amazon-NASA.jpg|thumb|right|[[Manaus]], the largest city on the Amazon, as seen from a [[NASA]] satellite image, surrounded by the muddy Amazon River and the dark Rio Negro.]]

Wary of foreign exploitation of the nation's resources, Brazilian governments in the 1940s set out to develop the interior, away from the seaboard where foreigners owned large tracts of land. The original architect of this expansion was President [[Getúlio Vargas]], the demand for rubber from the Allied forces in [[World War II]] providing funding for the drive.

The construction of the new capital [[Brasilia]] in the interior in 1960 also contributed to the opening up of the Amazon basin. A large scale colonization program saw families from north-eastern Brazil relocated to the forests, encouraged by promises of cheap land. Many settlements grew along the road from Brasilia to [[Belém]], but rainforest soil proved difficult to cultivate.

Still, long-term development plans continued. Roads were cut through the forests, and in 1970, the work on Trans-Amazon highway network began. The network's three pioneering highways were completed within ten years, connecting all the major cities of the Brazilian Amazon interior.

=== Dispute regarding length ===

While debate as to whether the Amazon or the [[Nile]] is the world's longest river has gone on for many years, the historic consensus of geographic authorities has been to regard the Amazon as the second longest river in the world, with the Nile being the longest. However, the Amazon has been measured by different geographers as being anywhere between 6,259 [[kilometre]]s (3,889 [[mile|mi]]) and 6,800 kilometres (4,225 mi) long. The [[Nile]] River in Africa is reported to be anywhere from 5,499 kilometres (3,417 mi) to 6,690 kilometres (4,157 mi). The differences in these measurements often result from the use of different definitions.

A recent study by Brazilian scientists claims that the Amazon is actually longer than the Nile. Using [[Nevado Mismi]], which was labeled by the [[National Geographic Society]] as the Amazon's source back in 2001, these scientists have made new calculations of the Amazon's length. They now estimate that the Amazon is 65 miles longer than the Nile.<ref>http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070619-amazon-river.html</ref>

Regardless of the actual length, the Amazon carries by far the greatest volume of any of Earth's rivers.

[[Guido Gelli]], director of science at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ([[IBGE]]), told the Brazilian TV network [[Rede Globo|Globo]] in June 2007 that it could be considered as a fact that the Amazon was the longest river in the world. However, other geographers have had access to the same data since 2001, and a consensus has yet to emerge to support the claims of these Brazilian scientists.

===Major tributaries===

The Amazon has over 1,000 [[Tributary|tributaries]] in total, 17 of which are over 1,000 miles. Some of the more notable:

{|
|
* [[Branco River|Branco]]
* [[Casiquiare canal]]
* [[Huallaga River|Huallaga]]
* [[Putumayo|Putumayo (or Içá River)]]
* [[Javary]]
* [[Jurua]]
* [[Madeira River|Madeira]]
* [[Marañón River|Marañón]]
* [[Morona]]
* [[Nanay]]
* [[Napo River|Napo]]
|  ||
* [[Rio Negro (Amazon)|Negro]]
* [[Pastaza River|Pastaza]]
* [[Purus]]
* [[Río Tambo|Tambo]]
* [[Tapajós]]
* [[Tigre River|Tigre]]
* [[Tocantins River|Tocantins]]
* [[Trombetas]]
* [[Ucayali]]
* [[Xingu River|Xingu]]
* [[Yapura]]
|}

===Longest rivers in the Amazon system===
# 6,387 [[kilometre|km]] (3,969 [[mile|mi]]) - Amazon, South America
# 3,379 km (2,100 mi) - [[Purus]], [[Peru]] / [[Brazil]], (2,948 km) (3,210 km) {{Fact|date=March 2007}}
# 3,239 km (2,013 mi) - [[Madeira River|Madeira]], [[Bolivia]] / [[Brazil]]
# 2,820 km (1,752 mi) - [[Yapura]], [[Colombia]] / [[Brazil]]
# 2,750 km (1,709 mi) - [[Tocantins River|Tocantins]], [[Brazil]], (2,416 km) (2,640 km) {{Fact|date=March 2007}}
# 2,575 km (1,600 mi) - [[Araguaia River|Araguaia]], [[Brazil]] (tributary of Tocantins)
# 2,410 km (1,498 mi) - [[Juruá]], [[Peru]] / [[Brazil]]
# 2,250 km (1,398 mi) - [[Rio Negro (Amazon)|Negro]], South America
# 2,100 km (1,305 mi) - [[Xingu River|Xingu]], [[Brazil]]
# 1,900 km (1,181 mi) - [[Tapajós]], [[Brazil]]
# 1,749 km (1,087 mi) - [[Guaporé]], [[Brazil]] / [[Bolivia]] (tributary of Madeira)
# 1,575 km (979 mi) - [[Içá River|Içá (Putumayo)]], South America
# 1,415 km (879 mi) - [[Marañón River|Marañón]], [[Peru]]
# 1,300 km (808 mi) - [[Iriri River|Iriri]], [[Brazil]] (tributary of Xingu)
# 1,240 km (771 mi) - [[Juruena]], [[Brazil]] (tributary of Tapajós)
# 1,200 km (746 mi) - [[Tapajós]], [[Brazil]]
# 1,130 km (702 mi) - [[Madre de Dios River|Madre de Dios]], [[Peru]] / [[Bolivia]] (tributary of Madeira)
# 1,100 km (684 mi) - [[Huallaga River|Huallaga]], [[Peru]] (tributary of [[Marañón]])

==See also==
* [[Orders of magnitude (length)]]

==References==

{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{1911}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Amazon river}}
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7gpAy4ivZ0 Amazon dries up] Youtube ([[July 31]], [[2006]])
*[http://www.ppl.nl/bibliographies/all/?bibliography=water Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law] See '''Amazon River'''. Peace Palace Library
*[http://www.destination360.com/south-america/brazil/amazon.php Amazon River and Amazon Rainforest virtual tour]
*[http://www.extremescience.com/AmazonRiver.htm Information on the Amazon from Extreme Science]
*[http://www.gaiaamazonas.org/index.htm Fundación Gaia Amazonas] {{en icon}} {{es icon}}
*[http://www.underwatercolours.com/amazon/ss07.html Pictures of the Amazon River]
*[http://www.amazon-rainforest.org Amazon River and Amazon rainforest information]
*[http://www.mbarron.net/Amazon An Amazon River web site]
*[http://earthtrends.wri.org/maps_spatial/maps_detail_static.cfm?map_select=410&theme=2 Information and a map of the Amazon's watershed]
*[http://www.palkiewicz.com/ekspedycje/index.php?p=zrodl_amaz Expedition to the source 1996]
*[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2000/12/1221amazon.html Expedition to the source 2001]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6759291.stm Amazon river 'longer than Nile' (BBC News)]

[[Category:Amazon]]
[[Category:Amazon basin]]
[[Category:Upper Amazon]]
[[Category:Rivers of Brazil]]
[[Category:Rivers of Colombia]]
[[Category:Rivers of Peru]]

[[am:አማዞን ወንዝ]]
[[ar:أمازون (نهر)]]
[[an:Río Amazonas]]
[[ast:Ríu Amazones]]
[[az:Amazon çayı]]
[[bn:আমাজন নদী]]
[[zh-min-nan:Amazonas Hô]]
[[be:Рака Амазонка]]
[[be-x-old:Амазонка (рака)]]
[[bs:Amazon]]
[[br:Amazon]]
[[bg:Амазонка (река)]]
[[ca:Riu Amazones]]
[[cs:Amazonka]]
[[cy:Afon Amazonas]]
[[da:Amazonfloden]]
[[de:Amazonas]]
[[et:Amazonas]]
[[el:Αμαζόνιος]]
[[es:Río Amazonas]]
[[eo:Amazono (rivero)]]
[[eu:Amazonas]]
[[fa:رودخانه آمازون]]
[[fr:Fleuve Amazone]]
[[gl:Río Amazonas]]
[[ko:아마존 강]]
[[hi:आमेजन]]
[[hr:Amazona]]
[[io:Amazon]]
[[id:Sungai Amazon]]
[[is:Amasónfljót]]
[[it:Rio delle Amazzoni]]
[[he:אמזונאס (נהר)]]
[[ka:ამაზონი]]
[[sw:Amazonas (mto)]]
[[ku:Amazon]]
[[la:Amazonum flumen]]
[[lv:Amazone (upe)]]
[[lb:Amazonas]]
[[lt:Amazonė (upė)]]
[[lmo:Riu dii Amazzun]]
[[hu:Amazonas]]
[[ml:ആമസോണ്‍ നദി]]
[[nl:Amazone (rivier)]]
[[new:अमेजन खुसी]]
[[ja:アマゾン川]]
[[no:Amazonaselva]]
[[nn:Amazonaselva]]
[[pl:Amazonka (rzeka)]]
[[pt:Rio Amazonas]]
[[ro:Amazon (fluviu)]]
[[rm:Amazonas]]
[[qu:Amarumayu]]
[[ru:Амазонка]]
[[scn:Ciumi di l'Amazzoni]]
[[simple:Amazon River]]
[[sk:Amazon]]
[[sl:Amazonka]]
[[sr:Амазон]]
[[sh:Amazona]]
[[fi:Amazon (joki)]]
[[sv:Amazonfloden]]
[[ta:அமேசான் ஆறு]]
[[th:แม่น้ำแอมะซอน]]
[[vi:Sông Amazon]]
[[tr:Amazon Nehri]]
[[uk:Амазонка (річка)]]
[[ur:دریائے ایمیزون]]
[[zh:亚马孙河]]