Ucayali River

Ucayali River

:"Alternative use: Ucayali Region" The Ucayali River, which rises about 110 km (70 miles) north of Lake Titicaca, is a branch of the Amazon River near the Madeira River.

The Río Ucayali, together with Apurímac River, Ene River, and Tambo River, is today considered the main headwater of the "Amazon River", totalling a length of 2,669.9 km from the source of the "Apurímac" at Nevado Mismi to the confluence of the Ucayali and Marañón Rivers:
*Apurímac River (total length): 730.7 km
*Ene River (total length): 180.6 km
*Tambo River (total length): 158.5 km
* Ucayali River (confluence with Tambo River to confluence with the Marañón): 1,600.1 km

The Ucayali was first called "San Miguel", then "Ucayali", "Ucayare", "Poro", "Apu-Poro", "Cocama" and "Rio de Cuzco". Peru has fitted out many costly and ably-conducted expeditions to explore it. One of them (1867) claimed to have reached within 380 km (240 miles) of Lima, and the little steamer "Napo" forced its way up the violent currents for 124 km (77 miles) above the junction with the Pachitea River as far as the Tambo River, 1240 km (770 miles) from the confluence of the Ucayali with the Amazon. The "Napo" then succeeded in ascending the Urubamba branch of the Ucayali 56 km (35 miles) above its union with the Tambo, to a point 320 km (200 miles) north of Cuzco.

The remainder of the Urubamba, as shown by Bosquet in 1806 and Castelnau in 1846, is interrupted by cascades, reefs and numberless other obstacles to navigation. Torres, who explored the Alto Ucayali for the Peruvian government, gives it a length of 186 miles, counting from the mouth of the Pachitea to the junction of the Tambo and Urubamba. Its width varies from 400-1200 m (1300 to 4000 feet), due to the great number of islands. The current runs from 5-6 km/h (3 to 4 miles an hour), and a channel from 20-50 m (60 to 150 feet) wide can always be found with a minimum depth of 1.5 m (5 feet). There are five bad passes, due to the accumulation of trees and rafts of timber. Sometimes enormous rocks have fallen from the mountains and spread over the river-bed causing huge whirlpools.

The river gives its name to the Ucayali Region of Peru.

External links

* [http://dmoz.org/Regional/South_America/Peru/Departments/Ucayali/ - Ucayali Department ODP category]
* [http://www.biogeographie.com - Amazon biogeography - French, Spanish, English]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ucayali River Hotel — (Pucallpa,Перу) Категория отеля: 5 звездочный отель Адрес: Av. San Martin 200, Puca 01 …   Каталог отелей

  • Ucayali River — River, central and northern Peru. The chief headstream of the Amazon River, it is formed by the junction of the Apurímac and Urubamba rivers. It then meanders north to unite with the Marañón River and form the Amazon. It is navigable for about… …   Universalium

  • Ucayali River Hotel — Entrada del hotel visto al frente. Ubicación Pucallpa …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ucayali River — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Ucayali Region — Peru region table name = Ucayali imagesize = 120px president = Edwin Vásquez López capital = Pucallpa elevation = 120 largest = Pucallpa area = 101,830.64 pop = 402,445 density = 4 provinces = 4 provinces and 14 districts lowest = 135 m (Nueva… …   Wikipedia

  • river — river1 riverless, adj. riverlike, adj. /riv euhr/, n. 1. a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definite course or channel or series of diverging and converging channels. 2. a similar stream of something other than water: a… …   Universalium

  • Ucayali — [o͞o΄kä yä′lē] river in E Peru, flowing north to join the Marañón & form the Amazon: c. 1,200 mi (1,931 km) …   English World dictionary

  • Apurímac River — River, southern Peru. Arising in the Andes Mountains in Peru, it is the most distant source of the Amazon River. It flows northwest to join the Urubamba River and form the Ucayali River. For most of its 430 mi (700 km) length, it flows through… …   Universalium

  • Urubamba River — River, central Peru. Part of the Amazon River drainage system, it rises in the Andes Mountains and flows northwest for about 450 mi (725 km) to its junction with the Apurímac River, the two then forming the Ucayali River. In the Gorge of Torontoy …   Universalium

  • Marañón River — River, central Peru. Rising in the Andes Mountains, it is part of the headwaters of the Amazon River. It flows northwest at elevations of about 12,000 ft (3,650 m) and descends through jungles in unnavigable rapids and falls; emerging from the… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”