The Purus River (Portuguese: ''Rio Purus''; Spanish: ''Río Purús'') is a
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 drainage ...
of the
Amazon River
The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile.
The headwaters of t ...
in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. Its
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
is , and the mean annual
discharge is . The river shares its name with the
Alto Purús National Park
Alto Purús National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Alto Purús) is a national park in the Amazon rainforest of Peru, established in 2004. It covers an area of in the provinces of Purús (Ucayali), Tahuamanu and Tambopata (both in Madre de Dios). ...
and the
Purús Province
Purús Province is one of four provinces in the Ucayali Region, in the central Amazon rainforest of Peru. The Purus River runs through it.
The province is conformed by a single district ( es, distrito, links=no), Purús District, whose capita ...
(and its conformed
Purús District
Purús District is the only district of the Purús Province located in the Ucayali Region in Peru. Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática. Banco de Información Digital''. Retrieved April 7, 2008. The Purus River
The Purus River (Por ...
), one of the four
provinces of Peru
The provinces of Peru () are the second-level administrative subdivisions of the country. They are divided into Districts of Peru, districts ( es, distritos, links=no). There are 196 provinces in Peru, grouped into 25 Regions of Peru, regions, e ...
in the
Ucayali Region
Ucayali () is an inland department and region of Peru. Located in the Amazon rainforest, its name is derived from the Ucayali River. Its capital is the city of Pucallpa. It is the second largest department in Peru, after Loreto.
Geography
...
.
Geography
The Purus River rises in Peru.
It defines the boundary between Peru and Brazil in the centre of the state of
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
, then runs for a short distance along the boundary of the
Santa Rosa do Purus National Forest
The Santa Rosa do Purus National Forest ( pt, Floresta Nacional de Santa Rosa do Purus) is a national forest in the state of Acre, Brazil.
Location
The Santa Rosa do Purus National Forest is in the municipality of Feijó in the state of Acre.
I ...
, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 2001 after it is joined by the
Santa Rosa River.
It then flows north east through
Manoel Urbano
Manoel Urbano () is a municipality located in the center-western region of the Brazilian state of Acre.
As of 2010 it was one of the poorest municipalities in Brazil, with a low Human Development Index.
Location
Manoel Urbano is in the state of ...
It runs through a continuous forest at the bottom of the great depression, lying between the Madeira River, which skirts the edge of the
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 ...
ian
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
plateau, and the
Ucayali River
The Ucayali River ( es, Río Ucayali, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city of ...
, which hugs the base of the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
.
In the state of
Amazonas the river runs through the
Arapixi Extractive Reserve
The Arapixi Extractive Reserve ( pt, Reserva Extrativista Arapixi) is an extractive reserve in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
Location
The Arapixi Extractive Reserve is in the municipality of Boca do Acre, Amazonas.
It has an area of .
The Pur ...
, created in 2006 and past the town of
Boca do Acre
Boca do Acre (''Mouth of Acre'') is a municipality located in the Brazilian state
The federative units of Brazil ( pt, unidades federativas do Brasil) are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation ...
at the end of the
BR-317 highway.
Further down, it forms the west boundary of the
Purus National Forest
The Purus National Forest ( pt, Floresta Nacional do Purus) is a national forest in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
It surrounds the shamanic-Christian community of Céu do Mapiá.
Location
The Purus National Forest is in the municipality of P ...
, created in 1988.
From the town of
Pauini
Pauini is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
The population of Pauini was 19,522 in 2020.
Its area is .
The municipality contains the Purus National Forest, created in 1988.
It holds 8% of the Mapiá-Inauini National For ...
down to the town of
Lábrea
Lábrea () is the southernmost municipality in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
Economy
The population of the Lábrea municipality was 46,882 as of 2020.
Its area is .
This makes it the sixth largest municipality in Amazonas by area and the ten ...
the river is bordered by the
Médio Purus Extractive Reserve
The Médio Purus Extractive Reserve ( pt, Reserva Extrativista do Médio Purus) is an extractive reserve in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
Location
The Médio Purus Extractive Reserve is divided between the municipalities of Lábrea (91.41%), ...
, created in 2008.
Below this it runs through the
Canutama Extractive Reserve along the stretch between the towns of Lábrea and
Canutama.
In the lowest reaches the river flows through the
Piagaçu-Purus Sustainable Development Reserve
Piagaçu-Purus Sustainable Development Reserve ( pt, Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Piagaçu-Purus) is a sustainable development reserve in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
Location
The Piagaçu-Purus Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS ...
, established in 2003, which holds a large part of its floodplain.
It enters the Amazon River west of the
Madeira River
The Madeira River ( pt, Rio Madeira, link=no ) is a major waterway in South America. It is estimated to be in length, while the Madeira-Mamoré is estimated near or in length depending on the measuring party and their methods. The Madeira is ...
, which it parallels as far south as the falls of the latter stream.
William Chandless
William Chandless (7 November 1829–5 May 1896) was an English explorer of the Amazon Basin in the 1860s.
Life
During his time in the Amazon he lived in Manaus (now the capital of Brazil's Amazonas state) from where he explored many of ...
found its elevation above sea level to be only 107 feet (33 m) 590 miles (950 km) from its mouth. It is one of the most crooked streams in the world, and its length in a straight line is less than half of its length following its curves. It is practically only a drainage ditch for the half-submerged, lake-flooded district it crosses.
Its width is very uniform for 1000 miles (1600 km) up, and for 800 miles (1300 km) its depth is never less than 45 feet (15 m).
Biodiversity
The
Purús red howler (''Alouatta puruensis'') is a species of howler monkey native to Brazil, Peru and north of Bolivia.
''
Peckoltia brevis
''Peckoltia brevis'' is a small species of ''Peckoltia'' belonging to the catfish family Loricariidae. ''Peckoltia brevis'' possesses the L-number L205.
Distribution
''Peckoltia brevis'' is found in the middle and upper Amazon within the Purus ...
'', a kind of catfish, is found in the middle and upper Amazon within the Purus river basin.
Most of the central and lower sections of the river flow through the
Purus várzea
The Purus várzea (NT0156) is an ecoregion of seasonally flooded várzea forest in the central Amazon basin. It is part of the Amazon biome.
The ecoregion is home to a vegetation adapted to floods of up to that may last for eight months.
There ...
ecoregion.
In the municipality of
Tapauá
Tapauá is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. Its population was 17,015 (2020) and its area is 89,324 km2, making it the third largest municipalit ...
, Amazonas, the river flows through the
Abufari Biological Reserve
Abufari Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica do Abufari) is a biological reserve in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
It is mostly lowland tropical rainforest, with very diverse flora and fauna.
Location
The Abufari Biological Reserve is in ...
, a strictly protected area.
Earthworks discovery
In 2008, a previously unknown
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...
civilization was discovered in the upper region of the river close to the
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
n border. After much of the forest in the region was
cleared for agricultural use,
satellite pictures revealed the remains of large geometric
earthworks
Earthworks may refer to:
Construction
*Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour
* Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil
*Earthworks (military), m ...
.
[Martti Pärssinen, Denise Schaan, Alceu Ranzi]
''Pre-Columbian geometric earthworks in the upper Purús: a complex society in western Amazonia''
Antiquity, Volume 83, 2009, p. 1084–1095
See also
*
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. ...
*
Esperanza, Ucayali
Esperanza also known as Puerto Esperanza is a town in Peru, capital of Purús Province in Ucayali Region
Ucayali () is an inland department and region of Peru. Located in the Amazon rainforest, its name is derived from the Ucayali River. Its c ...
*
Brazilian Amazon
*
Peruvian Amazon
Peruvian Amazonia ( es, Amazonía del Perú) is the area of the Amazon rainforest included within the country of Peru, from east of the Andes to the borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia. This region comprises 60% of the country ...
*
River basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
*
Catauxi The Catauxi are a tribe of South American Indians of the Purus River district, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At ...
References
Purus River. (2010). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.Retrieved January 12, 2010, from
Encyclopædia Britannica Online
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ...
.
External links
Map of Amazon State with Purus River Brazilian Ministry of Transport
*
*
{{Authority control
Tributaries of the Amazon River
Rivers of Acre (state)
Rivers of Amazonas (Brazilian state)
Rivers of Peru
International rivers of South America
Brazil–Peru border
Rivers of Ucayali Region
Border rivers