Geography
What is the Amazon River?
Quick answer
The Amazon is a huge river in South America that carries more water than any other river on Earth. It flows about 6,400 km from the Andes across Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean.
In one sentence
The Amazon is the biggest river in the world by the amount of water it carries, flowing through the Amazon rainforest.
Explained
The Amazon starts as small streams in the Andes mountains of Peru. They join to form a mighty river that flows east across Brazil, about 6,400 kilometres, before reaching the Atlantic Ocean. Over a thousand smaller rivers, called tributaries, feed it. In the wet season, parts of the river grow many kilometres wide and flood the surrounding forest.
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What makes the Amazon special is the volume of water. It carries more water than the next several largest rivers put together, and about a fifth of all the river water that flows into the world's oceans. Near its mouth, it is so wide that you can't see across it. Some argue about whether the Amazon or the Nile is longer, but nobody doubts the Amazon is the greatest by flow.
The river runs through the largest rainforest on Earth, described in rainforests. This region has a huge variety of life: pink river dolphins, piranhas, giant otters, manatees, caimans, anacondas and thousands of kinds of fish, including the giant arapaima. On the banks live jaguars, monkeys, macaws and sloths. Near Manaus, in Brazil, the dark Rio Negro and the pale, muddy Solimões flow side by side for kilometres without mixing, in a place called the Meeting of the Waters.
Many people live along the river, including Indigenous communities who have lived there for thousands of years. They fish, farm and travel by boat, because few roads cross the forest. The river and forest are under pressure from logging, farming and climate change. See South America and rivers for more.
Examples
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Length | about 6,400 km |
| Starts | Peruvian Andes |
| Flows through | Peru, Colombia, Brazil |
| Ends | Atlantic Ocean |
| Wildlife | pink river dolphin, piranha, caiman |
Common mistakes
- "The Amazon is only in Brazil." It starts in Peru and its basin includes several countries.
- "All piranhas attack people." Most are shy and eat fish and plants.
- "The Amazon is the longest river, for sure." The Nile is often called longer, depending on how rivers are measured.
Quick quiz
The Amazon River
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Question 1 of 4
Which ocean does the Amazon flow into?
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For grown-ups
Related topics
Rivers
A river is a large stream of fresh water that flows downhill from its source, often in hills or mountains, to its mouth at a sea, lake or another river.
Rainforests
A rainforest is a dense forest that gets lots of rain all year round. Tropical rainforests are warm, wet and packed with more kinds of plants and animals than almost anywhere else.
South America
South America is the fourth-largest continent. It has 12 countries, the Amazon rainforest and river, the Andes mountains and the Atacama Desert.
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest continent, with 54 countries, the Sahara Desert, the River Nile, the Congo rainforest and savannas full of wildlife.
Antarctica
Antarctica is the frozen continent around the South Pole. It is the coldest, windiest and driest continent, covered by ice, and has no permanent residents.
Asia
Asia is the largest continent, covering about a third of the world's land and holding around 60 percent of its people. It has Mount Everest, the Himalayas and the most populous countries.