The Pará River (Portuguese: Rio Pará), also called Parauaú River, Jacaré Grande River, Marajó River Channel, Macacos River Channel, Santa Maria River Channel and Bocas Bay, is a watercourse and immense estuarine complex that functions as a canal between the rivers Amazon (Amazon delta), Tocantins, Campina Grande (or Portel Bay) and Marajó Bay, in addition to numerous other smaller rivers. It can also be considered a distributary channel of the Tocantins River.

Pará River
View of the Pará River in Brazil
Map
Location
CountryBrazil
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationConfluence of Anapu and Pacajá, Pará state
 • coordinates1°54′27.6048″S 50°49′2.1396″W / 1.907668000°S 50.817261000°W / -1.907668000; -50.817261000
 • elevation0.5 m (1 ft 8 in)
2nd sourceAnapu
 • locationCarajás Mountains, Pará
 • coordinates4°1′51.1032″S 51°13′53.112″W / 4.030862000°S 51.23142000°W / -4.030862000; -51.23142000
 • elevation250 m (820 ft)
3rd sourcePacajá
 • locationCarajás Mountains, Pará
 • coordinates4°58′24.3624″S 50°46′40.7532″W / 4.973434000°S 50.777987000°W / -4.973434000; -50.777987000
 • elevation233 m (764 ft)
Mouth 
 • location
Marajó Bay, Pará
 • coordinates
0°25′48.234″S 48°8′41.4096″W / 0.43006500°S 48.144836000°W / -0.43006500; -48.144836000
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length320 km (200 mi) (Pará–Anapu 784 km (487 mi)[1]
Basin size1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • locationAtlantic Ocean (near mouth)
 • average20,946 m3/s (739,700 cu ft/s)[2] ~664 km3/a (21,000 m3/s)[2] to 26,000 m3/s (920,000 cu ft/s)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationConfluence of Tocantins (141 km upstream of mouth; Basin size 84,027 km2 (32,443 sq mi)
 • average9,249 m3/s (326,600 cu ft/s)[2] to 10,000 m3/s (350,000 cu ft/s)[3]
Discharge 
 • locationPortel, Pará (320 km upstream of mouth; Basin size: 52,066.5 km2 (20,103.0 sq mi)
 • average(Period: 1971–2000)2,206.7 m3/s (77,930 cu ft/s)[1]
Basin features
ProgressionAtlantic Ocean
Tributaries 
 • leftAnapu, Breves channel, Arari
 • rightPacajá, Jacundá, Tocantins, Acará, Guamá

It is located in the state of Pará, Brazil. It presents muddy and turbid waters, rich in sediments originating from its source rivers.

Runs for approximately 64 kilometres (40 mi), around the west and south of the island of Marajó. Belém, the state capital of Pará, is located near the south bank of the river.

Previously academic research has come to consider this watercourse as a distributary channel of the Amazon River. However, this statement is currently considered unlikely, since recent studies have shown the small contribution of the waters of the Amazon River to the formation of the Pará River,[4] with a greater contribution from the Tocantins River.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Tocantins Delta".
  2. ^ a b c Prestes, Yuri Onça; Borba, Thais Angélica da Costa; Silva, Alex Costa da; Rollnic, Marcelo (2020). "A discharge stationary model for the Pará-Amazon estuarine system". Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies. 28: 100668. doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2020.100668. S2CID 213143882.
  3. ^ a b Jacques, Callède; Gèrard, Cochonneau; Josyane, Ronchail; F. Vieira, Alves; Jean-Loup, Guyot; V. S., Guimaraes; Euridice, Oliveira (2010). Les apports en eau de l'Amazone á l'océan Atlantique (PDF).
  4. ^ Callède, Jacques (2010). "Les apports en eau de l'Amazone à l'Océan Atlantique". Revue des Sciences de l'EAU. 23 (3): 247–273. doi:10.7202/044688ar.

1°43′43″S 49°10′34″W / 1.72871°S 49.1762°W / -1.72871; -49.1762