• According to the U.S Geological Survey the length of Amazon River is 4,000 miles (6,437 km).

• The Amazon River is the second longest river in the world after the Nile River in Egypt at 4,132 miles (6,650 km). The third longest river is China’s Yangtze at 3,915 miles (6,301 km).

• The Amazon River runs through Peru and Brazil.

• As many as 15,000 tributaries flow into the Amazon River, the most of any river in the world. The river system drains from parts of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
• The first European to travel the entire length of the Amazon River was Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana in 1541-42.

• The Amazon River got its name from the Greek mythology warrior women, “Amazonas” as Francisco de Orellana encountered female warriors during his exploration of the Amazon River.

• The Amazon carries 20% of all river water in the world.

• The Amazon River and its tributaries form the Amazon basin which is 2.5 million square miles (6.5 sq km).
• The Amazon River and its tributaries carry more than 3,000 species of fish.

• During the months of mid-December to mid-May the level of the Amazon rises to an average of 30 to 45 feet  (9 to 14 meters).

• The width of the Amazon varies between 1.0 and 6.2 mi (1.6 and 10 km) at low stage, but expands during the wet season to 30 mi (48 km) or more.

• Where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean its width reaches 150 miles (240 km).

• Some parts of the river are so wide that it is impossible to see from one bank to the opposite.

• The annual precipitation received by the Amazon is 9 feet or 2.75 meters.

• The most distance source of the Amazon River is Nevado Mismi in the Peruvian Andes. Melting snow forms the Ucayali-Apurímac river system which is the main source of the Amazon River.

• The Amazon River and its tributaries are the main source of transportation in the Amazon basin.
• Most of the commodities extracted from the Amazon rainforest are transported through the network of rivers.

• The Amazon River boasts the most biodiversity of any river system in the world.

• The river has eroded the land flat and removed its nutrients leaving behind a soil composed mostly of inert acidic clay not suitable for agriculture.

• The volume of water released by the Amazon to the Atlantic Ocean in the rainy season is up to 11,000,000 cu ft/s (300,000 cubic meters per second) with an average of 7,400,000 cu ft/s (209,000 cubic meters per second).

 

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Tags: Amazon basin, Amazon jungle, amazon rainforest, Amazon River, amazon river facts, amazonia