Facts about the Amazon River
- 10
In 1542, Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana traversed the entire Amazon River from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, taking approximately five months to complete the 3,400-mile journey.
- 09
Roughly 10% of all species on Earth live within the Amazon River and its surrounding rainforest ecosystem, making it the planet's most biodiverse region by far.
- 08
Sediment transported by the Amazon River colors the Atlantic Ocean brown up to 100 miles offshore, depositing approximately 209 million tons of soil annually into the ocean.
- 07
Anacondas and caimans inhabit the Amazon River system, with black caimans reaching lengths of up to 20 feet and representing the largest reptiles in the basin.
- 06
During the wet season, water levels in the Amazon River can rise up to 40 feet, transforming the surrounding forest into a vast inland sea covering millions of acres.
- 05
Pink river dolphins inhabit the Amazon's freshwater systems and can turn their heads nearly 90 degrees due to unfused neck vertebrae, enabling them to navigate flooded forests.
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Approximately 390 billion individual trees representing around 16,000 species grow throughout the Amazon rainforest, with one in ten known plant species on Earth found there.
- 03
Over 1,100 tributaries feed into the Amazon River system, with the Negro River being the largest tributary by water volume discharged.
- 02
The Amazon River basin spans approximately 5.5 million square kilometers across nine countries, with Brazil containing roughly 60% of the total area.
- 01
The Amazon River discharges approximately 209,000 cubic meters of water into the Atlantic Ocean every second, accounting for about 20% of all river water entering Earth's oceans.