Trifter

The Amazon River is located on the continent of South America and is considered the 2nd longest river in the world behind the Nile River though some dispute this. It’s total length is 3,980 feet long. What cannot be disputed is that the Amazon is the largest river in the world by sheer volume. In fact the Amazon’s total water flow is larger than the next top 10 rivers flowing into the oceans combined and makes up 20% of the world’s total river flow. 

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During the wet season the Amazon can stretch up to 130 miles wide. Despite it’s great length and largely due to its great width the Amazon has no bridges which cross it.

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Located primarily in tropical rain forests the Amazon has the largest drainage basin in the world and covers over 40% of South America.  The origins of the Amazon stretch almost to the Pacific Ocean on top of the Andean plateau.

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During the rainy seasons the Amazon nearly triples in total width. The flow of fresh water into the Atlantic Ocean from the Amazon is so large that even many miles out into the ocean one cannot taste salt in the water.

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If you ever view the Amazon in person the sheer size of the river is almost unimaginable.

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Large ocean vessels can travel almost 1,000 miles up the Amazon while smaller ocean vessels can travel as far up as 2,200 miles.

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When most people think of the Amazon they associate the river with Brazil but in fact seven different South American nations are connected to the Amazon and they are Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Guyana.

The Amazon Rainforest is home to over 300 species of mammals including the mighty big cat Jaguar. Over 33% of all species in the world live in the Amazon Rainforest including flesh eating piranha

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which have been known to eat humans, Macaws, Toucans (only place found in the world in the wild),

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anacondas and monkeys including the Howler Monkey. The Boto or Pink River Dolphin is the largest fresh water dolphin in the world and can grow up to 9 feet in length and is found only in the Amazon and Orinoco rivers.

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The Arapaima is one of the largest freshwater fishes in the world and can weight up to 400 lbs and grow to 10 feet in length. Bull sharks have been reported as far as 2,200 miles up the Amazon. Thousands of species of fish, tens of thousands of trees and probably over 100,000 other plant species exist here. Nobody knows how many species of insects inhabit the Amazon Rainforest but probably a million or more.

The Amazon River is just a massive, spectacular and dynamic place.

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