Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. In 1560 another Spanish conquistador, Lope de Aguirre, may have made the second descent of the Amazon. Gradually, this inland sea became a massive swampy, freshwater lake and the marine inhabitants adapted to life in freshwater. A lively and informative new podcast for kids that the whole family will enjoy. Then distances from Lago Junín to several potential source points in the uppermost Mantaro river were measured, which enabled them to determine that the Cordillera Rumi Cruz was the most distant source of water in the Mantaro basin (and therefore in the entire Amazon basin). We respect your privacy and will not give your contact information to any third parties. By the time he and his men reached another village, many of them were sick from hunger and eating "noxious plants", and near death. [25] Pinzón called the stream Río Santa María del Mar Dulce, later shortened to Mar Dulce, literally, sweet sea, because of its freshwater pushing out into the ocean. [67] The boto is the subject of a legend in Brazil about a dolphin that turns into a man and seduces maidens by the riverside. In addition, other expeditions have subsequently proposed different sources for the Amazon. Most of the time, the crossing can be done by a ferry. The Amazon River is intricately connected to the delicate ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest — the largest rainforest on Earth, covering approximately two-thirds of the Amazon River basin. The Amazon is navigable from the ocean to Peru. 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, Purús, and Negro; a third established a line between Pará and Manaus, and a fourth found it profitable to navigate some of the smaller streams. Until the 1970s, it was thought that the Marañón River was the source of the Amazon. Individual gigantic trees, called emergents, peak out from the canopy, creating the emergent layer. Most scientists believe the South American river is at least 4,000 miles (6,400 km) long—still shorter than the Nile, which is widely held to be the world’s longest river at about 4,132 miles (6,650 km). The rise of the Andes and the linkage of the Brazilian and Guyana bedrock shields,[clarification needed] blocked the river and caused the Amazon Basin to become a vast inland sea. Recently, metagenomics has provided answers to what kind of microbes inhabit the river. They are best represented by the Marajoara culture. Other catfish 'walk' overland on their ventral fins,[77] while the kumakuma (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum), aka piraiba or "goliath catfish", can reach 3.6 metres (12 ft) in length and 200 kilograms (440 lb) in weight. However, De Orellana missed the confluence (probably with the Aguarico) where he was searching supplies for his men. The tides of the Atlantic generate a wave that reaches into the Amazon river. In 1851 Iquitos had a population of 200, and by 1900 its population reached 20,000. However, their calculations meant that the Nile is still about 90 miles (145 km) shorter than the Amazon—making the latter the longest river. There are no bridges across the entire width of the river. Although the Ucayali–Marañón confluence is the point at which most geographers place the beginning of the Amazon River proper, in Brazil the river is known at this point as the Solimões das Águas. One characteristic of the Amazon river is the Brazo Casiquiare, a water connection to the Orinoco river into Venezuela, that connects the two basins. Orellana offered and was ordered to follow the Napo River, then known as Río de la Canela ("Cinnamon River") and return with food for the party. [31], On 6 September 1850, Emperor Pedro II of Brazil sanctioned a law authorizing steam navigation on the Amazon and gave the Viscount of Mauá (Irineu Evangelista de Sousa) the task of putting it into effect. "They also live in a fast current (North Brazil Current) that likely keeps them from getting too covered with mud, but it may also deliver food particles at a high rate, so the reef animals can suspension feed. They are best represented by the Marajoara culture. [52] The river pushes a vast plume of fresh water into the ocean. [7] There are several factors that can affect these measurements, such as the position of the geographical source and the mouth, the scale of measurement, and the length measuring techniques (for details see also List of rivers by length). This created dark soil areas known as terra preta de índio ("Indian dark earth"). If we are to accept the Brazilian scientists’ theory that the Amazon River is the longest in the world, it would mean that the mouth can be found on the south side of Marajó Island. Large portions of the Trans-Amazonian and its accessory roads, such as BR-319 (Manaus-Porto Velho), are derelict and impassable in the rainy season. The total drainage area of the Amazon River is 2.7 million square miles. Another Spanish explorer, Francisco de Orellana, was the first European to travel from the origins of the upstream river basins, situated in the Andes, to the mouth of the river. Its population is limited to freshwater habitats, and, unlike other manatees, it does not venture into salt water. The Pará and the Amazon are connected by a series of river channels called furos near the town of Breves; between them lies Marajó, the world's largest combined river/sea island. The river and its basin are home to many unique species of animals, trees and plants. Historia del Peru, Editorial Lexus. Fringed on either side by the most staggering rainforest of the planet, the river is nothing but impressive. Contos continued downstream to the ocean and finished the first complete descent of the Amazon river from its newly identified source (finishing November 2012), a journey repeated by two groups after the news spread.[45]. This resulted in the development of "Operation Amazon", an economic development project that brought large-scale agriculture and ranching to Amazonia. The dolphins use echolocation to navigate and hunt in the river's tricky depths. True cinnamon (Cinnamomum Verum) is not native to South America. After forming the border between Colombia and Venezuela for 260 km the Rio Negro reaches the Piedra del Cocuy , an igneous rock formation from the Precambrian era, belonging to the Guyana Shield . [38], Although the Amazon river remains undammed, around 412 dams are in operation in the Amazon's tributary rivers. "The coolest thing about these reefs is that there are corals living at least part of their year in the dark, below the turbid Amazon plume," she told Live Science.
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