Amazon River

The Amazon River (occasionally River Amazon; Spanish: Río Amazonas, Portuguese: Rio Amazonas) of South America is one of the two longest rivers on Earth, the other being the Nile in Africa. The Amazon has by far the greatest total flow of any river, carrying more than the Mississippi, Nile, and Yangtze rivers combined. Its drainage area, called the Amazon Basin, is the largest of any river system. The Amazon could be considered the "strongest" (largest volume of water per second).

European exploration

The first descent by a European of the Amazon from the Andes to the sea was made by Francisco de Orellana in 1541.

Related Topics:
Andes - Francisco de Orellana

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The first ascent by a European of the river was made in 1638 by Pedro Teixeira, a Portuguese, who reversed the route of Orellana and reached Quito by way of the Napo River. He returned in 1639 with the two Jesuit fathers Acuna and Artieda, who had been delegated by the viceroy of Peru to accompany Texeira.

Related Topics:
Pedro Teixeira - Portuguese - Quito - Napo River - Jesuit - Acuna - Artieda - Peru

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