amazon basin facts：Amazon River | Facts, History, Location, Length

Amazon RiverAerial view of the Amazon River in Brazil.(more)[1]

Amazon River, the greatest river[2] of South America[3] and the largest drainage[4] system in the world in terms of the volume of its flow and the area of its basin[5]. The total length of the river—as measured from the headwaters of the Ucayali[6]-Apurímac river[7] system in southern Peru[8]—is at least 4,000 miles (6,400 km), which makes it slightly shorter than the Nile River[9] but still the equivalent of the distance from New York City[10] to Rome[11]. Its westernmost source is high in the Andes Mountains[12], within 100 miles (160 km) of the Pacific Ocean[13], and its mouth is in the Atlantic Ocean[14], on the northeastern coast of Brazil[15]. However, both the length of the Amazon and its ultimate source have been subjects of debate since the mid-20th century, and there are those who claim that the Amazon is actually longer than the Nile. (See below The length of the Amazon[16].)