The Amazon: from the Andes to the Atlantic

AMAZON | SOUTH AMERICA | BRAZIL | PERU | RIO NEGRO | PANTANAL | RIO MADEIRA | PARÁ | MANAUS | RAINFOREST | RIVER | RIVER DELTA

The Amazon River crosses the Amazon Basin, which is characterized by tropical rainforest, from the Andes in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east | Amazon water lily (Victoria amazonica), each water lily leaf can support up to 50 kg thanks to its supporting ribs, river above Iquitos, Peru | Due to the risk of flooding, indigenous village communities, often living in huts on stilts, live upstream from Iquito, Peru | Green islands float in the Amazon, developing from torn-off aquatic plants and grass islands interconnected by roots | Jaguar (Panthera onca), in its territory it is the king of predators, because it can climb as well as swim | The ecosystem is under threat because gold miners are dumping mercury into the Amazon and the ongoing deforestation of the rainforests is washing out the soil | The jungle is steaming – this must have been Francisco de Orellana's impression when he first sailed down the Amazon to the Atlantic in 1542 | The scientific debate over whether the Amazon, at just under 7,000 km long, is the longest river seems secondary in light of these colorful sunsets | When roads are lacking, the river itself becomes the only connection, with goods in the back and passengers sleeping in hammocks they brought with them, Brazil | Confluence of the Amazon (light brown color due to sediment load) and Rio Negro (appears dark due to dissolved humic acids), Manaus, Brazil | Brown-throated sloths (Bradypus variegatus), native to the entire Amazon region, appear clumsy on the ground but are excellent swimmers | Below the narrows of Óbidos, the influence of the tides on the river begins to be felt, Amazon, Brazil

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