Tapajós 2.99

The Tapajós is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon Rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately 1200mi long.CourseFor most of its length the Tapajós runs through Pará State, but the upper (southern) part forms the border between Pará and Amazonas State. The source is at the Juruena–Teles Pires river junction. The Tapajós River basin accounts for 6% of the water in the Amazon Basin, making it the fifth largest in the system.From the lower Arinos River (a tributary of Juruena) to the Maranhão Grande falls are a more or less continuous series of formidable cataracts and rapids; but from the Maranhão Grande to the mouth of Tapajós, about 188mi, the river can be navigated by large vessels.For its last 100mi it is between 4and wide and much of it very deep. The valley of the Tapajós is bordered on both sides by bluffs. They are from 300to high along the lower river; but a few miles above Santarém, they retire from the eastern side and do not approach the Amazon floodplain until some miles below Santarém.GeographyThe eastern border of Amazônia National Park is formed by the Tapajós River. From Itaituba and southwest a part of the Trans-Amazonian Highway (BR-230) follows the river, while a part of BR-163 runs parallel to the river from Santarém and south.