Whitewater river (river type)
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A whitewater river is classified based on its chemistry, sediments and water colour. Whitewater rivers have high levels of suspended sediments, giving the water a pH that is near-neutral, a high electric conductivity and a pale muddy, café au lait-like colour. Whitewater rivers are of great ecological importance and are important to local fisheries. The major seasonal Amazonian floodplains known as várzea receive their water from them.
The Meeting of Waters where the pale brownish (whitewater) Amazon River mixes with the dark (blackwater) Rio Negro
The Madeira showing the typical pale muddy colour of a whitewater river as it flows past Porto Velho, Brazil
The tambaqui, an important species in Amazonian fisheries, relies on whitewater to breed
Amazon basin
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The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, as well as the territory of French Guiana.
Aerial view of part of the Amazon rainforest.
Jaguar in the area of Miranda near Amazon basin
Red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is a species of piranha. This species lives in the Amazon River basin, coastal rivers of northeastern Brazil, and the basins of the Paraguay, Paraná and Essequibo Rivers.
A floating village in Iquitos, Peru