The Amazon River is the longest river in South America and flows through the world’s largest river basin.
The river rises through the Andes and crosses Peru, Colombia, and Brazil before reaching the Atlantic Ocean. Its drainage basin covers roughly 7 million square kilometres, although exact measurements vary according to how the basin’s boundaries and the river’s source are defined.
The Amazon carries more water than any other river on Earth. At its mouth, its flow is so great that freshwater can be detected far into the Atlantic. The basin contains an extraordinary range of plants and animals and includes vast areas of tropical rainforest, wetlands, and seasonally flooded forest.
The Amazon is sometimes described as the world’s longest river, but that comparison with the Nile remains debated because researchers identify the rivers’ ultimate sources differently. Its status as the largest river by discharge is not generally disputed. The river’s name is associated with Spanish reports of encounters with Indigenous women warriors, whom explorers compared with the Amazons of Greek mythology.