The Amazon is a river largely in Brazil. The major headstreams of the Amazon rise in the permanent snows and glaciers of the high Andes mountains and follow parallel courses north before joining near Nauta, Peru. From this confluence the main trunk of the Amazon flows in a generally eastern direction to the Atlantic Ocean. The Amazon enters the Atlantic through a broad estuary, roughly estimated at 240 km (about 150 mi) in width.
In 1500, Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was the first European to sail into the river. Pinzón called the river flow Río Santa María del Mar Dulce, later shortened to Mar Dulce (literally, sweet sea, because of its freshwater pushing out into the ocean).
One of Gonzalo Pizarro's lieutenants, Francisco de Orellana (1511–1546), was the first European to navigate the length of the Amazon River.
Francisco de Orellana encountered Icamiaba natives, who were mistaken for fierce female warriors by the members of the expedition. Orellana later narrated the belligerent victory of the Icamiaba “women” over the Spanish invaders to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who, recalling the Amazons of Greek mythology, baptized the river Amazonas.
Over 170,000 Indians from 210 tribes live in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest.
Every year the Amazon floods to an area roughly the size of Texas and this weight sinks the Earth's crust by 3 inches (76 millimeters), temporarily.
The Amazon River discharges so much water into the ocean that it remains drinkable nearly 200 miles into the sea from the river’s mouth.
There are no bridges across the Amazon River, meaning people who need to cross the river have to use ferries or boats. This can be time-consuming and expensive, and it can also be dangerous during bad weather.
More types of fish live in one Amazon River tributary than in all the rivers in North America combined.
One of Gonzalo Pizarro's lieutenants, Francisco de Orellana (1511–1546), was the first European to navigate the length of the Amazon River.
Francisco de Orellana encountered Icamiaba natives, who were mistaken for fierce female warriors by the members of the expedition. Orellana later narrated the belligerent victory of the Icamiaba “women” over the Spanish invaders to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who, recalling the Amazons of Greek mythology, baptized the river Amazonas.
Over 170,000 Indians from 210 tribes live in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest.
The Amazon River drains about 61 million gallons (230 million liters) of water into the Atlantic Ocean per second. This is greater than the discharge of the world's next seven largest rivers combined.
The Amazon ranks as the largest river in the world in terms of the volume of water it discharges, its number of tributaries (over 500), and the total basin area that it drains (2.7 million sq mi, which accounts for approximately one-fifth of the world's total river flow).
Every year the Amazon floods to an area roughly the size of Texas and this weight sinks the Earth's crust by 3 inches (76 millimeters), temporarily.
The Amazon River discharges so much water into the ocean that it remains drinkable nearly 200 miles into the sea from the river’s mouth.
There are no bridges across the Amazon River, meaning people who need to cross the river have to use ferries or boats. This can be time-consuming and expensive, and it can also be dangerous during bad weather.
More types of fish live in one Amazon River tributary than in all the rivers in North America combined.
The Shanay-Timpishka, also known as The Boiling River, is a tributary of the Amazon River in Peru, called the "only boiling river in the world". It is 6.4 kilometers (4 mi) long.
At over 200°F (93°C), the Amazon's Boiling River is not at boiling point, but it's hot enough to poach an egg—and kill anything that falls into it.
At over 200°F (93°C), the Amazon's Boiling River is not at boiling point, but it's hot enough to poach an egg—and kill anything that falls into it.
Over 2 million square miles of the Amazon basin is virgin rainforest, containing 30% of all known plant and animal species.
The Amazon rainforest is one of the wettest regions on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of 8.3 ft.
The Amazon is home to an estimated 390 billion trees and 16,000 diverse tree species.
The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world's oxygen supply.
The Amazon rainforest represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests.
Sand from the Sahara is blown by the wind all the way to the Amazon, recharging its minerals. The desert literally fertilizes the rain forest.
Sand from the Sahara is blown by the wind all the way to the Amazon, recharging its minerals. The desert literally fertilizes the rain forest.
Source Wikipedia and Hutchinson Encyclopedia © RM 2011. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.
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