Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The Amazon River

The next day, Benito and Manoel sat on the bank of the river at the southern end of the manor, watching the river flow quietly.The Amazon River originates from the majestic Andes Mountains and flows into the Atlantic Ocean more than 3,000 kilometers away from the mountains. This is the longest river in the world! [Note] Benito said. [Note] Benito's argument was correct at the time, as no further measurements had been made at that time.Today his arguments are not realistic.The basin area and flow of the Amazon River are the first in the world, and the length is second only to the Nile River, ranking second in the world.

yes!And the traffic is the biggest!Manoel replied. Benito went on to say: It has such a large amount of water that the river water is still fresh far away from the mouth of the sea.Moreover, at a place 320 kilometers away from the coast, it can still make the ship yaw! Its river course spans more than thirty latitudes! Its drainage area spans more than twenty-five latitudes from south to north! Benito then added: What a watershed!Here, there are vast and endless plains, and there is also an endless savannah; there is no hill to make this valley undulating, and no mountain to block its sight!

The whole river is like a gigantic octopus with a thousand tentacles, Manoel went on, with two hundred tributaries from north and south feeding into the Amazon, and countless smaller streams feeding into these tributaries.How the great rivers of Europe pale in comparison like the brooks! Not counting the small islands, the whole river flows through about five hundred and sixty fixed or drifting islands, like a group of archipelagos.These islands alone are the wealth of a kingdom! In addition, around the river bank, there are a large number of canals, lakes and lagoons of different depths.There are not so many lakes in Switzerland, Lombardy, Scotland and Canada combined!

With thousands of tributaries pouring into it, it's no wonder that the Amazon River pours 250 million cubic meters of water into the Atlantic Ocean every hour! It is also the boundary river between the two countries, flowing through Brazil, the largest kingdom in South America, as if the Pacific Ocean flows into the Atlantic Ocean through its own canal! What a wide estuary!In the bay at the mouth of the sea, there is an island with a circumference of two thousand kilometers! The flow of the Amazon River is so great that, even where it enters the sea, the Atlantic Ocean can only raise a small tide after a fierce struggle.In contrast, the high tide and low tide of other rivers are as insignificant as the ripples blown by the breeze!

This river must have at least three names to describe it!Up to 5,000 kilometers upstream along the mouth of the river, giant cargo ships can sail, and there is no need to reduce the volume of cargo at all! The Amazon and its tributaries, large and small, form the commercial shipping network of northern South America: from the Magdalena to the Olteguaza, from the Olteguaza to the Calcutta, and from the Calcutta to the From the Kota River to the Putumayo River, and finally from the Putumayo River to the Amazon River.The entire four thousand miles of waterways require only a few canals to form a complete navigable network.

Moreover, it is also the most extensive and remarkable hydrological system in the world! The two young men talked enthusiastically about this incomparable river.Because they are the sons of the Amazon and they love the great river.The majestic tributaries of the Amazon River form a channel through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, New Granada, Venezuela and the four Guyanas belonging to Britain, France, the Netherlands and Brazil. Like many nations and races with a long history, many great rivers in the world have not yet been able to verify their sources because of their age.Many countries claim to be their country of origin.The Amazon River is no exception. For a long time, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia have been competing for the honor of the birthplace of the Amazon River.

Some geographers once believed that the Amazon River originated in the Titicaca Mountains in Bolivia.If so, they would have to prove that the Amazon River is the Ucayali River, which is formed by the confluence of the Paro and Abrimak rivers.Today, people have dismissed this reality. Now, there is no doubt that the Amazon River originates in Yuara Agua County, which is in the province of Talma in Peru.Its source is Lauri Kocha Lake, located between eleven and twelve degrees south latitude. After the Amazon River flows out of Laurikocha Lake, it first turns to the northeast and meanders slowly. At the 560-mile course, an important tributary, the Ponte River, flows into the Amazon River.Since then, the Amazon River has flowed straight east.In Peru and Colombia, the stretch of the Amazon up to the Brazilian border is known as the Marañon, or Maranão, a Frenchized Portuguese name.From the border of Brazil to the city of Manao, the majestic Negro River flows into the big river. This section of the Amazon River is called Solimaes or Solimoance River.The name is derived from the Solimao tribe of Indians.Today we can still find traces of this tribe in the provinces along the Amazon River.Finally, the great river that runs from the city of Manaus to its mouth is called the Yamasinas or Amazon.It was named by the descendants of the Spanish explorer O'Herana.According to the records of Ohrana, in Namanda (a tributary of the Amazon River) once lived a tribe of brave and skilled women.Although these stories are not very believable, they are very exciting to read.

From the source of the Amazon River, we can foresee that this is a majestic river.From its source, the Amazon River remains unimpeded until its course narrows somewhat as it passes through two picturesque mountains of varying heights.When the Amazon River turns eastward and flows through the middle of the Andes Mountains, due to the large ups and downs of the terrain, the river falls here and forms a waterfall.Without these few drops, the Amazon would be navigable from its source all the way to the sea.In any case, as Humboldt [Note: German naturalist and traveler, who once went to explore America with Poplarin. ] said that five-sixths of the Amazon River is navigable.

From its source, many water-rich tributaries continuously flow into the Amazon River.On the left bank of the great river, there are the Sansibe, Marona, Pasduca, Zambijan, and Tigray rivers from the northeast.On the right bank of the river, there is the Salsapujas River from the southeast, and the Guaraga River, which empties into the river near the Laguna mission station.There is also the Uaraga River on the right bank, which empties into the Amazon at a distance of 2,800 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.Up the river, ships can travel two hundred miles to the heart of Peru.On the right bank of the river St.Joachim.Near the station of the Omaguas Mission, there is also a majestic Ucayali River. This main artery crosses the Pampas grassland mightily, and receives countless rivers from Chuguito Lake (located in the Arica region) on the way. Northeast) currents.The upper Amazon basin ends at the Ucayali River.

These are the main tributaries of the upper Amazon, west of the village of Iquitos.The volumes of water in the lower reaches of the great rivers are so great that the narrow beds of European rivers simply cannot contain them.As the Joam family travels downriver, they will enjoy the varied scenery of the various estuaries of these rivers. The Amazon River flows through the low latitudes south of the equator, including the most beautiful countries in the world [Note: Refers to the Brazilian translator's note].This great river not only has a magnificent scenery that is unparalleled in the world, but also has advantages that the Nile, Mississippi, and Lipston River (formerly known as the Congo | Zaire | Lualaba River) do not have.Although some travelers talk nonsense without field research, in fact, the land through which the Amazon River flows is indeed the most unique in South America.There are westerly winds blowing in the basin all the year round.Because the Amazon River does not flow in the valley between the mountains, but crosses a vast plain (the distance between the north and the south of the plain is about 1,400 kilometers), and there are few hills, so the airflow can gallop freely between the plains. superior.

Some people once thought that although the Amazon River Basin may become the most developed commercial center, the climate here is not conducive to human health.In this regard, Agassiz [Note: American geologist and paleontologist originally from Switzerland. 】Professor refuted it. He believed that the gentle breeze that often blows here causes evaporation, so that the temperature drops, so the land is not so scorching.Thanks to this cool breeze, the climate in the Amazon basin is so pleasant, it can even be said to be the most comfortable. In addition, Father Durand, who used to preach in Brazil, also observed that the highest temperature here does not exceed 33°C, and the lowest temperature does not fall below 25°C. The temperature difference is only eight degrees, and the average temperature is 28 to 29°C. ℃. With the above evidence, it should be certain that the climate in the Amazon River Basin is not as hot as Asia and Africa at the same latitude.Moreover, the gentle wind blowing from the Atlantic Ocean can reach the entire plain where the Amazon River flows. In Brazil, each province is named after the Amazon tributary that flows through the province.These provinces are also the healthiest places in this fairest country. Also, if you thought that the hydrology of the Amazon River is still unknown, you would be wrong. Already in the sixteenth century, one of the Pizar brothers, Lieutenant Ohrana, descended the Rio Negro and reached the Amazon in 1540.He explored the area alone without a guide.After eighteen months of sailing, he finally reached the mouth of the Amazon and wrote a travelogue. In 1636 and 1637, the Portuguese Pedro led a small fleet of forty-six canoes up the Amazon River up the Napo River. In 1743, after measuring the lengths of the meridian and the equator, Lagondamina Expedition, determined the length of the warp. Leaving his companions Bugo and Gordon farewell, he boarded a boat on the Sincibe River and sailed down the river until the confluence of the Sincibe River and the Maraignon River, where he reached the mouth of the Napoleonic River on the 31st of July.Here, he observed the first moon of Jupiter in time, which enabled him, the eighteenth-century Humboldt, to accurately determine the local longitude and latitude.He then visited villages on both sides of the Amazon River and arrived at Pala Castle on September 6.The magnificent success of this magnificent voyage was not only the scientific determination of the course of the Amazon, but its connection with the Orenogue. Fifty-five years later, Humboldt and Poplin built on the invaluable results achieved at La Gondamine, drawing a map from the Maraignon to the Napo. Since then, explorers have continued to investigate the Amazon River and its main tributaries, such as: Liszt.Mo in 1827, the Englishman Smith in 1834 and 1835, the French commander Lieutenant Labronnaz in 1844, the Brazilian Valdes in 1840 Years, the Frenchman Paul.Marcaro from 1848 to 1860, the whimsical painter Biarr in 1859, Professor Agassiz in 1865 and 1866, Brazilian engineer Franz.Keller.In 1879, Lin Zanjie and Dr. Kelewo came to the Amazon River to explore, upstream from different tributaries, and confirmed the navigability of the main tributaries. However, what the Brazilian government is most proud of is: On July 31, 1857, after many disputes with France over the Guyana border, the Brazilian government declared the Amazon River free of navigation and open to ships from all countries.At the same time, Brazil has also discussed with all neighboring countries how to develop all the waterways of the Amazon Basin. Today, on the direct route to Liverpool, steamers with comfortable interiors can go from the mouth of the Amazon River to Manao City, some can reach Iquitos, and others pass through the Tapa Raoz River, Madeira River, The Rio Negro and the Prussia reach deep into the hinterland of Peru and Bolivia. It is not difficult to imagine how prosperous business will one day be in this vast and affluent river basin unparalleled in the world. Of course, everything cannot be the best of both worlds.The prosperity of this area will also come at the expense of the interests of the local indigenous people. Yes, there are many indigenous peoples (such as: Julisijuris and Solymaos) have become extinct.In the Putu Mayao area, people can only see a few Uris natives, but the local Yayuas have long since fled to the depths of the dense forest, and the few Maaoos natives are Leave the riverbanks and wander the Zapra Forest! Yes, the banks of the Dunantan are almost deserted, while the mouth of the Urua is home to only a handful of Indian nomads.The Tefi River is also almost inaccessible. At the source of the Zapura River, there are only a few families left of the huge Yumayua indigenous people.The Gao Ali area has long been deserted.Only a handful of Mulas Indians settled on the banks of the Pruss River.As for the ancient Manaos tribe, only a few nomadic families remain today.On both sides of the Negro River, there used to be 80 ethnic groups, but now there are only mixed descendants of Portuguese and Indians. This is the law of progress: the Indians will disappear.The aborigines of both Australia and Tasmania were extinct due to the arrival of white people.In the face of the expansion of the western conquerors, the Indians in North America have also disappeared.Perhaps one day, the Arabs will also disappear under the rule of the French colonists. Well, let us go back to 1852 when the story happened.Since all kinds of modern navigation tools were not available at that time, under the conditions at that time, Joam.The Galar family's trip would also take at least four months. When the two young men were sitting on the bank watching the river flow quietly under their feet, Benito said suddenly: Manoel, since we will be parting soon after our arrival in Belém, you must feel that time is short? Yes.But at the same time, I feel that time is too long.Because Mina can only be my wife when the trip is over.Manoel replied.