The Meeting of Waters is the Brazilian landmark where the dark Rio Negro meets the pale, sediment-rich Amazon River near Manaus. In Brazil, the Amazon's upstream section is commonly called the Solimões River, so the site is also described as the meeting of the Rio Negro and Solimões.
The two rivers can flow side by side for roughly 6 kilometres before mixing fully. Their striking contrast is caused by differences in temperature, speed, sediment, and chemistry. The Rio Negro is slow-moving and tea-colored because of dissolved organic matter from decomposing vegetation, while the Solimões carries pale sediment eroded from the Andes.
This is a confluence, not an Amazon River delta. After the rivers join, their combined flow continues eastward as the Amazon toward the Atlantic. The site is one of Manaus's best-known natural attractions.
The Rio Negro and the Solimões are sometimes treated as separate rivers in descriptions of the landmark, but “Meeting of Waters” is the established name for the phenomenon.