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Purus River

Coordinates:3°41′35″S61°28′12″W/ 3.69306°S 61.47000°W/-3.69306; -61.47000
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Purus River
Purus River
Map of the Amazon Basin with the Purus River highlighted
Location
CountryBrazil,Peru
Physical characteristics
SourceConfluence of Cujar and Curiuja rivers
• locationUcayali Region,Peru
• coordinates10°44′56″S71°47′14″W/ 10.74889°S 71.78722°W/-10.74889; -71.78722
• elevation330 m (1,080 ft)
2nd sourceMost distant source approximate area. Headwaters of Cujar River.
• locationUcayali Region,Peru
• coordinates10°42′52″S72°26′44″W/ 10.71444°S 72.44556°W/-10.71444; -72.44556
• elevation498 m (1,634 ft)[1] 520 m (1,710 ft)
Mouth
• coordinates
3°41′35″S61°28′12″W/ 3.69306°S 61.47000°W/-3.69306; -61.47000
• elevation
11 m (36 ft)[1]
Length3,361.02 km (2,088.44 mi)[1]3,382 km (2,101 mi)
Basin size371,042 km2(143,260 sq mi) to 376,600 km2(145,400 sq mi)[2]
Discharge
• locationConfluencia ofSolimões,Amazonas State(near mouth)
• average(Period: 1973–1990)10,970 m3/s (387,000 cu ft/s)[3] (Period: 1979–2015)11,206.9 m3/s (395,770 cu ft/s)[2]
Discharge
• locationArumã-Jusante,Amazonas State(359,853 km2(138,940 sq mi)
• average(Period of data: 1970–1996)10,469 m3/s (369,700 cu ft/s)[4]
Discharge
• locationLábrea,Amazonas State(Basin size: 220,351 km2(85,078 sq mi)
• average(Period of data: 1970–1996)5,569 m3/s (196,700 cu ft/s)[4]
Basin features
ProgressionAmazon→Atlantic Ocean
River systemSolimões
Tributaries
• leftInauini,Pauini,Tapauá
• rightChandless,Iaco,Acre,Sepatini,Ituxi,Mucuim,Itaparaná

ThePurus River(Portuguese:Rio Purus;Spanish:Río Purús) is atributaryof theAmazon RiverinSouth America.Itsdrainage basinis 371,042 km2(143,260 sq mi), and the mean annualdischargeis 11,207 m3/s (395,800 cu ft/s). The river shares its name with theAlto Purús National Parkand thePurús Province(and its conformedPurús District), one of the fourprovinces of Peruin theUcayali Region.

Geography[edit]

The Purus River rises in Peru. It defines the boundary between Peru and Brazil in the centre of the state ofAcre,then runs for a short distance along the boundary of the 231,555 hectares (572,180 acres)Santa Rosa do Purus National Forest,a sustainable use conservation unit created in 2001 after it is joined by theSanta Rosa River. The Purus then flows north east throughManoel Urbano[5] It runs through a continuous forest at the bottom of the great depression, lying between the Madeira River, which skirts the edge of theBraziliansandstoneplateau, and theUcayali River,which hugs the base of theAndes.[citation needed]

In the state ofAmazonasthe river runs through the 133,637 hectares (330,220 acres)Arapixi Extractive Reserve,created in 2006 and past the town ofBoca do Acreat the end of theBR-317highway.[6] Further down, it forms the west boundary of the 256,000 hectares (630,000 acres)Purus National Forest,created in 1988.[7] From the town ofPauinidown to the town ofLábreathe river is bordered by the 604,209 hectares (1,493,030 acres)Médio Purus Extractive Reserve,created in 2008.[8] Below this it runs through the 197,986 hectares (489,230 acres)Canutama Extractive Reservealong the stretch between the towns of Lábrea andCanutama.[9] In the lowest reaches the river flows through the 1,008,167 hectares (2,491,230 acres)Piagaçu-Purus Sustainable Development Reserve,established in 2003, which holds a large part of its floodplain.[10] It enters the Amazon River west of theMadeira River,which it parallels as far south as the falls of the latter stream.[citation needed]

William Chandlessfound its elevation above sea level to be only 107 feet (33 m) 590 miles (950 km) from its mouth. It is one of the most crooked streams in the world, and its length in a straight line is less than half of its length following its curves. It is practically only a drainage ditch for the half-submerged, lake-flooded district it crosses.[citation needed] Its width is very uniform for 1,000 miles (1,600 km) up, and for 800 miles (1,300 km) its depth is never less than 45 feet (14 m).[citation needed]

Purus red howler monkey

Biodiversity[edit]

ThePurús red howler(Alouatta puruensis) is a species of howler monkey native to Brazil, Peru and north of Bolivia.[11] Peckoltia brevis,a kind of catfish, is found in the middle and upper Amazon within the Purus river basin.[12][13]

Most of the central and lower sections of the river flow through thePurus várzeaecoregion.[14] In the municipality ofTapauá,Amazonas, the river flows through the 233,864 hectares (577,890 acres)Abufari Biological Reserve,a strictly protected area.[15]

Earthworks discovery[edit]

In 2008, a previously unknownpre-Columbiancivilization was discovered in the upper region of the river close to theBolivianborder. After much of the forest in the region wasclearedfor agricultural use,satellite picturesrevealed the remains of large geometricearthworks.[16]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcPerú: Anuario de Estadistícas Ambientales 2022(PDF).2022.
  2. ^ab"PLANO ESTADUAL DE RECURSOS HÍDRICOS DO AMAZONAS, (PERH/AM) - RT 03 - DIAGNÓSTICO, PROGNÓSTICO E CENÁRIOS FUTUROS DO RECURSOS HÍDRICOS DO ESTADO - TOMO III"(PDF).Jan 2019. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2021-05-06.Retrieved2021-10-03.
  3. ^Molinier M; et al. (22 November 1993)."Hydrologie du Bassin de l'Amazone"(PDF)(in French).Archived(PDF)from the original on 7 October 2016.Retrieved16 July2017.
  4. ^abMichael, T. Coe; Marcos, Heil Costa; Aurélie, Botta; Charon, Birkett (23 Aug 2002). "Long-term simulations of discharge and floods in the Amazon Basin".CiteSeerX10.1.1.549.3854.
  5. ^FLONA de Santa Rosa do Purus(in Portuguese), ISA: Instituto Socioambiental,retrieved2016-06-21
  6. ^RESEX Arapixi(in Portuguese), ISA: Instituto Socioambiental,retrieved2016-09-08
  7. ^FLONA do Purus(in Portuguese), ISA: Instituto Socioambiental,retrieved2016-09-08
  8. ^RESEX Médio Purus(in Portuguese), ISA: Instituto Socioambiental,retrieved2016-09-03
  9. ^RESEX Canutama(in Portuguese), ISA: Instituto Socioambiental,retrieved2016-09-02
  10. ^RDS Piagaçu-Purus(in Portuguese), ISA: Instituto Socioambiental,retrieved2016-08-20
  11. ^Cornejo, F.M.; Boubli, J.P.; Alves, S.L.; Bicca-Marques, J.C.; Cortés-Ortiz, L.; Calouro, A.M.; de Melo, F.R. (2021)."Alouatta puruensis".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2021:e.T136787A190430767.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T136787A190430767.en.Retrieved11 November2021.
  12. ^"Planet catfish".
  13. ^"Fish Base".
  14. ^"Purus varzea",Global Species,Myers Enterprises II,retrieved2017-03-15
  15. ^Unidade de Conservação: Reserva Biológica do Abufari(in Portuguese), MMA: Ministério do Meio Ambiente,retrieved2016-04-24
  16. ^Martti Pärssinen, Denise Schaan, Alceu Ranzi:Pre-Columbian geometric earthworks in the upper Purús: a complex society in western Amazonia.Antiquity, Volume 83, 2009, p. 1084–1095

External links[edit]

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