The Amazon--Part 1

Amazonia, the basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries, is critical not only to South America, but to the entire world. Some statistics:

1) Amazonia consists of the Amazon River and its 1500 tributaries. 17 of those tributaries are longer than the Mississippi River. Together, the Amazon and its tributaries total 50,000 miles of waterways.

2) Amazonia covers 2.7 million square miles—40% of South America. It encompasses parts of Brazil, Columbia, Peru and Ecuador.

3) Amazonia contains 20% of the water in rivers of the world and creates 20% of the world’s oxygen.

4) More water flows through the Amazon than through the next 10 largest rivers combined.

5) 500 billion cubic feet of water flow into the Atlantic Ocean from the Amazon every day. The flow for one day would provide enough water for New York City for 9 years. So much water flows into the ocean that it remains fresh for 125 miles into the Atlantic Ocean.

6) The amount of sediment carried into the ocean each day would fill 270,000 10-ton dump trucks. Over time, that sediment has created Marajo Island, which is the size of Switzerland. The sediment causes the water to be a café au lait color.

Is the Amazon the longest river in the world? There seems to be disagreement here. National Geographic insists the longest river is the Nile, which is about 4000 miles long. But Jacque Cousteau’s foundation has traced the Amazon to a glacier in Peru, which would make it a few miles longer. It remains a mystery….

The River is deep enough that ocean-going vehicles can reach Iquitos Peru. We’re in Manaus, which is 1000 miles in and Iquitos is 1000 miles further.

Where does the water come from? There are 3 types of tributaries:

1) Brown rivers. These rivers come from glaciers in the Andes Mountains and the brown color comes from the sediment created by the glaciers moving along the mountains.

2) Blue rivers. These rivers come from mountains that have no glaciers, so they look essentially clear.

3) Black Rivers. These rivers provide the purest water and flow through lower elevations, where there is much vegetation that increases the tannins in the water, making it appear black.

Much of Amazonia is a rain forest that receives 150-180 inches of rain a year. The Amazon River itself flows roughly along the equator and has very little variation in temperature—it’s always hot and humid! There are two seasons, the dry and the wet. The wet is from December to May and the dry from June to November.  In the wet season the water in the river rises a few inches every day. We’ve heard different estimates, but the current depth of the river is 35-40 feet above what it was in November. This means buildings must be built on higher ground, or on stilts or they float on a raft. Picture 1 shows a small farm near Santarem. The water has risen to the point that livestock and people have been moved to higher ground. Vegetation survives in the water and forests appear to “float”. Picture 2 shows a village on stilts near Manaus. On some houses you can see that the water line has risen into the house. Picture 3 shows a floating house, which was built on a raft and is tied to the shore.

Traffic is by boat. Picture 4 shows a school bus that transports children from remote villages to a central school. Other than in the larger cities, there are few roads and many of those become impassable in the rainy season.

One of our stops was in the Anavilhanas Archipelago—the largest group of islands in a fresh body of water. We visited the Ariau Jungle Hotel, which has 5 miles of boardwalks above the water. Picture 5 shows what the jungle looks like closer to the canopy. That same day we also took a canoe into a “floating forest” and hiked through a section of the forest that was above the water line, seeing some amazing vegetation. (Picture 6).

Floating through the forest allowed us to see some of the small villages. Picture 7 shows a typical house. Interestingly, they may have shutters to cover the windows, but there is no glass or screens—and there are lots of insects and animals that we would not want crawling into our house! In most there is no plumbing or electricity. Some houses have generators and it’s interesting to see a house like this with a satellite dish. The river is the water source. If it’s a “brown river” you need to let the sediment settle to the bottom before using. Bathing is done in the river.

From Manaus we took a boat to the “Meeting of the Waters”. Manaus is where the Rio Negro (a black river) and Rio Solim’fes (a brown river) meet to form the Amazon. Picture 8 shows how the 2 rivers, with very distinct colors, run side by side for about 12 miles. The reasons they don’t mix immediately:

1) The Rio Negro comes from Columbia and the Rio Solim’fes comes from the Andes and the Rio Negro is several degrees warmer and flows slower due to lesser elevation changes.

2) The Rio Negro has a low PH, which makes it acidic, while the Rio Solim’fes has a higher PH, making it neutral.

We then visited the January Ecologic park, where we walked through the jungle to a lake where the giant water lilies grow (Victoria amazonica). Picture 9 shows both the pads and some blossoms. The pads grow to 6 feet wide and are an amazing site. Picture 10 shows a pad beginning to unfurl.

Following the walk, we canoed through another floating forest, as you can see in Picture 11.  Picture 12 shows a Ceiba Tree, the sacred (and largest) tree in the rainforest. These can grow to 200+ feet high and be flooded for 6 months of the year and survive. You can see the water mark on the trunk of the tree—and remember, we’re already 3 months into the rainy season! Interestingly. This is also a “communications tree”. By pounding on the trunk, you get the effect of a drum, which can be heard for miles.

Needless to say, it has been one amazing experience after another. Today we’ll tour Manaus and we’ll try to post some pictures tomorrow. Then it’s 4 days sailing back out to the Atlantic Ocean and, I’m sure many more great pictures!