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.