The Earth's respiratory system is the majestic Amazon River, the largest in the world. Amazon River: width, length, description and photo. Source of the Amazon River Where does the Amazon River originate?

23.06.2020

The Amazon is one of the most famous rivers in the world. Everyone knows where the Amazon is - it practically crosses South America. The river got its name in 1542. It was then that the travelers were forced to engage in battle with the Indian warriors, led by women. The Spaniards were reminded of the female warriors - the Amazons. It is for this reason that the water artery has received the name "River of the Amazons" - Rio de las Amazonas. It is likely that in fact the warriors were not women, they simply braided their hair, which confused the Spanish travelers.

Another version claims that the name comes from the Indian expression "big water" - Amazonas. This version is similar to the truth, only the Indians do not use this expression in the names of other rivers. Some researchers believe that "amasunu" is the name of the destructive tidal wave that occurs at the mouth of the river. Confirmation of this version is that the Indians so call the river only in the lower reaches, in the middle it had the name Saolimoins.

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

Source

To find out where the Amazon River is, you should start by studying its source. For a long time it was not known exactly where the waters of the river come from, but now the answer to this question has been found. Apacheta Creek, flowing from the glacier of Mount Misimi, is where the river is born. It is difficult to say where the Amazon is located - in which country - 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, Apacheta meets the Caruasantu stream, turning into a small river, the Loqueta. On its way, the rivulet is replenished with the waters of a huge number of different streams, gradually growing into the Hornillos River. Having taken in the waters of several more rivers, the one called Apurimac is born.

After going a long way, on the highlands, the stream connects with Mantaro, turning into Jene. After joining with Perene and Urubamba, the upper course of the river becomes calmer and gets the name Ucayali. Downstream, the larger and more powerful Marañon flows into the river, originating in Lake Llauricocha.

Having merged together, the rivers give birth to the one in question - the Amazon.

mouth

Answering the question of where the mouth of the Amazon is located is very simple - in Brazil. Despite the fact that the mouth of this all is located 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, which is surrounded by fresh water - Marajo. The mouth of the Amazon is one fifth of the fresh water of the entire 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 coast.

River mode

The main reservoir 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 its food from a large number of tributaries. In addition, the humid climate provides a large influx of water and precipitation. The upper course of the river is fed by snowmelt in the Andes.

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

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

Where does it flow

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 capture parts of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.

In the middle course, at an altitude of 3.5 thousand meters above sea level, the river runs along the picturesque banks of wet forests. In this area, waterfalls are not uncommon, the current is stormy, because the river has to make its way through an array of mountains. Descending from the mountain slopes, the Amazon spreads over the tropical jungle, across a wide

The river flows along the equator, practically without changing direction from west to east. It is curious that at a depth of 4 thousand meters, an underground river flows under, fed by groundwater - Khamza.

Navigability

The main channel retains navigability to the very foot of the Andes, which is more than 4 thousand kilometers from the source. Ocean-going ships can reach the city of Manaus, located just 1,690 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 - you can’t even see the opposite shore here.

Animal world

The Amazon, home to a vast array of plants, is home to a vast array of fish and animals. Thanks to strong water spills, aquatic inhabitants are far from the last place in the huge list of Amazonian animals. During major floods, a unique spectacle can be observed - entire islands are floating along the river with many species of plants and animals that did not have time to escape.

One of the most famous fish in the Amazon is the piranha. This fish can feel blood from a great distance. Having learned that there is prey, the flock rushes towards the goal with great speed. These predators in the process of chasing reach the point that they rush at each other. Even the largest animal that has fallen into the water has no chance of saving its life - piranhas cope with the task in minutes.

The Amazon is home to a large number of unique fish and animals that cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. Scientists all over the world are studying the banks of the river, but it is still impossible to say that everything is known about the river, its flora and fauna - the dense forests of the banks of the Amazon are very difficult to study.

AMAZONKA (Amazonas), a river in South America, the largest in the world in terms of basin size and flow. The Indians call the Amazon Parana Tinga (White River) and Parana Guasu (Great River). It is formed at the confluence of the Maranion and Ucayali rivers, originating in the Andes. The length from the source of the Maranion is 6516 km, from the source of the Ucayali - over 7000 km (exact measurements were not carried out). The basin area is 7045 thousand km2. Most of the basin is in Brazil, the southwestern and western regions are in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. It flows mainly along the Amazonian lowland in a sublatitudinal direction near the equator, flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

The main source of the Amazon - the Marañon River - originates on the eastern slopes of the Western Cordillera of the Andes in Peru at an altitude of 4840 m, flows in the mountains parallel to the ocean in a deep depression, then turns east, breaks through the Andes, forming 27 so-called pongos (rocky deep narrow gorges with almost sheer walls). After leaving the mountains, it flows through the Amazonian lowland and, merging with the Ucayali River, which approaches from the right, gives rise to the Amazon. The channel of the Amazon is framed by low banks descending to the river in three wide steps: the upper step (terra firma), an unflooded bank formed by the bedrock slope of the valley, up to 50 m or more high, below which the floodplain extends; middle stage (varzea), part of the floodplain flooded during large floods of the Amazon; the lower step (Igapo, or swamp) is covered with water during the usual floods of the river. Below the confluence of the Rio Negro, the width of the floodplain is 80-100 km, near the cities of Obidos and Santarém it is slightly narrower. On the floodplain there are numerous branches, channels, lakes and oxbow lakes; along the banks there are low riverbanks. At 350 km from the ocean, it forms the largest delta in the world (area over 100 thousand km 2). The main part of the runoff passes through the northeastern branches, part of the waters - along the eastern branch of the Para; between them is the world's largest river island - Marazho (area 48 thousand km 2).

The Amazon collects water from 40% of the area of South America, receiving more than 500 large tributaries, 17 of which are 1600-3500 km long. Main tributaries: Zhurua, Purus, Madeira, Tapajos, Xingu, Tocantins (right); Napo, Isa, Japura, Rio Negro (left) (see map). The width of the river after the confluence with the Ukayali is about 2 km, in the middle reaches up to 5 km, in the lower reaches up to 20 km, before the mouth 80-150 km; the depth in the middle reaches is about 70 m, near the city of Obidus up to 135 m, at the mouth 15-45 m. The tributaries bring water of different colors to the Amazon: dark (Rio Negro river), white muddy (Jurua, Purus, Madeira rivers), greenish (Tapajos River); there are tributaries with yellow, gray and even reddish water color. The Amazon is the only river in the world with such an abundance of colored waters. The main source of moisture in the Amazon is precipitation brought by air masses from the Atlantic. In the zone of tropical rainforests covering the Amazon basin, on average, up to 2000 mm of precipitation falls annually, at the mouth and in the north-west of the Amazon (in the foothills of the Andes) - over 3000 mm, in some areas of the Andes - up to 6000 mm. The river is full of water throughout the year. The rainy season comes alternately: in the Southern Hemisphere (October - April) on the right tributaries, in the Northern Hemisphere (March - September) - on the left tributaries, so seasonal runoff fluctuations are smoothed out. High relative air humidity (75-100%) is characteristic, evapotranspiration compared to heavy precipitation and high radiation balance (2900-3800 MJ / m 2) is small, rarely exceeds 1200 mm per year, evaporation is within the limits of evaporation, which in this region is almost entirely for transpiration. The maximum evaporation values (1500 mm per year) were noted in the northeast of the Amazon and between the mouths of the Amazon and the Orinoco River. The rest of the precipitation (20-50%) forms the river runoff. The Amazon basin is characterized by laterite podzolized soils of reddish-yellow color, which are formed on weathering crust, which is difficult to distinguish from them in color and structure, with a thickness of tens of meters and high water permeability. The value of the underground runoff of the Amazon is 30-50% of the total river runoff, 70-80% of precipitation is spent on infiltration and evaporation. The average annual water flow in the mouth part is about 220 thousand m 3 /s (maximum - 300 thousand m 3 /s, minimum - 63 thousand m 3 /s). The annual volume of runoff is 7000 km 3 (17% of the total annual runoff of all rivers of the globe). The huge mass of water carried by the Amazon desalinates the sea 400 km from the mouth. Solid runoff 600-800 million tons per year (according to other sources, about 1.2 billion tons).

The slope of the Amazonian lowland is negligible, so ocean tides extend 1000 km up the river (the largest value among the rivers of the world). In the mouth part, they are accompanied by the so-called pororoka (“thundering water”). This is a steep-fronted wave up to 4-5 m high, which rushes up the river with great speed and rumble, flooding and destroying the banks. In one of the Indian dialects, the pororoka is called "amazunu" (some geographers consider the name of the river to be derived from this word). In the Amazon, there are floating islands formed by intertwined plant roots and fallen tree trunks.

The flora and fauna of the Amazon is rich and unique. The largest water lily in the world, Victoria regia (leaves up to 2 m in diameter), grows in the oxbow lakes and channels. Up to 2,000 species of fish live in the waters of the Amazon (1/3 of the entire freshwater fauna of the globe), including the giant arapaima (length up to 5 m, weight up to 200 kg), electric eel, river stingrays, predatory river sharks and piranhas. From mammals - manatee (at the mouth), Amazonian dolphin. Common black caiman and the largest of modern snakes - anacondas (length up to 11.4 m).

The Amazon has a significant energy potential (about 280 million kWh per year), but its use is negligible. Together with its tributaries, the river forms one of the world's largest inland waterway systems with a total length of more than 25,000 km. Navigable for 4300 km from the mouth (up to the Pongode-Manseriche gorge); to the city of Manaus (1690 km from the mouth) ocean-going ships rise. On the Amazon - the ports of Belen (on the Para arm), Santarem, Obidos (Brazil), Iquitos (Peru).

The greatest impact on the unique ecosystem of the Amazon is the construction of reservoirs, which accumulate a huge amount of organic matter. These reservoirs are sources of dangerous diseases (for example, visceral leishmaniasis, bankroft filariasis) carried by insects. The massive deforestation of tropical rainforests in the Amazon basin is ecologically dangerous for the entire globe, since these forests are the main supplier of oxygen to the atmosphere.

The mouth of the river was discovered in 1500 by the Spaniard Vicente Yáñez Pinson, who named the Amazon "Rio Santa Maria de la Mar Dulce" - "the river of St. Mary of the fresh sea" (due to the desalination of the ocean waters by the river). The first end-to-end voyage across the Amazon was made in 1541 by the Spanish conquistador F. de Orellana. For 172 days, his detachment swam almost 6 thousand km. On the way, the Spaniards encountered warlike Indians. Near the mouth of the Trombetas River, tall half-naked women armed with bows fought in the forefront of Indian warriors. They reminded the Spaniards of the ancient myth of the Amazons, so Orellana, according to one hypothesis, called the river the Amazon.

Lit .: Karasik G. Ya. Water balance of South America. M., 1974; Chernova N.P. Atmospheric moisture transport and the water regime of South America. M., 1979; Amazonian deforestation and climate. N.Y., 1996; Whitmore T. C. An introduction to tropical rain Forests. Oxf., 1998; Rollins J. Amazonia. N.Y., 2002.

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 for 320 kilometers. In all respects, this is the greatest, one of the longest rivers in the world. The river is located in the north of South America, starting from the Andes in Peru and ending in the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil. The length of the Amazon ranges from 6259 to 6800 km according to various sources. In this article, you will learn about many interesting facts and admire photographs of a real miracle of nature.

The Amazon is a huge system of rivers and forests that crosses half of Brazil and extends to neighboring states. The Amazon River is the largest in the world in terms of basin size (7.2 million km2) and water content. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers - Maranion and Ucayali. The length of Marañon from the source is 6400 km, Ucayali is over 7000 km. The Amazon flows into the Atlantic Ocean, forming the world's largest inland delta (over 100 thousand km2) and funnel-shaped mouths - sleeves covering the huge island of Marajo.

They say that the Amazon got its name thanks to the Spanish conquistadors, who, fighting on the banks of the great river with the Indians, were struck by the fearless fury of the Indian women who fought along with the men. Brave and strong warriors reminded the Spaniards of the ancient myth of the Amazons - and thanks to them the river got its name.

During the dry season, the Amazon River reaches a width of 11 kilometers, covering 110 thousand square meters with water. km, and in the rainy season it triples, covering 350 thousand square meters. km and spilling over 40 km or more. Another achievement of the Amazon is the mouth of the river, the largest delta in the world, which reaches a width of 325 km. The river is navigable for two-thirds of its length from the Atlantic Ocean.

In the small town of Belene at the mouth of the Amazon, large water shafts 4–5 m high roll up the river with a terrible roar during high ocean tides. Their strength is felt at a distance of 1400 km from the mouth. In the lower reaches, after the confluence of the Xingu tributary.

The Amazon is 80 km wide, and its depth at Obidus is 135 m (approximately the average depth of the Baltic Sea). The Amazon provides about 15% of the total annual flow of all the world's rivers. Together with its tributaries, it forms a gigantic water system over 25,000 km long. The main channel of the Amazon is navigable for 4300 km, and ocean-going vessels rise for 1690 km from the mouth to Manaus.

Only 30% of the studied flora lives here. 25% of all medicinal substances in the world that are used in medicine are extracted from the plants of the Amazonian forest. 1800 species of birds, 250 different mammals, 1500 different types of fish - all this makes up the flora and fauna of the Amazon. The Amazon River and its tributaries account for 20% of the world's fresh water. Of the 20 longest rivers in the world, 10 are in the Amazon. Pink dolphins and bullfish live here, the length of which reaches 4 meters, and the weight is more than 500 kg. The famous predator - piranha fish - is also an inhabitant of these places.
The Pink River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), is a freshwater river dolphin native to the Orinoco, Amazon and Araguaia/Tocantins River systems of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. bend your neck at 90 degree angles to his body, and skillfully hunt fish in the flooded forest.

And here is the piranha that lives in the waters of the Amazon River

The full flow of the Amazon is simply explained: it flows almost exactly along the equator, and the usual summer rainy season for these places alternately occurs in the northern hemisphere in March-September), on its left tributaries, then in the south (from October to April) - on the right tributaries .The Great River actually lives in conditions of constant floods.

So, is this Great Amazon River the longest river on our planet? The Brazilian National Center for Space Research (INPE) claims 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. In their calculations, they were based on the results of an expedition carried out last year by scientists from Brazil and Peru. Then the researchers reached the source of the Amazon, located in the Peruvian Andes, at an altitude of 5 thousand meters. They solved one of the greatest geographic 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 of 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 most full-flowing, but also the longest in the world, ITAR-TASS notes. Until that moment, the Amazon was officially recognized as the most full-flowing river, but in length it was always considered the second after the Nile (Egypt). The Amazon Basin is one of the most

I know from school geography lessons that the longest river in the world is the Nile. But, as it turned out, this information is outdated, like school textbooks. Today, the longest river is the Amazon with a length of almost 7 thousand kilometers. I want to tell you about her whereabouts in detail.

Where is the Amazon

In 1542, on the banks of a river unfamiliar to them Spanish conquistadors entered to fight the Indians, led by stood women. That's why the river the Spaniards named after the Greek warriors Amazon women. Although, perhaps, the leaders of the Indians were men, just with long hair. The source of the river was quite difficult to find. But today it is known that Apacheta Creek flows from the glacier of Mount Misma. It's in Peruvian Andes. From this stream and the full-flowing Amazon originates. If we combine the length of all its branches, then the length of the river will be 25 thousand kilometers. Amazonleaks through the following countries:

Bolivia;
Brazil.

Forest, through which the waters of the Amazon flow, is one of wettest places on earth.

Amazon animals

Animal world of the river- this is huge ecosystem, which surprises with its diversity. Live here terrible and dangerous creatures, who quite often become the main characters of Hollywood films:

black caiman- the monster of the Amazon, which can reach 6 meters in length;
the biggest snake in the world - anaconda;
arapaima- a giant predatory fish, the length of which reaches 3 meters;
one of the most dangerous sharks in the world - bull shark;
piranhas- can gnaw flesh to the bone in a few minutes.

But all these animals are not mostdangerous. They are led by lfrog! These colorful wahs are capable of kill with one dropsome poisondozens of people. But vegetable and animal Amazon world still nhas been studied to the end. In some areas of the dense forests of the Amazon, a human foot has not yet set foot. It is believed that these the forests are the mostold on the planet They are about 100 million years old. 20% of all air comes from here.

In the forests of the Amazon live Indian tribes, whose life is very difficult to study. They are difficult to get to and their lifestyle is very secluded. And by the way, via Amazon still couldn't lay onebridge.

We welcome all readers of the site "I and the World"! If you are asked the question: where is the Amazon River? Can you answer through which countries it flows and on which mainland it is located? Where does it start and where does it end? In what direction is it flowing? In this article, we will try to answer these and other questions.

This incredible river is full of such surprises that you simply did not know about. Almost 20% of the oxygen for the surrounding world is produced by its forests, and there are quite a lot of drinking water reserves. It is so large that some tribes living on its shores are completely unfamiliar with civilization.

Without a doubt, the Amazon is the largest in South America. In what direction does it flow? Its waters flow from west to east, crossing almost the entire continent and flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.

It has three sources: if we consider its length in km, then from one of them, the length will be over 7000. Most of it flows in Brazil, the rest of the distance belongs to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. The total area of its basin is almost the same as the entire continent of Australia.

The diet of the Amazon is quite diverse: from many tributaries, from precipitation, since the climate on the river is constantly humid. She also receives snow recharge. The world map clearly shows that the river is located almost on the equator, and a huge amount of precipitation falls here every year. And that's why it's so full of water. There are a huge number of rapids in this part, so there can be no talk of any shipping.

The nature of the current of the Amazon depends on the topography of the area through which it flows. At the beginning, the course is quite rough, because you have to make your way through the mountains and hills. Going down, the waters flow quite smoothly and calmly, due to the small slope of the terrain.

The photo shows that the Amazon is so overflowing that it looks more like a sea and reaches 80 km in width. But this figure cannot be compared with the width of the mouth - 325 km and a depth of 135 m.

Here are some pretty interesting facts. On the territory of Brazil, where the Amazon flows, they discovered a very long underground river just under the Amazon at a depth of 4 km. According to some signs, its width reaches 400 km, and the speed of the current is only 1 mm per second.

The animal world is so diverse that more than half of all species living on our planet live here. And there are more than 10 million of them. The basin of the entire river is called the "kingdom of palm trees", because of all the plants, more than 800 species of palm trees grow here. In many photos and pictures, we see a variety of vegetation in its pool.

Opportunities for economic development are rather big. This is fishing, and shipping, and the construction of power plants, and its huge water reserves are used by man to irrigate farmland. And although the use of the river is not so great compared to its size, but even the smallest intervention in the life of the Amazon has a detrimental effect on the environment.

Which river is longer: the Volga, the Nile or the Amazon?

The Volga is about twice as short as the Amazon, although it is considered the longest in Europe. And the Nile River, which flows in Africa, is slightly inferior in length to the Amazon, so we also talked about the longest river in the world (although no one can accurately name the distance between these two rivers).

We tried to make for you a beautiful description of the Amazon, to tell you about its inhabitants, about its features, in which countries it flows, where are the sources and mouth of this famous river, its length in kilometers.

If you want to go there, try to be more attentive to its dangers. And we say goodbye to you! See you soon! If you liked the article, please share with your friends.