The Amazon is the largest river system on the planet. The total number of its tributaries is in the hundreds. But we will only talk about one of them. In the article you will find a detailed description of the Madeira River. Do you know where its source is, what cities are located on its wild shores?
Amazon Basin: wonder of wonders
7180 thousand square kilometers - this is the area of the Amazon drainage basin. This is roughly comparable to the territory occupied by the state of Australia. The Amazon is the longest and deepest river in the world. Every day it takes out about 20 cubic kilometers of water into the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, it is not surprising that in 2011 the Amazon, along with its basin, was included in the list of the seven natural wonders of the world.
This is not a complete list of records. The river basin contains the largest and oldest rainforest on the planet. It is believed that its age is about 100 million years. By the way, many of the foods that we eat almost daily come from here - these are potatoes, bananas, chocolate and corn.
Madeira River: source and mouth
The Amazon is fed by over 200 rivers. And these are only the tributaries of the first order. The Madeira River is one of the largest Amazonian tributaries. We will talk about it in more detail in this article.
Madeira is the second largest tributary of the Amazon. The total length of the watercourse is 3230 kilometers. The source of Madeira is considered to be the confluence of two smaller rivers - Mamore and Beni. This location is shown in the satellite image below. They, in turn, originate on the slopes of the Andes Mountains.
In its upper reaches, the Madeira River serves as the state border between Brazil and Bolivia. But after a hundred kilometers, it turns to the northeast and flows through the territories of two Brazilian states - Rondonia and Amazonas. Madeira flows into the Amazon near the town of Itacuatiara with two independent branches.
Drainage area of the river - 1.5 million square meters. km. Main tributaries of Madeira: Abuna, Abakashis, Jiparana, Kanuman.
Madeira River: 8 interesting facts
Facts about the body of water:
- The length of Madeira ranks 19th among all the rivers of the planet. If we take into account only tributaries, then it will take 4th place in the ranking, losing only to Purus, Missouri and Irtysh.
- The name of the river comes from the Portuguese word madeira, which translates as wood.
- The first European to describe Madeira was the Portuguese explorer Francisco de Melo Palleta. He gave it such a name, surprised by the myriad of wood floating inwater.
- The maximum width of the river reaches one kilometer.
- Gold is mined in the middle and upper reaches of the reservoir, and oil deposits have been discovered in the lower reaches.
- In the jungle adjacent to Madeira, rubber and Brazil nuts are actively mined.
- An unusual plant grows on the shores of Madeira - gunnera rough, the leaves of which reach a diameter of two meters and are able to withstand considerable weight.
- The Amazonian freshwater dolphin (another name is inia) lives in the waters of Madeira. Locals consider these amazing animals to be the reincarnations of the souls of people drowned in the river.
Water regime and river nutrition
The Madeira River in South America is located entirely within the equatorial climate zone. This means that its basin is characterized by year-round precipitation. In other words, the river is full-flowing all year round. Nevertheless, seasonal fluctuations in the level in the channel are also characteristic of it, and they reach 10-12 meters. The highest water level in Madeira is observed from October to May - in the so-called rainy season.
The average water discharge at the mouth of the Madeira is 536 sq. km. km / year, which, in turn, equals 7.5% of the total flow of the Amazon. For comparison: this is ten times more than the flow of the European river Dnieper.
During the rainy season, the water level in Madeira can rise up to 15 meters. During this period, ocean-going ships are able to pass up the riverbed for 1000 kilometers from its mouth. At the sametime in the upper reaches of Madeira navigation is impossible due to the presence of numerous rapids.
Flora and fauna
Approximately half of the Amazonian rain forests are concentrated in the Madeira basin. The local multi-tiered forests are distinguished by an amazing variety of flora and fauna. There are up to 4000 forms and varieties of trees alone. And the total flora of the river basin has about 40 thousand species of various plants.
The waters of the Madeira River and its tributaries are home to about 800 species of fish and over 60 species of amphibians. In particular, the anaconda is found here - a huge snake, reaching a length of 5-6 meters. In addition to fish and reptiles, she often eats the meat of land-dwelling animals such as bakers, tapirs and capybaras.
Cities and industry
On the shores of Madeira there are a number of cities and towns: Porto Velho, Manicore, Humaita. The largest of them is the city of Porto Velho, which is the capital of the state of Rondonia. Today it is home to over 400 thousand people. Porto Velho was founded at the beginning of the last century during the construction of the Madeira-Mamore railway. Today it is the most important transport and commercial center of eastern Brazil.
In 2007, the Brazilian government decided to build two hydroelectric power plants in Madeira - Girão and Santo António, with a capacity of more than 3 GW each. According to officials, this will increase the country's energy potential by 8-10%,as well as significantly improve transport infrastructure in the Amazon region. Despite numerous protests from environmentalists, animal rights activists and local indigenous tribes, the power plants were nevertheless put into operation in 2017.
