Tapajós
| Tapajós River | |
|---|---|
The city of Itaituba on the banks of the Tapajós River | |
Map of the Amazon Basin with the Tapajós River highlighted | |
| Location | |
| Country | Brazil |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Juruena–Teles Pires junction, Brazil |
| • coordinates | 7°20′15″S 58°8′35″W / 7.33750°S 58.14306°W |
| • elevation | 95 m (312 ft) |
| 2nd source | Teles Pires |
| • location | Serra Azul, Mato Grosso |
| • coordinates | 14°52′9.7608″S 54°38′52.8468″W / 14.869378000°S 54.648013000°W |
| • elevation | 800 m (2,600 ft) |
| 3rd source | Juruena |
| • location | Parecis Plateau, Mato Grosso |
| • coordinates | 14°43′6.0168″S 59°9′45.7848″W / 14.718338000°S 59.162718000°W |
| • elevation | 700 m (2,300 ft) |
| Mouth | Amazon |
• location | Santarém, Pará State, Brazil |
• coordinates | 2°24′30″S 54°44′12″W / 2.40833°S 54.73667°W |
• elevation | 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) |
| Length | 840 km (520 mi) (825 km (513 mi)–843 km (524 mi)) |
| Basin size | 494,253.9 km2 (190,832.5 mi2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Santarém, Pará State, Brazil (near mouth) |
| • average | (Period: 1985–2018)12,800 m3/s (450,000 cu ft/s) (Period: 1973–1990)13,540 m3/s (478,000 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 2,500 m3/s (88,000 cu ft/s) 4,000 m3/s (140,000 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 28,000 m3/s (990,000 cu ft/s) 30,000 m3/s (1,100,000 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Itaituba (Basin size: 460,101.1 km2 (177,646.0 sq mi) |
| • average | (1985–2012)12,259 m3/s (432,900 cu ft/s) |
| • maximum | 34,233 m3/s (1,208,900 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | São Luiz do Tapajós (420 km upstream of mouth; Basin size: 455,891.2 km2 (176,020.6 sq mi) |
| • average | (Period: 1931–2012)12,998.3 m3/s (459,030 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 3,475 m3/s (122,700 cu ft/s)(1963/10) |
| • maximum | 39,277 m3/s (1,387,100 cu ft/s)(1940/03) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Jatobá (Basin size: 387,378 km2 (149,567 sq mi) |
| • average | (Period: 1931–2013)10,814.2 m3/s (381,900 cu ft/s) (Period: 1970–1996)10,795 m3/s (381,200 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 3,430 m3/s (121,000 cu ft/s)(1931/09) |
| • maximum | 31,623 m3/s (1,116,800 cu ft/s)(1940/02) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Barra de São Manuel (Basin size: 333,767.7 km2 (128,868.4 sq mi) |
| • average | (Period of data: 1970–1996)8,339 m3/s (294,500 cu ft/s) (Period: 1971–2000)8,419.3 m3/s (297,320 cu ft/s) |
| • minimum | 2,148 m3/s (75,900 cu ft/s)(Year: 2002) |
| • maximum | 22,612 m3/s (798,500 cu ft/s)(Year: 1979) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Amazon → Atlantic Ocean |
| River system | Amazon |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Juruena, Arapiuns |
| • right | Teles Pires, Cururu, Das Tropas, Crepori, Jamanxim |
The Tapajós (Portuguese: Rio Tapajós [ˈhi.u tapaˈʒɔs]) is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately 2,080 km (1,290 mi) long. Prior to a drastic increase in illegal gold mining and consequent soil erosion it was one of the largest clearwater rivers and currently is an anthropogenic whitewater river, accounting for about 6% of the water in the Amazon basin.