Amazon

Amazon River

The Amazon River of South America is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total river flow greater than the next top ten largest rivers flowing into the ocean combined.

The Amazon River accounts for approximately 1/5 of the world's total river flow, and it has the largest drainage basin in the world. There is an ongoing dispute regarding its length, and along with the Nile it is one of the contenders for the position as the longest river in the world. Because of its vast dimensions, it is sometimes called The River Sea (o rio-mar in Portuguese), and at no point is it crossed by bridges. In 1500, Vicente Yañez Pinzón was the first European to sail into the river. Pinzón called the river flow "Río Santa María de la Mar Dulce", later shortened to "Mar Dulce" (sweet sea).

Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest is a moist broadleaf forest in the Amazon Basin of South America. The area, also known as Amazonia or the Amazon Basin, encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.2 billion acres), though the forest itself occupies some 5.5 million square kilometers, located within nine nations: Brazil (with 60 percent of the rainforest), Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. States or departments in four nations bear the name Amazonas after it. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

Manaus

Manaus is a cosmopolitan city, and, because of its location next to the Amazon rain forest, it attracts a substantial number of Brazilian and foreign tourists, who can find plenty of boat and land trips into the surrounding jungle. A great diversity of wildlife can be found even in the surroundings of Manaus. It is also home to one of the most endangered primates in Brazil, the Pied tamarin.

Tour boats leave Manaus to see the Meeting of the Waters, where the black waters of the Negro River meet the brown waters of the Solimoes River, flowing side by side without mixing for about 9 km. Visitors can also explore river banks and "igarapes", swim and canoe in placid lakes or simply walk in the lush forest. The most adventurous may even choose to spend a night or two in the jungle in close contact with nature. There are many hotels in the jungle with the comfort to enjoy the nature.

The Teatro Amazonas, an opera house built in 1896, is a notable landmark of Manaus, reflecting the massive wealth of the turn of the century rubber boom. The theater was prominently featured in Werner Herzog's 1982 film Fitzcarraldo. The exuberant interior of this 1896 opera house, completed after 15 years, contains crystal chandeliers, wrought-iron banisters, and Italian frescoes, as well as a museum.

About 18 km from downtown is Ponta Negra beach, a neighborhood that has a beachfront and popular nightlife area. A luxurious hotel is located at the west end of Ponta Negra; its small but very interesting zoo and orchid greenhouse as well as preserved woods and beach are open to public visitation.

The CIGS Zoo (military zoo for rescued animals), which doubles as an army training center, also is located in the neighborhood and houses a few hundred endemic and native amazonian species of mammals, reptiles, and birds.

The Mercado Adolpho Lisboa, founded in 1882, is the city's oldest marketplace, trading in fruit, vegetables, and especially fish. It's a copy of the Les Halles market of Paris. Other interesting historical sites include the customs building, of mixed styles and medieval inspiration; the Rio Negro Palace cultural center; and the Justice Palace, right next to the Amazonas Opera House.

Manaus has also many large parks with native forest preservation areas, such as the Bosque da Ciência and Parque do Mindú. The largest urban forest in the world is located within Federal University of Amazonas , which was founded in January 17, 1909 and is the oldest federal university of Brazil.

The city has a busy cultural calendar throughout the year, including the Opera, Theater, Jazz and Cinema festivals, as well as Boi Manaus (usually held around Manaus' anniversary on the 24th of October), which is a great celebration of Northern Brazilian culture through Boi-Bumbá music.

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Current Weather (Nov 21)

	Manaus Partly Cloudy, 81° F
	Source: Yahoo! Weather