The Amazon River Basin remains one of the most unchanged and undisturbed areas on the planet. The Amazon River itself, is a mecca of animal, plant and fish life. There are very few people who live on the Amazon and life there has changed very little in the past hundred years. There still remains much to be learned about and from this wonderful unique area of the planet.

The Amazon river is the second longest river in the world. It is 6280 km (4080 miles) in length. The only other river that is longer is the Nile River in Africa.

The width of the Amazon varies between 6 and 11 km. It is among the widest rivers in the world.

The river was named by Spanish explorer Francisco Orellana. Francisco was part of an expedition that was exploring the interior of South America. He and his men began their journey on the Coca River and followed it until it joined the Napo River. Francisco and his crew continued tracking the Napo River eastward, and discovered that it merged in to the Negro River and then into the Rio Grande (what is now called the Amazon).

The Amazon River is known to be the home of more than 2500 species of fish. New varieties are still being identified.

3.4 million gallons of water pours into the Atlantic Ocean from the Amazon River every minute.

The Amazon River basin covers an area of more than 8 235 430km squared. Most of the river lies within Brazil, but portions of the river and its tributaries can be found in 8 different countries.

The Amazon River is home to the Pirarucu. It is arguably the largest fresh water fish in the world. They have been known to reach 15 feet in length and weigh over 400 lbs.

The mouth of the Amazon river is growing by an average of two meters every year.

Approximately one fifth of the world’s fresh water flows in the Amazon River. By volume the Amazon River is the world’s largest river.

There are numerous dam projects proposed for the Amazon River and its tributaries. Many groups are trying to prevent these projects from continuing and altering the fragile ecosystem that make up the Amazon River basin.

83% of the Amazon River basin is undisturbed.

There are only three major cities on the Amazon River. Iquitos which is in Peru and Belem and Manaus which are in Brazil.

The Amazon basin is located on the equator. The basin gets between 1500 and 2500 mm of rain every year. The driest month of the year is August. The daily temperature is over 30 degrees Celsius.