The Amazon River

The World’s Longest River: of the Amazon Basin and in the coastal waters of South In 2007 the National Geographic Society published infor- America. mation that the Amazon is the world’s longest river – just 65 miles longer than the famed Nile River in Africa. This The Amazonian Manatee is another conspicuous mammal was based on a report authored by Guido Gelli, director of living in the waters of the Amazonian basin. science at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statis- tics, following a 14-day scientific expedition to locate the Also present in large numbers is the notorious piranha, a definitive source. carnivorous fish which congregates in large schools, and may attack livestock and even humans. However, only a Fast Facts: few of its species are known to attack humans, most nota- • Source: Near the peak of Mount Mismi in the Peruvian bly the Red-bellied Piranha. Andes • Mouth: If only the river’s main channel is considered, it is The bull shark has been reported 2,500 miles (4,000 kilo- between the islands of Curuá (state of Amapá) and Jurupari meters) up the Amazon River at Iquitos in Peru. (state of Pará) with a width of 9.3 miles. However, conser- vative estimates measure the mouth that includes a larger The arapaima, known in Brazil as the pirarucu, is a South river network of channels to be 110 miles. American tropical freshwater fish. It is one of the largest • Length: 4,225 miles (6,800 kilometers) freshwater fish in the world, reportedly with a maximum • Volume: 11,000,000 cu.ft./second during the rainy season length in excess of 15 feet (4.5 meters) and weight up to • Average speed: 440 pounds (200 kilograms). • Change in elevation: Nearly 17,000 feet • Basin area: 2.72 million square miles (the total U.S. area Another Amazonian freshwater fish is the arowana (or is 3.8 million square miles) aruanã in Portuguese), such as the Silver arowana, which is • Countries: Amazon flows through Peru and Brazil; the also a predator and very similar to the arapaima, but only basin includes Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Venezuela. reaches a length of maximum 47 inches (120 centimeters). • Major Amazon River cities: Iquitos, Peru; Manaus, Brazil; Santarem, Brazil; Macapa, Brazil The candirú are a number of genera of parasitic, freshwater • One-fifth of all fresh water entering the Earth’s oceans catfish in the family Trichomycteridae; all are native to the comes from the Amazon River. Amazon River. They sometimes attack humans and have been known to enter the urethras of bathers.

The electric eel is also found in the river. Biodiversity*: The Amazon River has more than 3,000 recognized species The anaconda snake is found in shallow waters in the Ama- of fish and that number is still growing. zon Basin. One of the world’s largest species of snake, the anaconda spends most of its time in the water, with just its Along with the Orinoco, the river is one of the main habi- nostrils above the surface. tats of the boto, also known as the Amazon River Dolphin. It is the largest species of river dolphin and can grow to In addition to the thousands of species of fish, the river sup- lengths up to 8 ½ feet (2.6 meters). The boto is the subject ports crabs, algae and turtles. of a very famous legend in Brazil about a dolphin that turns into a man and seduces maidens by the riverside. The * Biodiversity information is taken from the Amazon River information tucuxi, also a dolphin species, is found both in the rivers posted on Wikipedia.