Amazon River

The Amazon River is a major South American river system that flows eastward into the Atlantic Ocean. Its immense discharge and basin support the world’s largest tropical rainforest.

Amazon Basin: The vast drainage area whose waters flow through the Amazon River system toward the Atlantic Ocean. Its scale explains how rainfall across much of northern South America feeds the river.
Amazon River transport: The use of the Amazon and its tributaries as navigable routes for people and cargo. Waterways connect settlements across areas with few roads.
Amazon rainforest: The tropical forest biome spanning much of the Amazon Basin in South America. The river and its floodplains sustain forests that form the basin’s defining ecosystem.
Andes: The extensive mountain range running along the western edge of South America. Andean headwaters supply much of the Amazon’s sediment and water.
Ucayali River: A major Peruvian headstream that joins the Marañón River to form the Amazon. Its confluence with the Marañón marks the river’s conventional beginning in Peru.
Amazon fisheries: The capture and management of fish in the Amazon River system. Seasonal river conditions support fisheries that provide food and income.
Amazon River seasonal flooding: The annual rise and fall of water levels across the Amazon and its floodplains. The flood pulse reorganizes habitat and human activity through the year.
Amazon River drainage reversal: The geological shift that redirected the Amazon system from westward drainage toward the Atlantic. This change established the river’s modern eastward route across the continent.
Marañón River: A major river flowing through the Peruvian Andes and Amazon lowlands to join the Ucayali. Together with the Ucayali, it forms the main Amazon channel.
Manaus: A major Brazilian city at the confluence of the Rio Negro and Amazon River. Its location makes it a prominent urban and transport hub on the river.

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