The Amazon River: where is it?

Amazon is one of the most famous rivers in the world. Everyone knows where the Amazon is - it practically crosses South America. Its name was given to the river in 1542. It was then that the travelers were forced to fight the Indian soldiers, led by women. The Spaniards recalled this about female warriors - Amazons. It is for this reason that the waterway was called the "Amazon River" - Rio de las Amazonas. It is likely that in fact the warriors were not women, they just braided their hair in braids, which confused the Spanish travelers.

Another version claims that the name came from the Indian expression "big water" - Amazonas. This version is similar to the truth, only in the names of other rivers the Indians do not use this expression. Some researchers believe that "amasuna" is the name of the devastating tidal wave that occurs at the mouth of the river. The confirmation of this version is that the Indians so name the river only in the lower reaches, on the average it was called Saolimoins.

The modern name of the river is the Amazonas (in the Russian language - the Amazon). Where is this beautiful river, what are its main characteristics and what happens on its banks - all this is worth it to learn the river better.

Source

To find out where the Amazon River is located, it is worth starting with a study of its source. For a long time, it was not exactly known where the waters of the river originate, but now the answer to this question is found. The creek of Apachet, flowing from the glacier of Misimi Mountain - that's where the river is born. To say where the Amazon is - in which country - is difficult, because it flows through the territory of several states. However, it begins in Peru, in the Andes, at an altitude of more than 5 thousand meters.

A little lower than Apachete meets the creek of Caruascant, turning into a small river Loketu. On its way the rivulet is replenished with the waters of a huge number of different streams, gradually developing into the river Hornillos. Taking up the waters of several more rivers, a turbulent stream called Apurimac is born.

After going a long way, on the highlands the stream connects with Mantaro, turning into Ene. After merging with Perene and Urubamba, the upper course of the river becomes more calm and receives the name Ucayali. Downstream, a larger and more powerful Maranion flows into the river, originating in Lake Ljaurikoca.

Fused together, the rivers give birth to the one about which we are talking - the Amazon.

The mouth

To answer the question, where the mouth of the Amazon is located, is very simple - in Brazil. Despite the fact that the mouth of this river is the widest in the world, it is all in one country. The area of the Amazon delta is more than 100 thousand kilometers. Two of the largest branches of the river form the largest island that surrounds the fresh waters - Marajó. The mouth of the Amazon is one fifth of the fresh water of the whole planet.

When observing the river from space, the flow of water that the Amazon gives to the ocean can be discerned almost 400 kilometers from the shore.

River Regime

The main repository of fresh water on the planet is the Amazon. Where is its source, where does the river take such a huge amount of water? The river receives food from a large number of tributaries. In addition, the humid climate gives a large influx of water and due to precipitation. The upper course of the river feeds on the melting of the snow in the Andes.

The regime of the river is complex and interesting. Wherever the Amazon is, you can watch a full-flowing river all year round. Inflows from opposite sides of the river have different flooding times. This is explained by the fact that tributaries from the right bank are in the Southern Hemisphere, and from the left in the North. For this reason, floods near the right-bank tributaries occur in October-March, near the left-bank tributaries - in April-October. The result of these floods is flow smoothing.

The lower course of the Amazon River, where its source is located, largely depends on the tides of the ocean. The tidal wave rises almost one and a half kilometers upstream. During the rise of water flood huge areas along the banks of the river - this is the biggest flood. The width of the floodplain can reach 100 kilometers.

Where is it

It has long been known where the Amazon River is located - it flows, for the most part, in Brazil, but some parts of the basin seize the plots of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.

In the middle reaches, at an altitude of 3.5 thousand meters above sea level, the river runs along the picturesque shores of moist forests. On this site are often waterfalls, the current is turbulent, because the river has to break through an array of mountains. Descending from the mountain slopes, the Amazon spreads through the tropical jungle, along the wide Amazonian lowland.

The river flows along the equator, practically without changing its direction from west to east. Curiously, at a depth of 4 thousand meters under the riverbed , an underground river flows, feeding on groundwater - Hamza.

Navigability

The main channel retains navigation to the very foot of the Andes, which is more than 4 thousand kilometers from the source. Ocean vessels can ascend to the city of Manaus, located only 1690 kilometers from the mouth. The average length of all waterways is 25 thousand kilometers.

Closer to the source, the width of the Amazon reaches 15 kilometers - here you can not even see the opposite shore.

Animal world

Amazon, where there are many plants, is home to a huge number of fish and animals. Due to strong water spills, aquatic inhabitants occupy far from the last place in the huge list of animals of the Amazon. During major floods, you can observe a unique spectacle - along the river floating whole islands with many kinds of plants and animals that did not manage to escape by flight.

One of the most famous fish of the Amazon is the piranha. This fish can feel the blood at a great distance. Having learned that there is prey, the flock is sweeping to the target with great speed. These predators in the process of chasing reach the point that they throw themselves at each other. Even the largest animal caught in the water has no chance to save life - piranhas cope with the task in minutes.

Amazon is home to a large number of unique fish and animals that can not be found anywhere else on the planet. Scientists around the world are studying the banks of the river, but it is still impossible to say that everything is known about the river, its animal and vegetable world - the dense forests of the Amazon coast are very difficult to study.