I.

Introduction

Amazon (Portuguese and Spanish, Amazonas), river, northern South America, largely in Brazil, ranked as the largest in the world in terms of catchment area, number of tributaries, and volume of water discharged. Measuring about 6,400 km (4,000 mi) from source to mouth, it is second in length only to the Nile among the rivers of the world. With its hundreds of tributaries, the Amazon drains a territory of more than 6 million sq km (2.3 million sq mi)—more than twice the size of the region drained by the Nile. Roughly half of the area drained is in Brazil; the rest is in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela. It is estimated that the Amazon discharges between 34 and 121 million litres (7.5 and 27 million gallons) of water per second and deposits a daily average of 3 million tons of sediment near its mouth. The annual outflow from the river accounts for one-fifth of all the fresh water that drains into the oceans of the world. The outpouring of water and sediment is so vast that the salinity and colour of the Atlantic Ocean are altered for a distance of about 320 km (200 mi) from the mouth of the river.

II.

Course and Physical Environment

The major headstreams of the Amazon are the Ucayali and Marañón rivers. They both rise in the permanent snows and glaciers of the high Andes, and rush through waterfalls and gorges, following parallel courses north before joining near Nauta, Peru. From this confluence the main trunk of the Amazon flows in a generally eastern direction to the Atlantic Ocean. The Amazon enters the Atlantic through a broad estuary, roughly estimated at 240 km (about 150 mi) in width. Here deposits of sediment have formed a maze of islands that separate the river into branches. The mouth of the main stream is 80 km (50 mi) wide. This branch, known as the Pará, is separated from a smaller branch by Marajó Island, which has an area (including salt marshes) of more than 36,000 sq km (14,000 sq mi). During new and full moon a tidal bore, or wave front from the ocean, sweeps some 650 km (more than 400 mi) upstream at speeds in excess of 65 km/h (40 mph). This phenomenon often causes waves up to 5 m (16 ft) in height.

The Amazon watershed includes the largest and wettest tropical plain in the world, and the largest rainforest. Heavy rains drench much of the lowland region throughout the year, but especially between January and June. Seasonal variation in rainfall is reflected by the width, rate of flow, and discharge volume of the river, and the annual average in the region ranges from 2,000 mm (79 in) to 3,000 mm (118 in). During the months of maximum precipitation, broad areas traversed by the Amazon are subject to severe floods. In Brazil the width of the river ranges between 1.6 and 10 km (1 and 6 mi) at low stage but expands to 48 km (30 mi) or more during the annual floods; the rate of flow ranges between 2.4 and 8 km/hr (1.5 and 5 mph); and the crest of the water at flood time often rises 15 m (50 ft) above the norm. To drain the vast mass of water, the Amazon has carved a deep bed in the plain through which it flows. In one sector near Óbidos, Brazil, the bed is more than 91 m (300 ft) below the average surface level of its water.

Because of its vastness, annual floods, and navigability, the Amazon is often called the Ocean River. The total number of its tributaries is as yet uncounted, but more than 200 are in Brazil alone. Seventeen of the largest known tributaries are more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi) in length. The Amazon proper is navigable to ocean liners of virtually any tonnage for two thirds of its course. Transatlantic ships call regularly at Manaus, nearly 1,600 km (1,000 mi) upstream; and ships of 3,000 tons can reach Iquitos, Peru, 3,700 km (2,300 mi) from the river's mouth, the farthest point from sea of any port serving ocean traffic. River steamers of more modest tonnage can navigate on more than 100 of the larger tributaries.

III.

Exploration

The delta region of the Amazon may have been discovered by Vicente Yáñez Pinzón in 1500, but exploration did not begin until 1540-1541, when an expedition led by Francisco de Orellana started down the Napo River, in what is now Ecuador, and reached the Atlantic Ocean. Pedro Teixeira undertook the first upstream voyage. Between October 1637 and August 1638 he ascended the Amazon to the source of the Napo River and crossed the Andes to Quito, Ecuador. Later, he returned by the same route. In modern times the river has been explored by many scientific expeditions, including that led in 1914 by Theodore Roosevelt and others sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society, the National Geographic Society and the government of Brazil.

Some authorities believe that the river was named after the Amazons, women warriors of Greek mythology who were thought to reside in the region. Other scholars insist that the name is derived from the Native American word amassona (“boat destroyer”).

IV.

Development

Despite centuries of effort to overcome the dominance of nature, the impact of humans has only been large in the last few decades. No bridge spans the river. Except near its mouth, the Amazon watershed constitutes one of the most thinly populated regions in the world. Much of the territory drained by the river system has never been thoroughly explored. One may fly for hours over the tropical forests that cover much of the river's floodplain and see no sign of human settlement. In many stream valleys, Native American peoples continue to live much as they did before the arrival of the Europeans.

Most commerce is narrowly confined to the navigable sectors of the river system. The economy continues to be dominated by primitive agriculture, hunting and fishing, and the gathering of various forest products. Tourism and industry play only a minor role in the region, but mining, timber production, and cattle farming are increasingly important and controversial.

V.

Environmental Damage

These activities have led to significant deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, which is a major environmental issue; this important area is believed to contain a third of the world’s plant and animal life. Estimates vary widely in the area of forest in the Amazon basin destroyed either for timber, or to clear the land for cattle farming, road building, or the construction of new communities by peasants relocated from Brazil's cities. Some estimates indicate that by 1990 nearly 10 per cent of the rainforest had been cleared. A study by NASA based on satellite photography concluded that the area deforested by 1993 was less than 280,000 sq km (108,000 sq mi, or about 5 per cent of the total forest area), and the rate of deforestation had declined to 11,000 sq km (4,250 sq mi) per year, following the abolition of tax incentives for land clearance in Brazil.

Others have disagreed, however, saying that this does not take into account trees lost in areas of mixed grassland and trees, or degradation of forests short of outright clearance. In 1993 Friends of the Earth estimated the total area affected by deforestation at about 14 per cent of the total, around 700,000 sq km (270,000 sq mi), and also claims that the rate of destruction is slowing only because of temporary economic depression. The World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) estimates that by 2020 the Amazon forest will have lost 25 per cent of its original coverage.

Furthermore, a study published in April 1999 suggests that studies of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest have underestimated the actual extent of forest loss by half or more. The flaw in past estimates lies in the use of satellite images. They are useful for estimating deforestation in areas where all of the trees on a tract of land have been removed or burned; however, satellite images fail to capture numerous smaller pockets of damage such as areas that have been selectively logged, or where surface fires have burnt trees without destroying underlying vegetation.

The research calculated that logging damaged between 10,000 and 15,000 sq km (3,800 and 5,800 sq mi) of Brazil's rainforest each year in 1996 and 1997. Overall, it was determined that actual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon was at least double the damage suggested by estimates derived from satellite images. However, Brazilian environmental officers reported that 15,787 sq km (6,094 sq mi) of forest were destroyed by logging and fires between 2000 and 2001, which is a 13 per cent reduction on the 1999-2000 figure of 18,226 sq km (7,035 sq mi). The Brazilian government attributed this to closer monitoring, and increased sustainable development projects rather than slash-and-burn practices employed by many small farmers wishing to cultivate areas of land, although the WWF called for further integration of environmental policies.

Damage caused by logging and fires poses a potentially serious threat to the Amazon rainforest. Holes in the forest canopy allow sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor and dry vegetation, increasing the risk of fire. At the global level, many scientists worry that continued burning and logging in the forest will further elevate quantities of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a process that has been linked to the problem of global warming. In addition to which, the Amazon is seen as a hugely important source of diversity of plant and animal life, much of which has not yet been studied, and may harbour cures for numerous diseases.

These issues continue to be a subject of intense debate. However, despite United Nations sponsored international environmental congresses—the 1992 Rio and 1997 Kyoto Earth Summits—there is little international agreement along the North-South economic divide on how industrializing countries such as Brazil can develop their economies at a high rate of growth without exploiting their natural resources in an unsustainable manner.