The Amazon River in South America

Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency  features a satellite view of the Amazon River in the rainforest of South America.

The Amazon River flows more than 4,000 miles from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean on the northeast coast of Brazil, passing through six countries along the way.

With its source high in the Peruvian Andes, the river runs through Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. 

The Amazon is considered the widest river in the world. It also has the largest drainage system, with more than 1,100 tributaries. These rivers provide a range of habitats for various types of wildlife, including swamps, marshes and streams.

According to WWF, it is estimated that approximately one-sixth of all the freshwater that drains into the world’s oceans goes through the Amazon delta, where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean.  During what many archaeologists called the formative stage, Amazonian societies were deeply involved in the emergence of South America’s highland agrarian systems.

The trade with Andean civilizations in the terrains of the headwaters in the Andes formed an essential contribution to the social and religious development of higher-altitude civilizations like the Muisca and Incas.

Video Credit: ESA

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer