Key Facts about Negro River

About Negro River:

• The Rio Negro is one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon River.
• It is also one of the world’s largest rivers in terms of discharge.
• Course:
  • Origin: It originates in several headstreams, including the Vaupés (Mapés) and the Guainía, which rise in the rain forest of eastern Colombia. 
  • It flows along the Colombian and Venezuelan border before crossing into Brazil, where it becomes the Rio Negro. 
  • The Negro meanders generally east-southeastward, picking up the Branco River and other tributaries, to Manaus, Brazil (the largest city in the Amazon Rainforest).
  • There it joins the Solimões River to form the Amazon.
  • It passes through Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil.
  • Its length is about 1,400 miles (2,250 km), of which 850 miles (1,370 km) are in Brazil.
• The river was named the Negro, which means black in Portuguese because of the water’s dark coloration. 
  • It is caused by the decomposition of organic matter and the presence of tannins leached from surrounding vegetation, giving the river its distinctively rich coloration. 
• The Rio Negro is the largest blackwater river in the world, and despite the coloration, the water contains little sediment and ranks as one of the cleanest rivers on Earth.
• The reserves and national parks along the Rio Negro form a giant protected area called the Central Amazon Ecological Corridor, which is the largest section of protected Amazon Rainforest. 
  • At 52 million hectares, this is also one of the world’s largest protected areas. 

Q1: Which are the main tributaries of the Amazon River?

The Amazon river has over 1,100 tributaries, 17 of which are over 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) long. Notable tributaries include the Rio Negro, the Madeira River, and the Xingu River, among many others.

Source: Drought has dried an Amazon River tributary to its lowest level in 122 years