Manaus and the meeting of the waters

Manaus and the meeting of the waters

One of the most impressive sites in Brazil is the meeting of the waters between the Rio Negro (Black River) and the Rio Solimões (Solimões River), forming the mighty Amazonas. 

In fact, the Solimões is the main course of the Amazonas itself, so the Negro is considered its most important tributary. The Negro, with its black colours due to the decomposition of natural elements  taken from the rainforest and carried for miles, deposits its waters in the Solimões, an ocre-colored river, due to the sediments it carries, which also come from miles since its first small tributaries in the Andes.

But after their encounter, the waters take more than 7km (about 4 miles) to really mix, and they stay separated as a consequency of different water speeds, PH, temperature and density. 

So, if you take a boat and go the middle of the river, you can see them clearly separated from each other. 

Besides, the mass of fresh water one can see in the Amazonas is unmatched, and it is almost unbelievable you are in the middle of a continent, and not close to the ocean. 

Manaus, the capital city of the Amazonas states, hosts this show and tourists willing to see it. Tomorrow, I´ll write a bit about Manaus.