Amozon River
The Amazon River of South America is one of the two greatest rivers on Earth, the other being the Nile in Africa. The Amazon has by far the greatest total flow of any river, carrying more than the Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze rivers combined. Its drainage area, called the Amazon Basin, is the largest of any river system. The Amazon could be considered the "strongest".
The amount of fresh water released to the Atlantic Ocean is enormous: up to 300,000 m³ per second in the rainy season. Indeed, the Amazon is responsible for a fifth of the total volume of fresh water entering the oceans worldwide. It is said that offshore of the mouth of the Amazon potable water can be drawn from the ocean while still out of sight of the coastline, and the salinity of the ocean is notably lower a hundred miles out to sea.
The main river is navigable for large ocean steamers to Manaus, almost 800 miles upriver from the mouth. Smaller ocean vessels of 3,000 tons and 5.5 m draft can reach as far as Iquitos, 3,700 km from the sea. Smaller riverboats can reach 780 km higher as far as Achual Point. Beyond that, small boats frequently ascend to the Pongo de Manseriche, just above Achual Point.
The Amazon drains an area of some 6,915,000km², or a number of 40 percent of South America. It gathers its waters from 5 degrees north latitude to 20 degrees south leeway. Its most remote sources are found on the inter-Andean plateau, just a short distance from the Pacific Ocean; and, after a course of about 7,200 km through the interior of Peru and across Brazil, it enters the Atlantic Ocean at the equator.The Amazon has altered its drainage several times, from westward in the early Cenozoic to its present eastward locomotion following the uplift of the Andes.
The amount of fresh water released to the Atlantic Ocean is enormous: up to 300,000 m³ per second in the rainy season. Indeed, the Amazon is responsible for a fifth of the total volume of fresh water entering the oceans worldwide. It is said that offshore of the mouth of the Amazon potable water can be drawn from the ocean while still out of sight of the coastline, and the salinity of the ocean is notably lower a hundred miles out to sea.
The main river is navigable for large ocean steamers to Manaus, almost 800 miles upriver from the mouth. Smaller ocean vessels of 3,000 tons and 5.5 m draft can reach as far as Iquitos, 3,700 km from the sea. Smaller riverboats can reach 780 km higher as far as Achual Point. Beyond that, small boats frequently ascend to the Pongo de Manseriche, just above Achual Point.
The Amazon drains an area of some 6,915,000km², or a number of 40 percent of South America. It gathers its waters from 5 degrees north latitude to 20 degrees south leeway. Its most remote sources are found on the inter-Andean plateau, just a short distance from the Pacific Ocean; and, after a course of about 7,200 km through the interior of Peru and across Brazil, it enters the Atlantic Ocean at the equator.The Amazon has altered its drainage several times, from westward in the early Cenozoic to its present eastward locomotion following the uplift of the Andes.
posted by loseword at 10:56 PM
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