Amazon River

Amazonian River Rio Amazonas, Río Amazonas
Satellite image of the Amazon Delta
Amazon River and its drainage basin
Native name	Amazonas (Portuguese)
Location
Country	Peru, Colombia, Brazil
Cities	Iquitos (Peru); Leticia (Colombia); Tabatinga (Brazil); Tefé (Brazil); Itacoatiara (Brazil) Parintins (Brazil); Óbidos (Brazil); Santarém (Brazil); Almeirim (Brazil); Macapá (Brazil); Manaus (Brazil)
Physical characteristics
Source	Apurímac River, Mismi Peak
• location	Arequipa Region, Peru
• coordinates	15°31′04″S 71°41′37″W
• elevation	5,220 m (17,130 ft)
Mouth	Atlantic Ocean
• location	Brazil
• coordinates	0°42′28″N 50°5′22″W
Length	6,575 km (4,086 mi)
Basin size	6,925,674 km2 (2,674,018 mi2)
Width
• minimum	700 m (2,300 ft) (Upper Amazon); 1.5 km (0.93 mi) (Itacoatiara, Lower Amazon)
• average	3 km (1.9 mi) (Middle Amazon); 5 km (3.1 mi) (Lower Amazon)
• maximum	10–14 km (6.2–8.7 mi) (Lower Amazon); 340 km (210 mi) (estuary)
Depth
• average	15–45 m (49–148 ft) (Middle Amazon); 20–50 m (66–164 ft) (Lower Amazon)
• maximum	150 m (490 ft) (Itacoatiara); 130 m (430 ft) (Óbidos)
Discharge
• location	Amazon Delta
• average	223,700 m3/s (7,900,000 cu ft/s)
• minimum	83,400 m3/s (2,950,000 cu ft/s)
• maximum	329,500 m3/s (11,640,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Santarém
• average	188,600 m3/s (6,660,000 cu ft/s)
• minimum	76,500 m3/s (2,700,000 cu ft/s)
• maximum	271,100 m3/s (9,570,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Óbidos
• average	172,100 m3/s (6,080,000 cu ft/s)
• minimum	71,700 m3/s (2,530,000 cu ft/s)
• maximum	241,200 m3/s (8,520,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Manacapuru
• average	102,600 m3/s (3,620,000 cu ft/s)
• minimum	58,800 m3/s (2,080,000 cu ft/s)
• maximum	139,000 m3/s (4,900,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge
• location	Tamshiyaçu
• average	31,700 m3/s (1,120,000 cu ft/s)
• minimum	16,400 m3/s (580,000 cu ft/s)
• maximum	46,700 m3/s (1,650,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
River system	Amazon River
Tributaries
• left	Marañón, Nanay, Napo, Putumayo, Japurá, Badajós, Manacapuru, Rio Negro, Urubu, Uatumã, Nhamundá, Trombetas, Maicurú, Curuá, Paru, Jari
• right	Ucayali, Jandiatuba, Javary, Jutaí, Juruá, Tefé, Coari, Purús, Madeira, Paraná do Ramos, Tapajós, Curuá-Una, Xingu, Pará, Tocantins, Acará, Guamá

Amazon summary route map
km 6,575 Source, Nevado Mismi Hornillos River 6,500 Apurímac River Apurímac River 6,455 Ruinas Maria Fortaleza 6,440 Machu Puente (Hacienda Puente Central) 6,426 Puente del Este 6,413 Santo Domingo 6,370 Puente Asunción 6,350 Queshuachaca 6,320 Puente Pongoña 6,260 Puente Pillpinto 6,230 Puente Cusibamba 6,220 Cataratas de Tincoc 6,210 Puente Tincoc 6,190 Puente Huajachaca 6,175 Puente Churac 6,160 Puente Kutuctay 6,140 Puente Huallpachaca (P. Wallpachka) 6,100 Puente Cunyac 6,090 Baños Termales de Cconoc Cañon del Apurímac 6,090 Pachachaca River 6,081 Puente Pasaje 6,078 Pampas River 6,035 Puente San Ignacio 5,978 Lechemayo 5,905 Kimbiri 5,890 Sivia zoológico Apurímac River 5,844 Mantaro River Start of navigation 5,840 Puerto Ene Ené River 5,664 Perené River 5,660 Puerto Prado 5,505 Atalaya Tambo River 5,505 Urubamba River Ucayali River 5,080 Pachitea River 4,990 Tamaya River 4,939 Pucallpa 4,850 Aguaytía River 4,690 Pisqui River 4,620 Contamana 4,570 Cushabatay River 4,520 Orellana 4,190 Canal de Puinahua (outflow) 4,000 Canal de Puinahua (inflow) 3,963 Tapiche River, Requena Ucayali River 3,837 Marañón River Amazon River 3,740 Tamshiyaçu 3,700 Itaya River, Iquitos 3,690 Nanay River 3,596 Napo River 3,490 Pebas, Ampiyaçu River Peru Colombia 3,220 Caballococha 3,205 Puerto Nariño 3,190 Amacayacu National Park 3,180 Amacayacu National Park 3,145 Letícia Amazon River 3,144 Tres Fronteras Colombia Brazil Solimões River 3,143 Tabatinga Peru Brazil 3,128 Javary River 3,128 Benjamin Constant 2,882 São Paulo de Olivença 2,870 Jandiatuba River 2,750 Vargem Grande 2,730 Putumayo River 2,717 Santo Antônio do Içá 2,690 Tonantins River Tonantins 2,535 Xibeco 2,530 Jutaí River 2,450 Quality Resort Aracatuba 2,341 Fonte Boa 2,330 Juruá River 2,170 Uarini River 2,130 Japurá River 2,106 Tefé River, Tefé 2,050 Lago Caiambé 1,980 Paraná Copeá 1,907 Coari River, Coari 1,900 Itapeua 1,870 Lago Mamiá 1,790 Badajós River 1,735 Codajás 1,683 Lago Anori, Anori 1,660 Purús River 1,539 Manacapuru River Manacapuru 1,490 Iranduba 1,442 Paraná do Careiro (outflow) 1,442 Careiro, Careiro–Manaus Ferry Solimões River Rio Negro, Rio Negro Bridge, Manaus 1,437 Encontro das Águas Amazon River 1,415 Jatuarana 1,395 Paraná do Careiro (inflow) 1,318 Igapó-Açu River 1,298 Madeira River 1,298 Tupinambarana Canumã River Abacaxis River 1,256 Itacoatiara Paraná do Urariá Maués Açu River 1,108 Uatumã River, Urubu River 996 Parintins 980 Paraná do Ramos 843 Trombetas River, Nhamundá River 824 Óbidos 756 Lago Grande do Curuai Curuá River 704 Tapajós River, Santarém 625 Curuá Una River 625 Monte Alegre Maicuru River 552 Prainha 448 Paru River 444 Almeirim 350 Xingu River 330 Ilha Grande de Gurupá 330 Forte de Santo Antônio de Gurupá 315 Jari River 310 Gurupá 295 Fort of Santo Antônio do Gurupá 250 Ilha Grande de Gurupá 250 Amazon Delta 230 Furo do Tajapuru Breves 211 Pará River 211 Tocantins River Rio Pará 190 Anajás River 190 Porto de Vila do Conde, Barcarena, Pará 150 Port of Santana Santana–Belém Ferry 137 Marco Zero Monument Macapá 135 Forte de Presépio, Guamá River, Belém Marajó Bay 0 Estuário do Rio Amazonas Atlantic Ocean km

Topography of the Amazon River Basin

The Amazon River in South America is the largest river in the world by discharge volume of water, and the second-longest or longest river system in the world, a title which is disputed with the Nile.

For nearly a century, the headwaters of the Apurímac River on Nevado Mismi in Peru had been considered the Amazon basin's most distant source, until a 2014 study found the farthest source to be the headwaters of the Mantaro River on the Cordillera Rumi Cruz in Peru. The Mantaro and Apurímac rivers join, and with other tributaries form the Ucayali River, which in turn meets the Marañón River upstream of Iquitos, Peru, forming what countries other than Brazil consider to be the main stem of the Amazon. Brazilians call this section the Solimões River above its confluence with the Rio Negro forming what Brazilians call the Amazon at the Meeting of Waters (Portuguese: Encontro das Águas) at Manaus, the largest city on the river.

The Amazon River has an average discharge of about 215,000 to 230,000 cubic meters per second (7,600,000 to 8,100,000 cu ft/s)—approximately 6,591 to 7,570 cubic kilometers (1,581 to 1,816 cu mi) per year, greater than the next seven largest independent rivers combined. Two of the top ten rivers by discharge are tributaries of the Amazon river. The Amazon represents 20% of the global riverine discharge into oceans. The Amazon basin is the largest drainage basin in the world, with an area of approximately 7,000,000 square kilometers (2,700,000 sq mi). The portion of the river's drainage basin in Brazil alone is larger than any other river's basin. The Amazon enters Brazil with only one-fifth of the flow it finally discharges into the Atlantic Ocean yet already has a greater flow at this point than the discharge of any other river in the world. It has a recognized length of 6,400 kilometers (4,000 mi), but according to some reports, its length varies from 6,575 to 7,062 kilometers (4,086 to 4,388 mi).