South America is a continent washed by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and the Caribbean seas. The area of ​​the continent ranks 4th in the world, and South America is also ranked 4th in population.
South America, where the Amazon flows, is famous for its wealth of rivers and lakes. In South America, in the area of ​​the Amazon River, tropical and sub-tropical tropical climate. The continent is considered the wettest on the planet.
The Parana and Orinoco, some of the largest rivers in the world, flow here. But the Amazon River is considered the longest in the world. The source of the Amazon is the confluence of the Ucayali and Marañon rivers. Its area is approximately equal to the area of ​​Australia.
The Amazon, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean, is numbered among the thousand best places world according to many experts.
The largest tributaries: Isa, Tarapua.
The river regime depends on the season of the year. The river is mainly fed by rain. In winter it becomes less full-flowing river, in summer the mouth is full of water.
The main ports of the Amazon: Belem, Obilus, Manaus, Santarem.
The depth of the Amazon River is 100 meters on average.
The Amazon is considered one of the main attractions South America.

At the origins of the Amazon

The Amazon begins its journey at the confluence of two rivers: the Marañon and the Ucayali. The Marañon is a Peruvian river more than 2,000 kilometers long. It was named after the captain who first discovered navigation in this place. It begins its flow in Lake Patkoch. The Ucayali is a tributary of the Amazon, reaching a length of 1,771 kilometers. Flows into Peru. The source of the Ucayali is the confluence of the Apurimac and Urubamba rivers.

Amazon River on the map

The Amazon River is clearly visible on the map; it is impossible not to notice it.
The river flows mainly in Brazil, but small parts flow in the regions of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. The Amazon River flows through the Amazon Plain, a huge lowland, the largest on planet Earth.
The source of the Amazon begins in the Andes region of Peru. During the day the hot sun melts the snow, and melt water running from the mountains down to the rainforests. The mouth of the Amazon is located at the latitude of the Equator, and therefore nature changes.
The river delta is located in the northern part of South America.

History of the discovery of the Amazon

Based on the course World history, it can be argued that the first observations of the Amazon in South America were recorded in the reports of Juan de San Martin and Antonio de Lebrija, traveling to the shores of the continent together with Jimenez de Quesada. The latter believed that the Amazons lived in South America - a matriarchal tribe, and the main one was called Harativa.
Francisco de Orellana is considered to be the discoverer of the Amazon. This happened in the summer of 1542, when he, mistakenly taking men with long hair for the Amazons, entered into battle with them. Initially, he wanted to name the river in his honor, but changed his mind and decided to give it a different name. According to legend, the river was named after brave warriors, fearless women who fought alongside men.

Amazon River Delta

The Atlantic Ocean behaves like a master when entering the Amazon, which is why it was nicknamed the “river-sea.” It ranks first in the world in terms of length among all the rivers in the world. Previously, the Nile River was considered the longest river.
The Amazon Delta can reach a width of 325,000 meters. Some geographers argue about the size of the river.
The oldest settlement of peoples recorded by scientists formed in the Amazon delta about 10,000 years ago. The University of Bern worked on the research, conducting chemical analyzes of human remains.
The delta territory is cut by islands and straits. The estuary extends deep into South America due to strong ocean tides.

Amazon wildlife

The fauna of the Amazon River is famous for its diversity and heterogeneity. There are so many species of underwater inhabitants here that we can confidently say that there are much more of them than in some oceans and seas.

Here lives one of the most aggressive fish, whose behavior is noted in many horror films - piranha.
Even a day is not enough to list all the inhabitants of this region. The great Amazon River and its tributaries are home to more than several thousand species of reptiles and exotic mammals (manatee, giant otter, crocodile caiman). Fish never cease to amaze with their agility and unusual way of survival; for example, the arowana, reaching more than 100 centimeters, jumps out of the water to chase bugs that live on the branches of coastal trees.
The world of birds amazes with its extraordinary diversity. Krax, simply called tree chickens, live in trees. Their nesting site is permanent: they build a nest and hatch chicks mainly in trees. Larvae eaters, small birds, reaching 0.33 meters, black and blue with a purple tint. More than 10 birds build a nest together in trees at a height of 170-190 centimeters. The tanager, a bird with colorful plumage, lives on the tops of tropical trees. The structure of the beak allows the bird to eat only soft seeds, fruits and insects. The female lays about 5 eggs and incubates them for an average of 14 days. The female and male take care of the offspring.

Freshwater manatee - rare view mammal, living in the Amazon and is a subtropical mammal. Despite its impressive size, it does not have a thick layer of fat, and therefore can only live in warm tropical waters. Their food is juicy algae, which they consume up to 18 kilograms per day. They are characterized by a solitary lifestyle, although sometimes they gather in flocks, but only in mating season. The bond between mother and calf is inextricable throughout life.
An equally unusual species of animal that lives in the river is the pink dolphin or ini. Their young are bluish-gray but turn pink as they mature. Inias are predators, and therefore do not mind eating dangerous piranhas and other fish. Pink dolphins have high intelligence: they take care of each other, unite in schools with each other, as well as with other species of mammals.

The capybara is the largest rodent in the world, reaching 70 kilograms as an adult. It lives in South America, but the most favorable areas are around the banks of the Amazon. It feeds on lush tropical vegetation, tree fruits, and aquatic plants. They live in groups. The enemies of capybaras in the wild are crocodiles, caimans, anacondas, ocelots, jaguars, wild dogs. They escape from land predators by diving into the water.
Amazon sloths are non-toothed mammals that live in tropical forests. The length of their claws in some cases reaches 8 cm, when the body length is only 7-8 times greater. The most common of all subspecies of sloths is the aye-aye. Its neck consists of 9 cervical vertebrae and is used by the animal to comfortably eat succulent leaves. So, they have the ability to turn their head half a turn. Their color is gray-brown. All types of sloths have one common feature— their cover grows from bottom to top, and not vice versa, as usual.

Paki is a large rodent primarily found in the tropics and subtropics of South America. Its average weight is 8 kilograms. Their legs are thick, with hooves. This representative of rodents lives close to water, digging holes up to 200 centimeters deep. In case of danger, they escape in the water. Packs also move well through trees. Their diet consists of leaves and fruits, especially mangoes and avocados.

Marguay is a representative of the felines. It looks like a mini version of an ocelot. Their habitat is Central and South America east of the Andes. They live alone and are active only at night. Their diet consists of primates, small birds, and rodents. The margi's lifestyle depends on the forest: they spend their entire lives in trees. Like a squirrel, they are able to climb branches due to the structure of their body.

Collared peccaries are an ungulate animal 85 centimeters long and weighing up to 29 kilograms. They feed mainly on grass, fruits, roots, bulbs, sometimes lizards, insects, carrion, beans, eggs and small snakes. They are characterized by life in groups: they live in herds of up to 15 individuals. They prefer to live and sleep together, while old and sick animals prefer to leave the herd and die alone. Both females and males defend their territory very jealously. Externally, males do not differ from females in color and size. Despite the high mortality rate among individuals, they can live up to 24 years in captivity. Collared peccaries easily adapt to living with humans in an urban environment. Previously destroyed in large quantities for the sake of skin and meat. In different regions of their habitat, hunting rules are established differently. For example, in Peru there is a ban on killing collared peccaries, and in Brazil the sale of a limited number of animal skins is allowed.

The largest representative of snakes, the anaconda, lives in the waters of the Amazon. Its dimensions are impressive: an adult reaches a length of 5 meters and a weight of up to 70 kg. The anaconda is completely non-venomous, but its grip and teeth can cause serious injury to humans. They prefer the tropical climate of South America as their habitat. Due to the inaccessibility of the place of life, it is not easy for scientists to count the number of individuals. In any case, the status of "Endangered" was not listed. In captivity they live from 4 to 6 years, although sometimes the life expectancy was 25 years. Anacondas are characterized by water environment. Here she catches fish and aquatic animals. Prefers to eat agoutis, waterfowl, capybaras, turtles, and tegus. During times of drought, the snake hibernates and only wakes up when the rains return. Cases have been observed when an anaconda rubs against the bottom of the river and thereby removes its old skin.

Anaconda is an ovoviviparous snake. On average, one individual bears up to 35 baby snakes. The largest snake on planet Earth has virtually no enemies in natural environment a habitat. She can only sometimes become a victim of caimans, jaguars, and pumas. As a rule, these are cubs, males weakened by mating and elderly individuals. The anaconda often settles near human activity and attacks dogs, cats and livestock. The only case of a human being eaten was the death of a small Indian teenage boy.

The animal world of the Amazon never ceases to amaze with its beauty and diversity. The animals described above are only a small part of the abundance of all species living in the vast Amazon.

Amazon wildlife. Cradle of Life

The Amazon is called the world's most water-bearing river because it carries one-fifth of the world's fresh water into the ocean. The water flow is so huge that when it flows into the Atlantic Ocean, the waters of the Amazon change their color and salt composition. This continues for 320 kilometers. Even by other measures, the Amazon is the greatest river and also one of the longest rivers in the world. The Amazon flows through South America, its beginning is in the Andes in Peru. The river ends its path in the Atlantic Ocean from Brazil. Various sources say that the length of the Amazon varies between 6259-6800 kilometers. It allows you to get acquainted with real natural wonders and learn interesting facts. Compare with nature.

The Amazon River consists of a large number of rivers and forests that cross half of Brazil and some neighboring countries. The basin of this river is truly the largest in the world - 7.2 million square kilometers. This also applies to water content. The Amazon is formed by the confluence of the Ucayali and Marañon rivers. From the source, the length of Marañon reaches 6,400 kilometers, but the length of Ucayali is even greater - 7 thousand kilometers. The Amazon ends its path in the Atlantic Ocean, thus forming the largest inland delta in the world - more than one hundred thousand square kilometers. Funnel-shaped mouths are formed - these are branches that cover the huge island of Marajo. Look here where it is.

According to some reports, the Amazon received its name thanks to the Spanish conquistadors, they fought on the coast mighty river with the Indians. The conquistadors were amazed by the fearlessness of Indian women who fought equally with men. The Spaniards, looking at the strong and brave warriors, remembered the legends about the Amazons. This is how the mighty river got its name.

History of the discovery of the Amazon

In the forties of the sixteenth century, no one had heard of the Amazons. After all, by this time the era of matriarchy had long ended, male power had been established everywhere. Such an attitude towards ancient legends cost the Spanish conquistadors dearly. And at that time they became famous for their pathological greed, unprincipledness and cruelty, especially in South America. One detachment of such conquistadors, led by Francisco de Orellana, set off towards the South American continent in 1541. He decided to cross the mainland and reach the shores of the Atlantic.

At first, the Spaniards walked through the jungle, but soon reached the shores big river Having built boats, they sailed along it. From time to time, they encountered villages on their way. The Spanish invaders immediately landed on shore to check the financial status of the people and inform them that they were now subjects of the Spanish crown. A long and difficult journey, accompanied by a monotonous landscape, finally led them in 1542 to a large village, which stretched along the banks of a wide river. The king's servants climbed onto the high platform and looked around; in the distance they saw the figures of puny, long-haired Indians. And the stern conquistadors set off towards these natives.

Further events took place in the shameful pages of the history of the Spanish kingdom, as well as the entire male family. The Indians did not want to share their material wealth, and certainly not recognize the power of the Spanish king. Moreover, they did not want strangers to remain on their territory. The fearless conquistadors, after a fierce and short skirmish, fled shamefully. Since the opponents were mostly women, the defeat became doubly offensive. Women rushed into battle without men, their courage did not experience the support of the opposite sex.

Although the Spaniard Francisco tried a couple more times to defeat these natives, the resistance of the women again prevailed. Their rage was so strong that the Spanish subjects hastily retreated. Having licked their wounds and counted their losses, the Spaniards couldn’t help but admire the courage of the women of this impenetrable jungle. When the journey ended, Francisco de Orellana gave the river the name Amazon, because such brave women lived here. Everyone liked this name. And in 1553, when the Spanish priest, historian and geographer Cieza de Leona published his book, he also used this name. Soon the official name of this deep-flowing river in the world became the Amazon.

Amazon wildlife

Thanks to similar climatic conditions, the Amazon is home to a wide variety of different animals. Some species of river inhabitants are found only in the Amazon River. Among predatory fish, sharks are especially worth highlighting. More often, we're talking about about the blunt-nosed shark, which is also called the bull shark. The entire shark is about three hundred kilograms, and its size reaches more than three meters. Although blunt shark can attack a person, however, due to his bony constitution, such food is not a priority for him.

The Amazon is also popular for its bloodthirsty piranhas. These fish have one distinctive feature - their teeth. What gives fish a deadly grip, so much so that they can even bite through a stick. What can we say about meat. It only takes a few minutes for piranhas to devour an entire horse or pig, leaving only the skeleton behind. Amazonian dolphins, which are of medium size, effectively fight piranhas. Therefore, piranhas cannot be called the masters of the Amazon. After all, there are caimans (alligators) here who love to feast on these small predators.

In total, the river is home to approximately 2,500 species of different fish. It is worth immediately noting the electric eel. Such a snake-like creature reaches two meters in length, and the voltage can reach 300 volts. There is a large abundance of ornamental fish in the river. Most of them can be seen in home aquariums around the world. For example, guppies and swordtails are familiar on all continents.

The Queen of Rivers can truly be proud of her wealth underwater world, because such a terrible creature as the river anaconda lives here. The length of the world's largest water boa reaches eight to nine meters. The anaconda has no opponents, because it can destroy both the jaguar and the caiman. Death grip, lightning throw of the snake strikes any opponent. Local residents make up many legends and stories about anacondas, of course, many of them are simply beautiful fairy tales.

Some Europeans call the anaconda a safe animal; according to them, brave travelers defeated the anaconda by simply stunning it. However, there is no confirmation of this yet.

Source and delta of the Amazon

Today, the great Amazon River is considered the longest; only some time ago this title belonged to the Nile River, whose length reached almost 6,700 kilometers. At that time, it seemed that no other river could surpass the Nile in this parameter. The Amazon River was in second place, with a length of 6,400 kilometers. The Amazon began from a group of lakes that were located in Peruvian waters. Jesuit Samuel Fritz declared a similar location for the source of the Amazon River back in the 18th century. Then he was supported by Antonia Raymond, an Italian naturalist. According to his statement, the mighty river begins its journey in the Cordillera Raura.

From here flows the mountain river Marañon, the rapid flows of which reach Pongdo de Manceres. This is where the waters become slow and majestic river, which slowly follows to the east. For 1800 kilometers, the river flows alone. Only then does it intersect with the Ucayali River. These two streams reunite and become the great Amazon River, which ends its journey in the Atlantic Ocean.

Initially, the source of the Amazon River was the main tributary Marañon. Logically, one can decide that the issue is resolved and closed. But everything turned out wrong. Colonel Gerardo Dianderas told Peru in 1934 Geographical Society, that the Ucayali River should be considered the priority river, and not the Marañon. Ucayali begins on the mountainside of Huagra. The venerable researchers were not surprised by his passionate speeches, although the colonel argued quite reasonably. The size of the Ucayali River is much smaller than the Marañon, which is a large navigable river. Thanks to a series of tests, the great river on the map was moved further east, so it became significantly longer.

The Amazon delta has a huge area - one hundred thousand square kilometers, with a width of two hundred kilometers. There are many channels and straits, where there are a large number of islands. The Amazon Delta does not reach the waters Atlantic Ocean, this moment can be explained by powerful ocean tides coming into conflict with powerful river currents.

There are many surprises on the great Amazon River that leave people confused and bewildered. The unique flora and fauna of the Amazon attracts a large number of students here.

The Amazon (port. Amazonas) is a river in South America, the largest in the world in terms of basin size, full flow and length of the river system. Formed by the confluence of the Marañon and Ucayali rivers. The length of Marañon from the source is 6400 km, Ucayali is over 7000 km. The Amazon is also fed by numerous tributaries; about 20 of them are more than 1500 km long. The most significant tributaries: on the right - Jurua, Purus, Madeira, Tapajos, Xingu, Tocantins; on the left - Isa, Japura, Rio Negru.
Together with its tributaries, the Amazon forms a system of inland waterways with a total length of more than 25 thousand km. The Amazon is a deep-sea river. At the point where it flows into the ocean, its depth reaches 100 meters and very slowly decreases its value upstream. Even at a distance of 3000 km from the mouth, the water thickness reaches 20 meters, so for ocean-going ships, the waters of this river are their home. The last river port accepting sea vessels is in the city of Manaus, 1700 km away. from the mouth. River water transport darts back and forth across the Amazon over a vast distance of 4,300 km. Main ports (from bottom to top): Belem, Santarem, Obidus, Manaus (Brazil), Iquitos (Peru).

The river is located in the north of South America, begins its journey from the Andes in Peru and ends in the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil. The length of the Amazon ranges from 6259 to 6800 km according to various sources. The Amazon River and its tributaries provide 20% of all fresh water in the world. Of the 20 longest rivers in the world, 10 are in the Amazon Basin.
The Amazon was discovered by the conquistador Francisco de Orellana, the first European to cross South America in its widest part. In the summer of 1542, his detachment
allegedly saw a tribe of legendary Amazons and entered into battle with them. Today it is believed that these were either Indian women who fought alongside men, or squire-mistresses, or simply long-haired Indians whom the Spaniards mistook for women. Initially, de Orellana wanted to name the river after himself, but after the battle he settled on the “Amazon” option.
Most of the Amazon basin belongs to Brazil, the southwestern and western regions belong to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Flowing mostly through the Amazon Lowland in a sublatitudinal direction near the equator, the Amazon flows into the Atlantic Ocean, forming the world's largest delta.
The Amazon River is the most water-bearing river in the world, carrying one-fifth of the world's fresh water to the ocean. The flow of water is so huge that, pouring into the Atlantic Ocean, the Amazon changes the salt composition and color of the ocean over a distance of 320 kilometers.
The abundance of the Amazon is explained by the fact that its northern and southern tributaries are located in different hemispheres; Accordingly, floods occur in different times year: on the right tributaries - from October to April (summer season in Southern Hemisphere), on the left - from April to October (summer season in the Northern Hemisphere).

During the dry season, the Amazon River reaches a width of 11 kilometers, covering 110 thousand square meters with water. km, and during the rainy season it increases three times, covering 350 thousand square meters. km and spreading over 40 km or more.
Another achievement of the Amazon is the mouth of the river, the largest delta in the world, the width of which reaches 325 km. The Amazon Delta does not protrude into the waters of the Atlantic, but, on the contrary, is shifted inland. This is most likely due to the powerful ocean tides, which constantly clash with the powerful currents of the river. In this struggle, the cosmic forces of the Moon prevail over the forces earth's surface. Tide begins to squeeze fresh water - drives it back into the mouth.
The result of such opposition is a huge shaft of water, which reaches a height of four meters. It rolls in a wide front upstream at a speed of 25 km/h. The height of the wave gradually decreases, the speed decreases, but this happens far from the border with the ocean. The impact of the tide is felt even more than 1000 km from the river mouth.
Here the fresh stream is so great that it dilutes sea ​​salt almost 300 km. from the mouth. This attracts many species of sharks to the river, which you don’t feed with bread, but let them flounder in fresh water. These terrible predators rise 3,500 km upstream in the Amazon.
The rainy season here begins in March and lasts until May. Heavy rainfall causes river flooding. In the Amazon, the water level rises by 20 meters, flooding everything around for tens of kilometers. The flood lasts 120 days, then the river retreats to its original banks, sometimes changing its course in some places.

Flora and fauna of the Amazon

Essentially, the Amazon is jungle and swamps that stretch parallel to the equator, so throughout the lowlands climatic conditions almost identical. The temperature here is high and stable. The temperature stays at 25-28° Celsius all year round. Even at night, the temperature almost never drops below 20° Celsius.
The flora that lives here is only 30% studied by scientists. 25% of all medicinal substances in the world that are used in medicine are extracted from plants in the Amazon forest. 1800 species of birds, 250 different mammals, 1500 various types fish - all this makes up the flora and fauna of the Amazon.
There are many secrets hidden in the forests: even today, many of the large tributaries of the Amazon remain unexplored. Of the approximately 15,000 species of Amazonian animals, thousands of birds and fish, as well as hundreds of mammals, are unclassified. An approximate list of animal species, some known, others rare, and others on the verge of extinction, includes the jaguar, tapir, peccary, spider monkey, sloth, armadillo, Caiman crocodile, freshwater dolphin, boa, anaconda.
Forest birds include toucan, parrot, macaw, calibri, and gaviao. Among insects, there are more than 1,800 species of butterflies and over 200 species of mosquitoes. Fish such as piranha, tucunare, pyraracu, anuana, piraiba, porace (electric eel) exist in such diversity that biologists cannot identify the catch in the markets of Belem.

Hamza underground river

According to the Department of Geophysics of the Brazilian National Observatory, an underground river fed by groundwater flows in the same direction as the Amazon, but at a depth of 4 thousand meters. Its flow is estimated at 3 thousand m³/s.
The river, originating in the foothills of the Andes, is 6 thousand kilometers long and stretches from west to east to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean almost under the Amazon River basin. This scientific discovery became public in August 2011 after a report made at a meeting of the Brazilian Geophysical Society in Rio de Janeiro. The river is unofficially named Hamza (port. Rio Hamza) in honor of the pioneering scientist Valiya Hamza (port. V. Hamza), born in India, who spent more than 45 years exploring the river.
The study found that, with the exception of flow direction, the Amazon (aboveground) and Hamza (underground) rivers have significantly different characteristics, the most obvious of which are their width and flow speed. While the width of the Amazon River varies from one to one hundred kilometers, the underground Hamza River reaches a width of 200-400 kilometers. However, the flow speed in the Amazon is five meters per second, and the speed in the underground river does not exceed 1 millimeter per second.
So, the Hamza River flows extremely slowly at a depth of about 4 thousand meters underground through porous soils parallel to the Amazon. According to preliminary calculations, the width of the Hamza reaches 400 km, and the water flow is approximately 3900 m³/s. The speed of the Hamza current is only a few meters per year. This is even slower than glaciers move, so it can be called a river rather conditionally. The Hamza flows into the Atlantic Ocean at great depths and the water of the Hamza River has high level salinity.




So, is this Great Amazon River the longest river on our planet? The Brazilian National Center for Space Research (INPE) states that the Amazon is the longest river in the world. The center's experts studied the waterway flowing in the north of the South American continent using satellite data. They have solved one of geography's greatest mysteries by finding the birthplace of a river that crosses Peru, Colombia and Brazil before reaching the Atlantic Ocean. This point is located in the mountains in the south of Peru, and not in the north of the country, as previously thought. At the same time, scientists installed several satellite beacons, which greatly facilitated the task for experts from INPE. Now, according to the National Center for Space Research, the length of the Amazon is 6992.06 km, while the Nile flowing in Africa is 140 km shorter (6852.15 km). So this makes the South American river not only the deepest, but also the longest in the world. Until this moment, the Amazon was officially recognized as the deepest river, but in length it was always considered second after the Nile (Egypt).

According to materials. latino-america.ru

230 km northeast of Lima, from Lake Lavricoja on the flat hills of Bombon (4,300 m), stretching between the Western and Eastern; first it flows in meanders through a narrow mountain valley 220 km long, forming a series of waterfalls and rapids; only at Han de Bracamoras, after 700 km of length, does it become navigable; after that, in an arc of 250 km, it turns to the northeast and east and cuts through the Cordillera with 13 streams, or pongo (gates). Near Rentema it flows at an altitude of 378 m and expands to 1,600 m, then, having run through a space of 950 km, it emerges into a forested area under the tropics, where, no longer presenting obstacles to navigation, it continues its path through the lowlands of Peru and 3,650 km and flows under the . Its total length is 5,000 km.

Estuary of the Amazon consists of three main branches, forming the islands of Caviana and Mexicana, and at the island of Maraio it has a width of 250 km. From this main mouth, called the Braganza Canal, or Rio Macapu, a whole series of branches run south, of which the largest is called Tajapuru, connecting with the Rio Gran Para, which flows into the ocean in the northeast. Lying between the two main mouths of the island. Maraio has an area of ​​19,270 square km. Despite the mass of land washed away from the shores, the Amazon does not form deltas at its mouth; on the contrary, it has carried away several islands from it; there are many shallows in it, and therefore its current changes often. The upper reaches of the river up to Tabatinga are called Tunguragua and Marañon, before the Rio Negro flows into it it is called Solimoos and further to the mouth - Amazonas. The common name “Amazon River” comes from a legend according to which a tribe of warlike women lived on its banks, or from the word “Amassona,” that is, boat destroyers, which is the name the Indians called this tribe in the 16th century.

The Amazon has more than 200 tributaries, of which 100 are navigable; 17 rivers of the first magnitude flow into it with a length of 1500-3500 km; all these rivers form a water area of ​​7,337,000, and with the exception of Tocantin - 6,500,000 km2. The eastern slope of the Andes from 3° north. latitude up to 20° south latitude delivers its waters to the Amazon River. Its six tributaries are larger in length and quantity of water, but even the largest of them, the Rio Negro and Madeira, when they flow into it, do not have any influence on its flow; Their waters only at first, in a narrow space near the shores, have a different color, but then they completely merge with it. Almost all tributaries form deltas at their confluence, and often branches emerge from the main river, flowing into the tributaries, so that a continuous network of branches and islands is formed: you can, for example, sail in boats from Santarem up to Obidos, bypassing the main course of the river. The fork of one of the side branches of Madeira, again connecting with the Amazon after 350 km of its course, formed its largest island, Ilga dos Tumpinambaranas, with an area of ​​14,300 square km, on which the last remnants of the once powerful Tumpinambas people were preserved.

The entrance to the Amazon is very dangerous, since there are many shoals at the mouths. As a tropical river, the Amazon is the opposite of the Nile, since it does not pass through different belts, but it flows almost its entire length in the direction and therefore, over almost its entire space, it overflows to incredible limits from the falling rains. The rainy season for the Amazon and all its mountain tributaries occurs from January to March, and then the water, rising 10-15 m, protrudes from its banks for many miles. The flood lasts about 120 days. Stretching along the pristine coastline and animal world, it represents a wide variety of tropical countries.

The Amazon forms a whole network of shipping routes. From the mouth to the Andean slopes it stretches as a continuous navigable road and near Tabatinga reaches a depth of 13 m, so that the largest ships can navigate it. It is also quite convenient for sailing ships, since it is almost all year round high trade winds blow. Most of the tributaries are navigable for several hundred kilometers. The total length of all waterways along which Brazilian steamships sail was 9,900 km in 1873. The mouth of the Amazon was discovered in 1500 by Vincent Pinzon, and its source in 1537. The first to travel along it was Pizarro's companion, Francis de Orellana (1540-41), who set into motion the legend of the land of the Amazons and the golden land, or El Dorado. Of the travelers who subsequently began exploring this river, the most remarkable for their research are Pedro Texeira (1637-39), the Jesuit pastor Samuel Fritz (“Apostle A. R.”), Condamine (1743-44), Speaks and Marcius (1820), Mau (1826), Peppit (1831-32), Prussian Prince Adalbert (1842), Count of Castelnau (1846); Particularly important in this regard are the expedition of Gerndon and Gibbon (1850-52), undertaken on behalf of the North American Union, and the scientific journey of Agassiz at the invitation of the Brazilian government.

Tributaries of the Amazon: The main tributaries of the Amazon: on the right - Guallaga, Ucayali, Hawari, Hutagi, Hurua Teffe Aofi, Purus, Madeira, Tapayos, or Rio Preto, Xingu and Tocantin; from the left are Santiogo, Marogna, Pastaza, Napo, Putumayo, Yapura, Rio Negro with Cassikiare, Huatuma and Trombetas.

Inhabitants of the Amazon: The entire space, irrigated by the main current and tributaries of the Rio Negro and Madeira, is divided into 4 regions of different flora and fauna. The insect fauna is very rich, especially ants; , with the exception of monkeys, few. The Amazon abounds in aquatic plants and animals, caimans, dolphins, fish and very tasty turtles; the so-called “pira-ruku”, or red fish, is found in large quantities, reaching 2-2.5 m in length and 60-80 kilograms in weight; it is salted, dried and sold in whole quantities to Para. There are many manatees (sea cows) in the Amazon, a genus of mammals that is significantly widespread here.

Amazon Freeze: does not freeze.

The Indians call the Amazon “Parana Ting”, which means “Queen of the Rivers”. Indeed, this river is in all respects the greatest in the world.

It carries a quarter of all water carried into the ocean by the rivers of our planet. And the area of ​​its basin - more than seven million square kilometers - allows it to accommodate the entire continent of Australia or a country such as the USA.

At the mouth, the width of the Amazon reaches two hundred kilometers, and the depth is one hundred meters! Even near the Peruvian city of Iquitos, three and a half thousand kilometers from the mouth, the river depth is more than twenty meters, so sea vessels can get here.

The fullness of the Amazon is explained simply: it flows almost exactly along the equator, and the usual summer rainy season for these places alternately occurs either in the northern hemisphere (in March-September), on its left tributaries, or in the southern (from October to April) - on the right tributaries

Thus, the great river actually lives in conditions of constant flooding.

Until recently, it was not known exactly where the origins of the Amazon are. Its length, together with the main of its two sources, the Ucayali River, was approximately 6565 kilometers, which placed the Queen of Rivers in second place in the world after the Nile, whose length is more than a hundred kilometers longer.

But an international expedition organized in 1995, having reached the upper reaches of the Ucayali, discovered that this source, in turn, is formed from the confluence of two rivers: the Apurimac and Urubamba.

Having reached the source of the Alurimac River, the researchers determined that the total length of the entire grandiose Apurimac-Ucayali-Amazon water system is 7025 kilometers and, therefore, it is the first in the world in length. The Nile with its sources the White Nile, Albert Nile, Victoria Nile, Lake Victoria Kageroi is shorter by almost three hundred kilometers.

Seventeen of them range from 1,800 to 3,500 kilometers in length. (This, for comparison, is the length of the Don and Volga!) The huge mass of river water carried out by the Amazon desalinates the sea 400 kilometers from the mouth.

The world's largest river island, located in the Amazon delta, Marajo Island, has an area of ​​48 thousand square kilometers, that is, larger than Switzerland or the Netherlands, and the entire delta is larger in area than Bulgaria.

The river gets its name Amazon after the confluence of the Ucayali and the Marañon River.

Both sources begin in the Andes and break through to the plain through narrow rocky gorges - pongos. At the bottom of these gorges there is no room even for a narrow path - it is a continuous bubbling ferocious stream with stones sticking out here and there, sometimes narrowing to twenty meters.

Marañon has a particularly capricious character. On its way out of the mountains it passes through 27 pongos. The lower, most formidable of them is Pongo de Manceriche (“Gate of Parrots”). Having broken through the last canyon, the river emerges onto the vast plain of the Amazon and becomes navigable.

The Amazonian lowland, or Amazonia, is the greatest lowland on Earth. It is a vast kingdom of swamps and jungles where the only roads are rivers.

However, there are plenty of these roads - after all, the rivers of the Amazon are navigable for eight thousand kilometers.

During floods, when the level of the Amazon rises by twenty meters, low banks are flooded for 80-100 kilometers in the area.

Huge territories then look like an endless sea with trees sticking out of the water.

In normal times, the Amazon does not look like a giant river, since it is divided into many branches separated by islands.

There are also floating islands on the river, slowly moving downstream. They are formed by intertwined plant roots and fallen tree trunks on which new vegetation has risen.

The slope of the Amazonian lowland is so small that the influence of ocean tides is noticeable here even 1000 kilometers from the mouth of the river.

A feature of the Amazon tides is the famous “pororoka”.

The collision of a mighty river with an oncoming tidal wave in the Amazon creates a high shaft topped with a foamy crest. It rolls up the river with a loud roar, sweeping away everything in its path.

Woe to the ship that does not have time to take refuge in a side channel or in a bay in advance - a roaring six-meter wall of water will overturn and sink it.

Since time immemorial, the Indians have experienced a superstitious fear of this mysterious and menacing phenomenon, which seemed to them like some kind of terrible monster, devastating the shores and instilling horror with its bubbling roar.

Hence the name of the formidable rampart - pororoka ("thundering water").

The first through voyage along the Amazon from the Andes to the ocean was made in 1842 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Orellana. In eight months, his squad sailed almost six thousand kilometers along the river.

Now it’s even difficult to imagine what it cost the Spaniards this almost incredible journey across the entire continent without maps, without knowledge of the characteristics of the river and the languages ​​of local tribes, without food supplies, on a fragile homemade boat.

Crocodiles and anacondas, piranhas and river sharks - Orellana’s squad had to experience all these “charms” of the Amazon, so to speak, the hard way.

More than once on the way, the Spaniards encountered warlike Indians. In one place, at the mouth of the Trombetas River, the battle was especially fierce.

And what struck the conquistadors most was that tall, half-naked women armed with bows fought in the front ranks of the Indian warriors.

They stood out for their fearlessness even among their fellow tribesmen. The brave warriors reminded the Spaniards of the ancient myth about the Amazons - female warriors who never knew defeat.

That's why Orellana called the river the Amazon.

Since then, many scientific researchers have visited the great river.

The Frenchman Condamine, the German Humboldt, the Englishman Bates and the Russian traveler Langsdorff at the end of the 18th - early XIX centuries managed to penetrate the wilds of the Amazon and discovered for science the amazing living world of the Queen of the Rivers and the rainforests surrounding it.

The waters of these rivers are home to 2,000 species of fish - a third of the total diversity of the Earth's freshwater fish kingdom. (There are only 300 species in all the rivers of Europe.)

Among the unique inhabitants of the Amazon is the giant five-meter pirarucu (or arapaima), reaching 200 kilograms of weight.

A two-meter electric eel that knocks a person down with a current of 300 volts, huge river stingrays with a deadly spike on its tail, a dangerous river shark and a small toothy piranha that terrifies local residents.

The aggressiveness of this predatory creature is indescribable. A hunter who shoots a wild boar or tapir from a boat often does not have time to swim to the shore with the trophy in tow: a school of bloodthirsty fish leaves only a skeleton from the hefty carcass.

It happens that in order for a herd to successfully cross a river, shepherds have to sacrifice one cow, which, after being wounded, is taken into the water below the crossing.

While the piranhas deal with the victim, the rest of the animals manage to cross the ford. Even an evil predator caught on a fishing rod writhes desperately in the fisherman’s hands, trying to bite off his finger with razor-sharp teeth.

Huge manatees - relatives - are also found in the Amazon sea ​​cow, and river dolphins, and five-meter crocodiles - black caimans, the victims of which are often not only two-meter tapirs or miniature peccary pigs who come to drink, but also careless hunters.

True, the Indians still say that “one is better big crocodile than three little piranhas"…

But the most famous inhabitant of Amazonian waters is probably the monstrous anaconda water boa. There are anacondas up to 12 meters long and two meters in girth!

However, hunters talk about fifteen - and even eighteen-meter snakes. It is difficult to even imagine such a “living pipe” that could reach the ground, hanging from the roof of a six-story building.

Experienced Indian hunters avoid places where anacondas are found. Not a single animal in the jungle (that’s what the Amazonian forests are called in Brazil) can resist the two-hundred-kilogram giantess. Even jaguars crossing the river sometimes become victims of the anaconda.

And on the surface of calm oxbows and bays in the countless branches of the Amazon, one and a half meter leaves of the largest water lily in the world - Victoria Regia - sway. Round, with curved edges, they resemble some strange green frying pans. A child of twelve to fourteen years old can sit calmly on such a sheet, like Thumbelina.

Wet a tropical forest The Amazon is the richest in the number of species of all the forests growing on our planet. In ten square kilometers you can count up to 1500 different types flowers, 750 species of trees, more than a hundred different mammals, 400 species of birds and many snakes, amphibians and insects.

Many of them are still unknown and undescribed.

The most big trees The selva reaches 90 meters in height and 12 meters in girth. Even their names sound like music: bertoletia, mamorana, cinnamon, zedrella, babasu, rattan, hevea...

Many of them are of great value.

The tall bertholiaceae are famous for their delicious nuts. One shell, weighing several kilograms, contains up to two dozen of these nuts.

They are collected only in calm weather, since the “packaging” torn off by the wind can knock out a careless collector.

The sweet and nutritious sap of the milk tree tastes like milk, and cocoa is obtained from the fruits of the chocolate tree.

Everyone has, of course, heard about the fruits of the melon tree - papaya, and about Hevea, the main rubber plant modern world, and about the cinchona tree, the bark of which provides humanity with the only remedy to alleviate attacks of malaria, this scourge of tropical forests.

There are also many trees in the selva with beautiful colored wood, such as the pau brazil mahogany tree, which gave its name to the largest country in South America. And balsa wood is the lightest in the world. It is lighter than cork.

The Indians build giant rafts, jangadas, from balsa, floating the timber down the Amazon, Rio Negro, Madeira and other large rivers. Such rafts sometimes reach hundreds of meters in length and twenty meters in width, so that an entire village can sometimes be accommodated on them.

But most of all there are palm trees in the Amazon - over a hundred species! Almost all of them: coconut, babasu, tukuma, mukata, bakaba, zhupati and karana - benefit humans. Some - with their nuts, others - with wood, others - with fiber, and others - with aromatic juice.

And only the rattan palm is mercilessly cursed by the inhabitants of the village.

This is the longest tree on earth (sometimes it reaches three hundred meters!) - in essence, a liana. Its thin trunk is covered with sharp thorns.

Clinging to other trees, the rattan palm stretches upward towards the sun. Intertwining tree branches and trunks, it forms absolutely impenetrable thorny thickets.

No wonder the Indians call it “the devil’s rope.”

The animals that live in the jungle are no less diverse than the plants. This is the largest animal in the Amazon - a timid and cautious tapir, and a giant capybara-capybara - the world champion among rodents. (Imagine a good-natured “mouse” weighing two pounds!)

There are also a lot of monkeys here, and they are completely different from their counterparts from Africa or Asia. Among them is the eerie uakiri, or "death's head", whose white muzzle resembles a dead man's skull.

This one and a half meter cat is not afraid to attack even two-meter anacondas!

And in December, ocelots hold mating concerts at night, like our March cats.

The most inconspicuous and sedentary animal of the jungle is, of course, . He spends his entire life hanging with his back down on tree branches and slowly absorbing the foliage around him. In order not to move, he manages to turn his head not even 180, but 270 degrees!

This phlegmatic person breathes only once every eight seconds. On land, if it happens to descend to the ground, the sloth moves at a speed of 20 centimeters per minute, as if in slow motion.

“The agile simpleton,” as the Brazilians jokingly call him, is a tasty prey for the jaguar, the ocelot, the boa constrictor, and even the harpy eagle. What saves the sloth is that algae grows in its fur, coloring its skin a protective greenish color.

Because of this, a motionless sloth is almost invisible on a branch, and a predator often does not notice it.

Under the canopy of branches in the darkness of the night they rush silently vampire bats. Their small thin teeth are so sharp that a person bitten in a dream does not feel pain and only wakes up in the morning to find that the pillow is covered in blood and there is a tiny wound on the neck.

Of the hundreds of species of birds in the jungle, the most famous among us, of course, are tiny, the size of a bee.

And huge, up to a meter in length, macaw parrots. Their bright plumage, as well as the sparkling wings of numerous butterflies, enliven the monotonous greenery of the forest.

And above the treetops soars the most terrible feathered predator of the Amazon - the crested tropical eagle, the monkey-eating harpy. Powerful muscles and five-centimeter claws make the harpy a real threat to small monkeys and sloths.

In the forests of the Amazon basin there are many snakes, including poisonous ones. It is no coincidence that Brazil ranks first in the world in the number of people who die annually from snake bites. But Indians have long tamed small boas and kept them in huts for protection from rodents and snakes.

The huge tarantula spider amazes and horrifies.

It feeds on unwary hummingbirds caught in its web, as wide as a fishing net. And Indian children, for the sake of mischief, sometimes throw a rope loop around this spider and lead it around the village like a dog.

But the worst thing for the inhabitants of the jungle is not the formidable predators and Poisonous snakes and spiders, and small ants are sakasaya. They live in large colonies underground, but from time to time they emerge from there in huge hordes and move through the forest like a deadly river, destroying all life in their path.