River · Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil
Rio Negro (Amazon)
The Rio Negro is the largest blackwater river in the world, with water that looks like strong tea. It flows from Colombia along Venezuela into Brazil and joins the Amazon near the city of Manaus.
Picture credit: Ymichel~commonswiki (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Artur Warchavchik (CC BY-SA 3.0) · James Martins (CC BY 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Rio Negro (Amazon)?
The river starts here: Highlands of Colombia (Guainía).
It ends in the Joins the Solimões near Manaus to form the Amazon.
Countries on the river: Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil.
The story behind it
The Rio Negro begins in the highlands of Colombia, and on part of its way it forms the border between Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. Its dark colour comes from plants that do not rot completely: rain washes brown substances out of the sandy ground into the river. Through a natural channel called the Casiquiare, it is even linked to the Orinoco, another big river of South America. Further downstream lies Anavilhanas, a river archipelago with more than 400 islands, where jaguars, giant otters and pink river dolphins live. Between 800 and 900 kinds of fish swim in the Rio Negro, among them the cardinal tetra, a popular aquarium fish. Near Manaus the dark Rio Negro meets the pale Solimões. Because the two rivers differ in temperature, speed and mud, they flow side by side for about 6 kilometres before they mix. This 'Meeting of Waters' is one of the main sights of Manaus.
Questions children ask
How long is the Rio Negro?
The Rio Negro is about 2 250 km long. If you measure from the source of its headstream, the Uaupés, it is about 2 400 km.
Why is the Rio Negro so dark?
Rain washes brown substances from half-rotted plants out of the sandy soil and into the river. They colour the water like strong tea, but it carries very little mud.
What is the Meeting of Waters?
Near Manaus the dark Rio Negro meets the pale Solimões. The Rio Negro is warmer, at about 28 °C instead of 22 °C, and slower, so the two waters flow side by side for about 6 kilometres before they mix.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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