Meeting of Waters facts for kids
The Meeting of Waters (called Encontro das Águas in Portuguese) is a super cool place in Brazil where two big rivers meet but don't mix right away! It's where the dark, almost black Rio Negro flows right next to the pale, sandy-colored Amazon River. In Brazil, this part of the Amazon is known as the Solimões River. For about 6 kilometers (almost 4 miles), you can see the two different colored waters flowing side-by-side without blending much. This amazing sight is one of the most popular tourist attractions near Manaus, a city in Brazil.
The Meeting of Waters: Where Rivers Meet and Don't Mix
The Meeting of Waters is a special kind of confluence, which is a fancy word for where two rivers join together. What makes this spot so unique is how clearly you can see the two different rivers flowing next to each other without mixing. It's like pouring oil and water into a glass – they stay separate for a while!
Why Do the Waters Stay Separate?
This amazing natural show happens because of a few key differences between the two rivers:
- Temperature: The Rio Negro is warmer, about 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit). The Rio Solimões is cooler, around 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Speed: The Rio Negro flows slower, at about 2 kilometers per hour (1.2 miles per hour). The Rio Solimões rushes much faster, between 4 and 6 kilometers per hour (2.5 to 3.7 miles per hour).
- Sediment: The light-colored water of the Rio Solimões carries a lot of fine sediment (like tiny bits of rock and dirt) from the Andes Mountains. The dark water of the Rio Negro, which comes from jungles and hills, has very little sediment. Its dark color comes from tiny pieces of decayed leaves and plants.
Because of these differences in temperature, speed, and how much stuff is dissolved in them, the waters don't mix easily. They need more time and distance to fully blend together.
Other Places Where Rivers Meet
While the Meeting of Waters near Manaus is the most famous, similar, smaller-scale events happen in other places along the Amazon River. You can see rivers meeting and staying separate for a bit in:
- Santarém, another city in Brazil.
- Iquitos, a city in Peru.
These places also show the incredible power and variety of nature, especially in the mighty Amazon basin!
