Brazil- The Amazon

The Amazon is a beautiful place!

The first European to explore the Amazon River was Francisco de Orellana, a Spanish solider, in 1541–1542. After descending the river to the Atlantic Ocean, Orellana told of seeing women tribal warriors, and he named the river Amazonas for the women warriors of Greek mythology. 

In 1637 Pedro Teixeira, a Portuguese explorer, ascended the Amazon with 2,000 men in 47 canoes.

The Amazon River  in South America is the second longest river in the world. It is the largest by waterflow with an average dischange greater than the next seven largest rivers combined. 

The Amazon, which has the largest drainage basin in the world, about 7,050,000 square kilometres (2,720,000 sq mi), accounts for approximately one-fifth of the world's total river flow.

The width of the Amazon varies between 1.6 and 10 kilometres (1.0 and 6.2 mi) at its low stage, but expands during the wet season to 48 kilometres (30 mi) or more. The river enters the Atlantic Ocean in aproximatly  240 kilometres (150 mi) wide. The mouth of the main stream is 80 kilometres (50 mi). Because of its vast dimensions, it is sometimes called The River Sea. 

The first bridge in the Amazon river system, over the Rio Negro, opened on 10 October 2010. It is just outside Manaus.

Postado em: pictures,tourism