Xingu River
The Xingu is a major tributary of the Amazon in northern Brazil, flowing north from the Brazilian Highlands through Pará to the Amazon River.
Xingu River basin: The drainage region whose streams flow into the Xingu River. Its tributaries and landscapes explain the river’s changing flow from uplands to lowlands.
Brazilian Highlands: An extensive elevated region occupying much of eastern and central Brazil. The Xingu rises in these highlands before descending north toward the Amazon.
Xingu Indigenous Territory: A protected Indigenous territory in Mato Grosso, Brazil, established around the headwaters of the Xingu. Its communities live in the river’s upper basin and have defended its forests and waters.
Belo Monte Dam environmental impact: The ecological changes associated with construction and operation of the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex. Altered river flow has affected aquatic habitats and species in the Volta Grande.
Altamira: A city in Pará, Brazil, situated on the Xingu River. Altamira became a center for construction, migration, and social change during Belo Monte’s development.
Volta Grande do Xingu: A large horseshoe-shaped bend in the Xingu River in Pará, Brazil. This river reach concentrates rapids and was altered by the Belo Monte hydropower complex.
Amazon Basin: The vast lowland drainage basin surrounding the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Xingu is one of the basin’s major southern tributaries.
Kayapó: An Indigenous people of Brazil whose territories include parts of the Xingu region. Kayapó leaders have organized against projects threatening the river and Indigenous lands.
Deforestation in the Xingu basin: The clearing of forests across the Xingu River’s drainage region. Agriculture, ranching, roads, and settlement have transformed parts of the basin.
Xingu National Park: A protected area in Mato Grosso, Brazil, encompassing Indigenous territories near the Xingu headwaters. The park safeguards forested headwaters and supports Indigenous communities in the upper basin.