The Iriri River ( pt, Rio Iriri, ; Mẽbêngôkre: ''Kororoti'', ) is a large

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

Xingu River The Xingu River ( ; pt, Rio Xingu, ; Mẽbêngôkre: ''Byti'', ) is a river in north Brazil. It is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River and one of the largest clearwater rivers in the Amazon basin, accounting for about 5% of its water. ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, in the state of

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana a ...

. It is long making it the 116th longest river in the world (with Krishna River, India) and the 15th longest in the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...

. The headwaters are the traditional home of the

Panará people The Panará are an Indigenous people of Mato Grosso in the Brazilian Amazon. They farm and are hunter-gatherers. Name They were formerly called the Kreen-Akrore. Other names for the Panará include Kreen Akarore, Kren Akarore, Krenhakarore, ...

Course

The river rises in the

Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve The Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo) is a biological reserve in the state of Pará, Brazil. The reserve protects an area in the transition between the Cerrado and Amazon bi ...

, a strictly protected conservation unit established in 2005 in the

Serra do Cachimbo Serra do Cachimbo ( en, Cachimbo Mountains) is a low mountain range in Brazil, in the southern part of the state of Pará, located mostly in the municipalities of Altamira, Itaituba, Jacareacanga, and Novo Progresso. The Serra do Cachimbo com ...

. It is one of the headwaters of the

. It flows for before joining the Xingu, running through the

Terra do Meio Ecological Station Terra do Meio Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica da Terra do Meio) is an ecological station (ESEC) in the state of Pará, Brazil. Location The Terra do Meio Ecological Station has an area of . It covers parts of the municipalities of ...

. The river varies greatly in volume depending on the season, and in the dry season include waterfalls, rocks and rapids. The Iriri River flows through the

Tapajós–Xingu moist forests The Tapajós–Xingu moist forests (NT0168) is an ecoregion in the eastern Amazon basin. It is part of the Amazon biome. The ecoregion extends southwest from the Amazon River between its large Tapajós and Xingu tributaries. Location The Tapajó ...

ecoregion. The river is rich in fish, including many species found only here and in the Xingu. Large sections remain unexplored due to its remoteness in a region surrounded by

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

, and sections with strong current and cataracts.

References

Sources

* * * * * Rivers of Pará {{Pará-river-stub