AMAZON RIVER FACTS

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Learn more about the Amazon River with our range of facts. Find out where the Amazon River is located, how big it is, interesting facts and much
more.
Source: Calillona, Peru. The Mouth (Delta) is located in North Eastern Brazil.
Location: It flows east across South America and enters the Atlantic Ocean.
Length: The Amazon is 3,900 miles long. (6,280 km)

Interesting things to know about Amazon River

  • The Amazon River is the second longest river in the world (the Nile River in Africa is the longest) and is about 4,000 miles (6400 km) long. (In July 2007 a group of scientists reportedly determined that the Amazon River might just be the longest river in the world, taking that title from the Nile River. It will take further studies to substantiate the claim and for the Amazon River to be recognized as the longest.)
  • The Amazon passes the most water when talking about volume and flow. Along the Amazon there are many types of animals. About 250 species of mammals, 3,000 kinds of fish, 10,000 kinds of trees, 70,000 plants, and 1,800 different kinds of birds live along the Amazon River
  • The Amazon produces approximately 20 percent of all the water that the world’s rivers pour into the oceans on its own.
  • The Amazon collects water from just over 40 percent of South America’s Landmass, through the thousands of tributaries that join the main branch of the Amazon River. Of these tributaries, 17 are over 1600(1000 miles) kilometers long.
  • From Iquitos in Peru all the way across Brazil to the Atlantic, the Amazon is between six and ten kilometers wide. The maps page has a picture that shows this effect quite well.
  • The Amazon is even wider when it is flooded in the wet season.
  • Streams that begin in the Andes Mountains are the starting sources for the Amazon River.
  • Most of the runoff of Brazil flows into the Amazon River along with runoff from four other countries: Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador.
  • Due to the vast amount of water as well as sediment that are deposited where the Amazon River meets the Atlantic Ocean, the color and salinity of the Atlantic Ocean are modified for nearly 200 miles (320 km) from the delta.
  • For much of its path, the Amazon River can be as much as one to six miles wide! During flood seasons, the Amazon River can be much, much wider; some report it is more than 20 miles wide (32 km) in certain places.
  • The Amazon River taken different routes since it began to carry water. Some scientists have determined that the Amazon River even flowed west at one time or more, into the Pacific Ocean.

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