Manaus, Brazil - Meeting of the Waters

Danny Catt — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:22:56 -0700

The Meeting of the Waters, near Manaus, Brazil

With a population of around 2 million, Manaus is the largest city in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It is located about 1500 kilometres up the Amazon from the river’s mouth and is situated on the shore of the Rio Negro just a mile or two up river from where the Rio Negro meets the Rio Solimoes.

The waters of the Rio Negro are black coffee coloured and are without sediments whereas the Rio Solimoes is a milky brown colour and is loaded with sediments and associated nutrients. The differences in colour and water characteristics are a function of what part of the basin each river drains.

The Rio Solimoes is a muddy, milky brown because it is loaded with sediments from the Andes (and other sources) while the Rio Negro is black coffee (or weak tea) coloured because it drains the nutrient poor upper Amazon basin (near Colombia & Venezuela) and has virtually no sediment in it.

The river we know as the Amazon actually changes its name a number of times along its route to the sea. It starts as the Acayali River in Peru (when I was in Pucallpa, Peru I was on the Acayali River). The Acayali joins the Rio Maranon near Iquitos, Peru. From Iquitos to the Brazilian border the river is known as the Amazon, but once the river flows into Brazil (from Peru) it is called the Rio Solimoes until it joins the Rio Negro near Manaus. Once they meet, it takes many miles for the waters of the two rivers to mix completely.

Once past Manaus the river is once again referred to as the Amazon, the name it retains for the rest of its journey to the sea. (That may sound a bit confusing but I hope it makes sense).

Catt-Trax 2 - Manaus

Manaus, Brazil - Meeting of the Waters