Amazon River

Dense jungle, raging waters, no bridges, could you be anywhere in the world other than along the infamous Amazon River? No, and along this mighty river that empties right into the Atlantic Ocean are areas that are still unexplored.

The largest city along the Amazon River is Manaus, where you’ll find almost half of the population found along its more than 6,000km route along the countries Brazil and Peru (with 1100 tributaries bordering Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia).

On the banks of the Amazon River you’ll find cinnamon trees; and in the river itself there are more than 30 species of piranha (including the ornery red-bellied piranha which are a tasty meal to the Giant Otter), 2100 species of other types of fishes, electric eels, sea cows, crabs, turtles, the Amazon River Dolphin, Bull sharks, and just about one-third of all living animals, bugs, and birds known to man. Impressive to say the least, isn’t it?

Speaking of dolphins, there’s a legend about a Boto; a dolphin that disguises himself as a man looking to take advantage of unsuspecting ladies along the river. You might feel the anacondas that frequent the shallow river edge to be more of a “threat” than Dolphin-man.

For exciting as the Amazon River is, this mighty river is no joke. Even when it’s the dry season the river ranges anywhere from a kilometer-and-a-half to 10km wide, often rising some 30 feet when the rains come; usually between November to June.

As if this isn’t enough, along the Amazon River you’ll find the largest tropical rainforest in the world; and the river provides twenty percent of the world’s fresh water. In fact, fresh water is lighter than salty water so when it empties into the ocean--it’s still drinkable.

There’s an ongoing debate on whether the Amazon River is actually larger than the world’s longest river, the Nile. However much the Nile has the Pyramids, the Amazon has just about everything else--so, does it really matter?