The Amazon river is the main in South America and the largest in the world, containing more water than the Nile, the Yangtze and the Mississippi combined. Its watershed waters a vast region and supports thousands of species of living beings, some of which have not yet been classified.
Characteristics and location of the Amazon River
The vast Amazon basin (Amazonia), the largest plain in Latin America, has an area of approximately 2.7 million square miles (7 million square km) and is almost twice as large as that of the Congo River, another large equatorial drainage system of the Earth.
Extending approximately 1,725 miles (2,780 km) from north to south at its widest point, the basin includes most of Brazil and Peru, significant parts of Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia, and a small area of Venezuela as seen on the map of the Amazon River.
Approximately two-thirds of the main stream of the Amazon and, by far, most of its basin are located within Brazil. The area of influence of Tocantins-Araguaia in the state of Pará covers another 300,000 square miles (777,000 square km).
Climate of the Amazon River
The climate of the Amazon River is warm, rainy and humid. The lengths of day and night are the same at the equator (which runs only slightly north of the river), and normally clear nights favor the relatively rapid radiation of the heat received from the sun during the 12-hour day.
There is a greater difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures than between the warmer and colder months. Therefore, the night can be considered the winter of the Amazon.
During the winter months of the southern hemisphere, a powerful mass of south-polar air occasionally drifts north into the Amazon region, causing a sharp drop in temperature, known locally as friagem, when mercury can register at 50 ° F (around 14 ° C).
At any time of the year, several days of heavy rain can be replaced by clear, sunny days and cool, cool nights with relatively low humidity. In the lower reaches of the river basin, refreshing trade winds blow most of the year.
Rainfall in the lowlands generally ranges between 60 and 120 inches (1,500 to 3,000 mm) annually in the central Amazon basin (for example, Manaus). On the east and northwest sides of the basin, rainfall occurs throughout the year, while in the central part there is a defined drier period, usually from June to November.
The dry season is not intense enough to stop the growth of the plants, but it can facilitate the initiation and spread of fires, whether arsonian or natural. To the west, the Andes form a natural barrier that prevents most of the water vapor from leaving the basin.
When is the best time to visit the Amazon?
The best season is during the dry season, which covers the months April to the end of September. In October the rains begin and you can enjoy the Amazon and find Machu Picchu clearly of clouds. If you travel in June, we recommend you to book the Inti Raymi 2025 Tour that takes place in June 24th, and also hike the Palcoyo Mountain Tour, which is an incredible Rainbow Mountain located in the Andes.
Flora and Fauna
Discover Amazon is discover its great cultural, biological and economic importance. The river is the base of the survival in the basin, that provides a great variety of habitats for thousands of alive beings. The wildlife is incalculable; roughly, the Amazon contains 10 percent of the world's known species, and a third of the known animals live in its jungle.
Typical examples of its fauna are the piranhas, the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), the pink dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), catfish, the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis), the jaguar (Panthera onca), the arapaimas, the anacondas, the candirú (Vandellia cirrhosa) and the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus); its waters are also visited by some sharks and many species of fish, insects, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds.
The Amazon jungle is a biome 2 times larger than India, with approximately 6.7 million km2. Its tropical rainforest is the largest in the world, although other environments such as savannas, swamps and flood forests stand out. The aquatic vegetation consists of lilies, water lilies, water lettuces, and others with long stems. The Victoria amazonica species is endemic to the river.
Economic importance
Since the Amazon River Peru is navigable to Iquitos, it is not a very important communication channel between the regions, as is the Mississippi. The natives of the Amazon have hunted, fished and collected food since ancient times, and used other resources to satisfy their needs.
At present, people continue to fish in their waters and these are used to drink, irrigate and navigate. Gold has also been sought in the course and its tributaries. However, it is the felling of forests to obtain timber, the most outstanding economic activity in the Amazon.
Threats
The murky color of the Amazon River water is due to suspended sediments and not precisely to pollution, which does exist as a consequence, for the most part, mercury from gold mines, discharges and population increase near him. Overfishing is another threat that affects the food chains on the one hand and the economy on the other, while the construction of roads prevents the normal movement of the species and can alter the hydrology of the river.
Despite its importance, the Amazon rainforest experiences a decline due to deforestation. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), during the last 50 years the Amazon has lost up to 17 percent of the jungle cover.
Amazon River Facts
- The Amazon is the largest tropical forest in the world. Covering more than 5.5 million square kilometers, it is so large that the United Kingdom and Ireland would fit in it 17 times!
- Running through the north of the jungle is the Amazon River. With a length of approximately 6,400 km, it is the second longest river in the world. The longest is the Nile River, which stretches for more than 6,650 km!
- In 2007, a man named Martin Strel swam along the Amazon River! To complete his trip to the jungle, Martin moved through the water for up to ten hours a day for 66 days.
- Around 400-500 indigenous Amerindian tribes call home to the Amazon rainforest. It is believed that about fifty of these tribes had never had contact with the outside world.
- The Amazon has an incredibly rich ecosystem: there are about 40,000 species of plants, 1,300 species of birds, 3,000 types of fish, 430 mammals and a whopping 2.5 million different insects.
- The Amazon jungle is home to a lot of fascinating and deadly. - creatures, including electric eels, piranha eating meat, poison dart frogs, jaguars and some poisonous snakes.
Hiking tours in the Amazon
Many are the routes that pass through the Amazon, but none is like the Inca Trail Tours, the most famous pedestrian path in the Americas. After flying from the capital of Perú, Lima, you will arrive in Cusco to walk for four days along a path through forests and dense fog, millenary stone steps and discovering the ruins of ancient fortifications and Inca cities, and all the time enjoying majestic views.
- Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu 5 days
- Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu 5 days
- Inca Quarry Trail 4 Days
- 2 Day Inca Trail Tour
- 2 Day Inca Trail with Camping
- 3 Day Inca Trail
- Vilcabamba Hike to Machu Picchu 6 days
- Choquequirao trek to Machu Picchu 9 days
- Ausangate trek 7 days
If you want to visit Machu Picchu, we recommend you to book your Machu Picchu Ticket in advance, so you will enjoy your Vacation in Machu Picchu without any problem.
