Amazon River Still Amazes Us
The Amazon is a river in South America. It is the second longest river in the world, with 6.448 km (The Nile is 6.650 km) and by far the largest by water flow with an average discharge of 209.000 cubic meters per second. The Amazon Basin is the largest drainage basin in the world, it covers about 30% of South America (second is the Congo basin). The river originates in the Andes and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at the equator level. The most distant source of the Amazon is in the Peruvian Andes. The river then enters Brazil on the border with Colombia. From here the river flows 3.615 km through Brazil to its confluence. The Amazon River enters the Atlantic Ocean in a broad estuary, some 325 km wide. The river is navigable to the city Iquitos, 3700 miles from the ocean, and small boats can sail another 780 kilometers to the Acua. Spanish explorer and conquistador, Francisco de Orellana, completed the first known navigation of the length of the Amazon River. There are no bridges on the Amazon River.
