The Amazon River is found in South America and is the 2nd largest river in the world.
This river is home to the Amazon River dolphin, which is also commonly known as the “Boto” dolphin.
In addition to the Amazon River dolphin this amazing river houses 1/3 of the worlds known species!
In terms of size the Amazon River is over 2,700,000 square miles and varies from 1 mile wide to over 6 miles depending on the area.
Geographic features
The Amazon is a tropical environment located in South America that experiences regular rain and drought seasons depending on the time of year.
It also happens to have the largest biodiversity in the world housing over 1/3rd of the worlds known species.
The Amazon River flows all the way from Peru to the end of Brazil and out into the Atlantic Ocean connecting with the various continents in between these two countries through a number of waterways, canals and river passages that spread like a spider web throughout South America.
Some of the most well-known connecting countries include Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia use these waters with a small river connection into the inner edge of Guyana.
As stated earlier this river has the largest supply of river water allowing the various connected continents and countries to travel from one location to the other via boat and other water transportation systems.
This massive river and its various connecting waterways cover 35% – 45% of South America, which makes water travel not only a great option, but a necessity to many of its inhabitants.
The Amazon is primarily covered in forested terrain and during rain season as many as 140,000 square miles may be flooded with heavy rain.
When rain season ends and the dry season begins the rain water begins to reside covering about 1/3rd of the square mileage it covered during the rain season.
Depending on the time of year and the area of the Amazon a particular canal or waterways depth can vary anywhere from less than 100 ft deep to over 300 ft deep.
Climate
The Amazon is a tropical environment that remains fairly hot and humid throughout the year with temperatures ranging between 70° f – 90° f all year-long.
While there isn’t a summer or winter there is a rain and dry season.
The rain season typically occurs between December and May at which point the weather cools and large amounts of rainfall accumulate causing certain areas to flood.
During the dry season which begins around June and ends around November temperatures rise and the water that has accumulated from the rainfall begins to reside and dry out in certain areas.
Despite being called a dry season its important to note that it does rain throughout the year so there is no true dry season, only heavy rain and light rain months.
Animals
Over 1/3rd of the world’s species inhibit the Amazon Rainforest.
Some of these species include marine mammals, land animals, exotic birds, fish and reptiles.
One of the most popular species/marine mammals known to inhibit the Amazon is the Amazon River dolphin (also known as the Boto or Pink River dolphin), which is one of the world largest river dolphins.
The Tucuxi dolphin may also be found living in parts of the Amazon basin.
Other popular species include the Piranha, Toucan, Anaconda, Jaguar, Spider Monkey, River Otter and the Anteater among other exotic animals, reptiles and fish.
6 facts about the Amazon River
At over 2,700,000 square miles the Amazon River has the largest flow of water in the world and contains more water than the 7 largest rivers in the world combined; providing us with around 1/5 of the world’s total river water flow!
Some parts of the Amazon River are so large that it is sometimes referred to as the “The River Sea”.
The Amazon is home to more than 1/3rd of the entire worlds known species.
During rain season as much as 140,000 square miles may be flooded with rain water.
In addition to having the largest river system in the world the Amazon also houses the world’s largest underwater river
The Amazon River flows all the way from Peru to Brazil and covers around 40% of land throughout South America.