Amazon river

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Drought Dries Amazon Tributary
Amazon Tributary Hits New Low
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Amazon Tributary Hits New Low

Negro River reaches lowest point in 122 years of measurements

(Newser) - One of the Amazon River's main tributaries has dropped to its lowest level ever recorded, Brazil's geological service said Friday, reflecting a severe drought that has devastated the Amazon rainforest and other parts of the country. The level of the Negro River at the port of Manaus was...

Dolphins Die as Water in Amazon Lake Hits 102 Degrees

Researcher likens disaster to 'a science-fiction climate-change scenario'

(Newser) - Efforts have begun to save surviving river dolphins after more than 100 of them were found dead in the past week in the Amazon's Lake Tefé. Experts haven't determined the cause of the deaths, but the Mamirauá Institute, which is supported by Brazil's government, said "it...

Cops: Woman Killed on Amazon Trek After Ominous Warning

'I will be killed,' Emma Kelty had been told days earlier

(Newser) - As she traveled through Brazil's northern region on a mission to kayak the 4,000-mile length of the Amazon River, Emma Kelty repeated a warning from a Peruvian guide in tongue-and-cheek fashion. "I will have my boat stolen and I will be killed too," she tweeted . "...

The Amazon River Just Aged Millions of Years
The Amazon
River Just Aged
Millions of Years


STUDY SAYS

The Amazon River Just Aged Millions of Years

Scientists say waterway is closer to 9M years old, not the mere 1M they thought

(Newser) - Looks like the Amazon River may be able to cash in on some senior discounts after all. A new study carried out by scientists from the University of Amsterdam and Brazil's University of Brasilia, published in the Global and Planetary Change journal, upends previous speculation of how old the...

First Photos of Reef at Amazon's Mouth Stun

But environmentalists worry oil drilling could soon put 600-mile-long reef at risk

(Newser) - Last year, scientists made an amazing discovery under the mud and muck at the mouth of the Amazon River: a long-rumored 600-mile-long coral reef. Now the first images of the natural phenomenon are emerging, captured from a sub sent 720 feet down into the murky waters off a Greenpeace boat,...

Surfing Amazon's Giant Waves Is a Thing of Past

Man-made influences are being blamed

(Newser) - As the sun crosses the Equator during the fall and spring equinoxes in September and March, strong gravitational and lunar pulls trigger tidal bores around the world as the flow of nearby rivers reverses and the water grows turbulent. Along Brazil’s remote Araguari River in the Amazon, this created...

The Amazon's Muddy Waters Have Been Hiding a Massive Reef

Researchers were 'flabbergasted'

(Newser) - You don't hear a lot of good news about coral reefs these days, so the the discovery of more than 3,600 square miles of undiscovered reef at the mouth of the Amazon River is a pretty big deal. The Atlantic reports researchers in the 1970s caught a few...

Why Amazon Villagers Sent 10-Year-Old Boy to America

Hugo Lucitante grew up with burden of saving his people

(Newser) - You may not notice Hugo Lucitante: He's a guy working odd jobs in Seattle, at places like Chipotle or a used CD store, while attending community college courses. But he's also on a mission to save an Amazonian village that he once called home, California Sunday Magazine reports....

Why the Amazon River Reversed Its Flow

It's linked to erosion and the Andes, researcher finds

(Newser) - The Amazon River flows eastward toward the Atlantic, but researchers know that wasn't always the case, notes the Latin Times . Long ago, the region's water moved in the opposite direction. Just what was it, though, that caused the reversal? Earlier findings linked the shift to the movement of...

Scientists: We've Found Amazon River's True Source

They believe it's Peru's Mantaro River

(Newser) - It's an argument that's persisted for nearly four centuries: Where does the Amazon River begin? The question is complicated by the number of tributaries that feed into it, with at least five Peruvian rivers grabbing the title at some point since the mid-1600s. Now, a group of researchers...

Amazon Destruction Sinks to Lowest Level

But lawmakers are looking to ease tough restrictions

(Newser) - Brazil's Amazon rainforest lost an area about the size of Delaware in the year ended in July, but there's a silver lining to that stat: It's the lowest level of destruction since tracking began in 1988, reports the AP . The deforestation peaked in 1995, with the staggering...

Huge Hidden River Found Under Amazon

Rio Hamza is up to hundreds of times wider

(Newser) - Thought the Amazon river was impressive, covering more than 4 million square miles in South America? Try the hidden river beneath it, which apparently equals the Amazon in length and is up to hundreds of times wider. Dubbed the Rio Hamza (after the head of the Brazilian team that found...

Google Street View's Next Conquest: the Amazon

Will document river and small villages throughout remote region

(Newser) - Google has brought its famous Street View cameras to the Amazon, and is using its famed trike , along with a boat, to map what are some of the most remote spots on Earth, reports the BBC . Together with the Foundation for a Sustainable Amazon (FAS), Google's plan is to...

US Man Accused of Running Sex Tour on Amazon River

Four Brazilians claim Richard Schair paid them for sex acts, drugs

(Newser) - Four Brazilian women sued an American fishing tour operator yesterday, claiming that he coerced them with alcohol, drugs, and the promise of money to perform sex acts with tourists on his boat along the Amazon. The federal complaint targets Richard Schair, who until 2009 operated the Wet-A-Line Tours. It contends...

Amazon River at 40-Year Low
 Amazon River at 40-Year Low 

Amazon River at 40-Year Low

Dry weather cuts off Peruvian towns

(Newser) - Remote parts of Peru have been left high and dry by a dramatic drop in the Amazon river, dealing a devastating blow to local economies. The river is at its lowest level in at least 40 years in the northeastern part of the country because of a prolonged dry spell,...

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