Journey Along the Amazon Trivia Quiz

Answer: Andes

Marked only by a simple wooden cross, this inconspicuous beginning to what becomes the mightiest river in the world is found in the Peruvian part of the Andes. The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world. It stretches through seven countries in South America for a distance of 7,000 kilometres, and with an average height of 4,000 metres.

The Nevado Mismi is a peak which is part of a range in the Andes in Peru. Where the Amazon begins is a tiny stream that flows from a glacier in this range.

It is marked by a small white cross. Amazing, isn't it?

Answer: Floodplain

This area, which covers some 1,600 kilometres, is very flat, with the land surrounding the river rising only slightly above it. It is known as the Upper Amazon. The name floodplain is self-explanatory. When the river floods, it breaches its banks and inundates the area all round, leaving behind rich river silt when it recedes. Fortunately not all the tributaries flood at the same time of the year or half of South America would disappear under water! Instead, it takes place over a period of six months in different areas of the continent as it passes through Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil.

Answer: Brazil

The Amazon flows through seven states in the north of Brazil, as well as areas in the centre of the country, and then winds its way back up to the north-east area of the nation. Living in the shade of the rainforest are 170 different ethnic groups of 300,000 indians indigenous to the area. Almost 25,000,000 other people of varying nationalities live in the entire basin area, but basically - and thankfully - the population density in the area is still quite low.

The wildlife and plant diversity in the Amazon Jungle is absolutely spectacular, unique and beautiful.

It is an incredible gift to the world that needs to be protected at all costs.

Answer: Manaus

Manaus is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. This area of the world in the northwest of Brazil also lays claim to the highest mountain in the country, Pico de Neblina. Manaus began as a small fort in 1669 as a warning to all around, particularly the nearby Dutch in Suriname, that this land belonged to the Portuguese.

The city, which became the centre for the rubber barons who became incredibly rich as a result of the Amazon's source of rubber trees, grew rapidly from that time. By 2012, its population was approaching some 2,000,000 people.

The Manaus Opera House was constructed partly as a result of the game of one-upmanship between those rubber barons of long ago, as each tried to outdo the other with grand houses, estates and projects. Taking over fifteen years to complete, it was built and adorned with the finest materials in the world.

It was officially opened on the 31 December, 1896, and presented its first operatic performance one week later with Ponchielli's "La Gioconda".

Answer: No

It is far less than that. This unusual occurrence takes place at Manaus and is a striking sight. The Rio Negro's water is so dark that it appears to be black, while the water of the Rio Solimoes is a light colour the shade of sand. For a distance of six kilometres, the two rivers run side by side without the colours blending, just two streaks of colours in the same waters, before they mix.

It is known as The Meeting of the Waters and is a well known tourist attraction in the area. This unusual feature is the result of the speed and the temperature of the waters as they tumble towards the Amazon.

The Rio Negro flows at a considerably slower rate and a higher temperature than the waters of the Rio Solimoes.

Answer: Pink

This is indeed the case. The Amazon dolphin is grey when it is young, but changes colour to pink and then white as it grows older and ages. It grows to be over eight feet long, with the females even larger than the males. Known as the boto to the locals, a legend attached to this beautiful creature is that at night it turns into a handsome young man and seduces young maidens who live by the river's edge. What a scoundrel! The Amazon basin in fact is home to a huge variety of wildlife.

This includes over 2,000 different kinds of fish, a staggering 14,000 different mammals, 1,500 different beautiful birds, 1,000 amphibians, thousands of different insects, and so on. And then there's the astonishing variety of flora as well.

The Amazon is a treasure trove of incredible value for the entire world.

Answer: Atlantic Ocean

That's pretty amazing, isn't it? Millennia ago, the Atlantic Ocean in that part of the world was much further inland than it is today, and the site of the humble little town of Obidos was on a row of hills overlooking it. Founded in 1697, this town is on the fastest running section of the Amazon.

It's also when the river is much narrower than for most of its previous journey, just before it gradually begins to grow wider and wider as it eventually reaches its mouth and the end of its journey.

Answer: Floating villages

This can be particularly seen at places such as Manacaparu and Obidos. There the water is 24 metres above sea level, but further downstream, the water drops to quite some distance below sea level. At other sections of the river, near the town of Canaria in particular, huge areas of land are completely submerged at various times during each day.

The water rises so high in fact that only the top branches of the nearby trees can be seen. No wonder then that the locals took to building floating villages in which to live.

It was the only sensible thing to do.

Answer: Furos

Because the Para river joins the Amazon so close to its mouth, this has resulted in a large number of interlinking river channels between the two. Thrown into the mix is that troublesome island of Marajo with has several rivers of its own whirling around with the discharge flow from the Amazon, and creating swamps, more channels and a changing shoreline which alters according to the flow of the river. No wonder they argue. Nobody can state with any degree of accuracy then, where the exact mouth of the Amazon lies, and probably never will. What IS known for certainty is that the mouth of the Amazon is an astonishing 180 kilometres wide. Perhaps.

Then again, depending from where it is measured, the mouth of the mighty river could be considered to be 320 kilometres wide. Let's just split the difference and say that the Amazon has a big gob indeed.

Answer: A huge underground river

This massive underground river moves from west to east in exactly the same way as the Amazon. Commencing in the foothills of the Andes, along with the Amazon, it also empties into the Atlantic Ocean as it moves along through different levels of the Earth's crust.

It was located when varying and inexplicable temperature differences were noted in over 200 oils wells in the general area. Named the Hamza, this giant underground river is believed to have been created over millennia as surface water flows made their way down through porous rock surfaces.

Its length is an incredible 6,000 kilometres and its average depth below ground is four kilometres. Even more astonishing is the fact that, in 2007, a vast underground ocean was also found trapped under South America.

This took place when a plate that was part of the Pacific Ocean became isolated as a result of massive seismic activity, and was subsequently trapped underneath the continental plate containing South America.