Amazon river

Key Points • The Amazon River flows through Brazil, Colombia, and Peru but has a river basin that reaches into Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela. • While the source has not been verified, the mouth is in northeastern Brazil. It has an average discharge flow rate of 209,000m 3/s, the largest in the world. • The deepest river in South America, the Amazon has an average depth ranging between 66 to 160 feet; it cannot be waded across. While scientists debate whether the Amazon or the Nile River is truly the We’ll get to the bottom of this question and show you two answers that will be most helpful in discovering the truth about the river. By the time we’re done here, you’ll know just how deep this river runs! Where is the Amazon River? The Amazon River has the largest river basin on the planet. ©Curioso.Photography/Shutterstock.com The Amazon River is located in South America. Specifically, it flows through Peru, Colombia, and then Brazil. However, the Where is the Amazon River Located on a Map? One way to think about the length of the Amazon is that its western end is high in the Andes Mountains, within 100 miles (160 km) of the Pacific Ocean, but it empties into the Atlantic Ocean in northeastern Brazil. That’s across a continent! Imagine if the United States had a river running across the country from New York City to San Francisco — but that would be shorter at less than 3,000 miles while the Amazon is over 4,000 miles long! Where Is the Source of the Amazon River? The sourc...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions. • Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. • In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. • In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find. • In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history. • Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more. • While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today. • Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians. • Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! • Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space! © gustavofrazao/Fotolia The The main problem has to do with the Amazon’s start and end points—rather basic elements when determining length. For centuries the source of the Amazon has been questioned. In fact, even the definition of what constitutes a source has been debated—though most scientists agree it is the ...

One of the true natural wonders of the world, the Amazon River is an incredible stretch of water weaving through the Amazon rainforest of South America. For centuries it has been one of the most fascinating destinations for Facts About The Amazon River 1. 2. It is the largest in terms of the quantity of water that it transports, containing more water than the Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze combined. So much water in fact, that it delivers 55 million gallons of fresh water into the Atlantic ocean every second, or 17 billion metric tons every single day, which astonishingly equates to the amount of freshwater used by New York City every nine years! In fact it discharges more freshwater than the next seven largest rivers combined—a volume so great that it accounts for one-fifth of all the fresh water in the world’s oceans, and amazingly even a hundred miles out into the Atlantic, you could still drink the water over the side of your ship. 3. In 2006 geologists studying the speed at which the Amazon carried sediments out to sea found, to their surprise, that the oldest sediments they found were upstream of their source. They soon realized that, until the Cretaceous Period, 4. The first documented European to discover the Amazon River was Spanish conquistador Vicente Yanez Pinzon in March 1500, who first detected it when he was 200 miles (300 kilometers) out to sea. He noticed that he was sailing in freshwater and turned towards the shore in search of the source, where he then ...

The Amazon River is located in Amazon Rainforest in the northern portion of South America. It originates high in the Andes Mountains of Peru and flows eastwards on a meandering 4,000-mile (6,400 km) journey, roughly one-third of its length in Peru and two-thirds in Brazil, before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean on Brazil’s northeastern coast. That said the Amazon River has more than 1,100 tributaries — 17 of which themselves are over 930 miles (1,500 km) long — and so it can be argued that the Amazon River also flows in Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, and a small part of Venezuela too. Where is the Amazon River on a map? To help you better visualize where the Amazon River is please see the map of South America below. The green color is the Amazon Basin, the light blue lines the Amazon River’s tributaries and the longest dark blue line running horizontally is the main channel of the Amazon River. South America & The Amazon River To get the most accurate answer to where the Amazon River is located, we must ask ourselves where the Amazon River starts and ends exactly. A seemingly simple question I’m sure you’ll agree, but questions with surprisingly difficult and rather fascinating answers. Where Does The Amazon River Start? The question of where the Amazon River starts is one that has been fraught with debate for centuries and is why there is general confusion over the length of the Amazon. Lake Ticlla Cocha in the headwaters of the Apurimac River. Much of the confusion arises ...

The Amazon River Coming a close second after the Nile as the world’s longest river, the Amazon River sets the record in terms of the sheer volume of water that it carries – a mind-boggling averagedischarge of 219,000 m 3/sec of water. It is estimated that approximately one-sixth of all fresh water that drains into the world's oceans goes through the 320-km-wide delt of the Amazon, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. As the seasons change, so does the river. During the dry season, the width of the Amazon River can be 4 km to 5 km in places – and in the wet season, this can increase to 50 km! At the height of the wet season, the current can reach a speed of 7 km/hr. Major roles of the Amazon River As the drainage systemof the Amazon Basin, the Amazon River and its approximately 1,100 tributaries play major roles in the ecology of the basin. Before roads and airstrips started appearing in the basin, these waterways were the major access routes to the interior areas of Brazil and the northern half of South America. For example, the only way you can get to Iquitos, Peru, which is right on the Amazon River, is to board a plane or a boat. There are no roads to get there. Origins and course of the river The Amazon River has its source high in the Peruvian Andes, at an elevation of 5,598 m. There, at a mere 192 km from the Pacific Ocean where it once flowed into, the Amazon River begins as a small tributary called the Carhuasanta. As it heads east, it flows into and becomes the Horn...

The Amazon River Coming a close second after the Nile as the world’s longest river, the Amazon River sets the record in terms of the sheer volume of water that it carries – a mind-boggling averagedischarge of 219,000 m 3/sec of water. It is estimated that approximately one-sixth of all fresh water that drains into the world's oceans goes through the 320-km-wide delt of the Amazon, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. As the seasons change, so does the river. During the dry season, the width of the Amazon River can be 4 km to 5 km in places – and in the wet season, this can increase to 50 km! At the height of the wet season, the current can reach a speed of 7 km/hr. Major roles of the Amazon River As the drainage systemof the Amazon Basin, the Amazon River and its approximately 1,100 tributaries play major roles in the ecology of the basin. Before roads and airstrips started appearing in the basin, these waterways were the major access routes to the interior areas of Brazil and the northern half of South America. For example, the only way you can get to Iquitos, Peru, which is right on the Amazon River, is to board a plane or a boat. There are no roads to get there. Origins and course of the river The Amazon River has its source high in the Peruvian Andes, at an elevation of 5,598 m. There, at a mere 192 km from the Pacific Ocean where it once flowed into, the Amazon River begins as a small tributary called the Carhuasanta. As it heads east, it flows into and becomes the Horn...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions. • Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. • In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. • In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find. • In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history. • Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more. • While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today. • Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians. • Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century. Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! • Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space! © gustavofrazao/Fotolia The The main problem has to do with the Amazon’s start and end points—rather basic elements when determining length. For centuries the source of the Amazon has been questioned. In fact, even the definition of what constitutes a source has been debated—though most scientists agree it is the ...

The Amazon River is located in Amazon Rainforest in the northern portion of South America. It originates high in the Andes Mountains of Peru and flows eastwards on a meandering 4,000-mile (6,400 km) journey, roughly one-third of its length in Peru and two-thirds in Brazil, before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean on Brazil’s northeastern coast. That said the Amazon River has more than 1,100 tributaries — 17 of which themselves are over 930 miles (1,500 km) long — and so it can be argued that the Amazon River also flows in Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, and a small part of Venezuela too. Where is the Amazon River on a map? To help you better visualize where the Amazon River is please see the map of South America below. The green color is the Amazon Basin, the light blue lines the Amazon River’s tributaries and the longest dark blue line running horizontally is the main channel of the Amazon River. South America & The Amazon River To get the most accurate answer to where the Amazon River is located, we must ask ourselves where the Amazon River starts and ends exactly. A seemingly simple question I’m sure you’ll agree, but questions with surprisingly difficult and rather fascinating answers. Where Does The Amazon River Start? The question of where the Amazon River starts is one that has been fraught with debate for centuries and is why there is general confusion over the length of the Amazon. Lake Ticlla Cocha in the headwaters of the Apurimac River. Much of the confusion arises ...

One of the true natural wonders of the world, the Amazon River is an incredible stretch of water weaving through the Amazon rainforest of South America. For centuries it has been one of the most fascinating destinations for Facts About The Amazon River 1. 2. It is the largest in terms of the quantity of water that it transports, containing more water than the Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze combined. So much water in fact, that it delivers 55 million gallons of fresh water into the Atlantic ocean every second, or 17 billion metric tons every single day, which astonishingly equates to the amount of freshwater used by New York City every nine years! In fact it discharges more freshwater than the next seven largest rivers combined—a volume so great that it accounts for one-fifth of all the fresh water in the world’s oceans, and amazingly even a hundred miles out into the Atlantic, you could still drink the water over the side of your ship. 3. In 2006 geologists studying the speed at which the Amazon carried sediments out to sea found, to their surprise, that the oldest sediments they found were upstream of their source. They soon realized that, until the Cretaceous Period, 4. The first documented European to discover the Amazon River was Spanish conquistador Vicente Yanez Pinzon in March 1500, who first detected it when he was 200 miles (300 kilometers) out to sea. He noticed that he was sailing in freshwater and turned towards the shore in search of the source, where he then ...

Key Points • The Amazon River flows through Brazil, Colombia, and Peru but has a river basin that reaches into Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela. • While the source has not been verified, the mouth is in northeastern Brazil. It has an average discharge flow rate of 209,000m 3/s, the largest in the world. • The deepest river in South America, the Amazon has an average depth ranging between 66 to 160 feet; it cannot be waded across. While scientists debate whether the Amazon or the Nile River is truly the We’ll get to the bottom of this question and show you two answers that will be most helpful in discovering the truth about the river. By the time we’re done here, you’ll know just how deep this river runs! Where is the Amazon River? The Amazon River has the largest river basin on the planet. ©Curioso.Photography/Shutterstock.com The Amazon River is located in South America. Specifically, it flows through Peru, Colombia, and then Brazil. However, the Where is the Amazon River Located on a Map? One way to think about the length of the Amazon is that its western end is high in the Andes Mountains, within 100 miles (160 km) of the Pacific Ocean, but it empties into the Atlantic Ocean in northeastern Brazil. That’s across a continent! Imagine if the United States had a river running across the country from New York City to San Francisco — but that would be shorter at less than 3,000 miles while the Amazon is over 4,000 miles long! The Every so often, a new expedition takes place t...