Close to the city of Manaus, Brazil the Rio Solimoes and the
Rio Negro converge to form the Amazon River. This image from MISR's
vertical-viewing (nadir) camera was acquired on July 23, 2000 during
Terra orbit 3178. Manaus is the gray patch to the right of image center.
The pale, murky color of the Rio Solimoes heralds its burden of glacial
silt and sand, which results from its origin in the Peruvian Andes
mountains. The dark color of the Rio Negro is characteristic of clear
waters that originate in areas of basement rock and carry little
sediment. East of Manaus the pale and dark waters flow side-by-side as
distinct flows before they eventually merge.
Northwest of Manaus on the Rio Negro is the Anavilhanas Archipelago,
the largest group of freshwater islands in the world and a wildlife
reserve. At the top of the image, a portion of the dark-colored Uatuma
River is visible. In the lower right is the very light-colored
Rio Madeira, formed from mountain streams originating near the
Brazil-Bolivia border. Madeira is Portuguese for wood, and the river
is named for the large amount of driftwood that floats on its waters.
Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Team.
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