Japurá River
Course of Japurá in South America
Riparian vegetation of the Rio Japurá
The Rio Japurá [ ˌ ʒɐpuɾa ] (Spanish Yapura ), in the headwaters of the Río Caquetá Colombia, is a 2816 km long left tributary of the Amazon in South America.
River
The Río Caquetá springs east of Pasto in the Andes in southwestern Colombia, just 10 km from the sources of the Magdalena River. From there it flows to the southeast to Brazil, where he is called on a flow distance of 733 km Rio Japurá. The Japurá having an average water flow of 18,600 m³ / s the third largest tributary of the Amazon ( named after the Rio Madeira and the Rio Negro). As of the Rio Negro connections over several natural waterways. The for a catchment area of approximately 255,700 km ² extraordinary magnitude of the flux is due to the high rainfall in parts of the western Amazon basin. In Tefé the current, accompanied by many smaller tributaries in the Amazon flows. ( In the 18th century spoke of an eight-armed mouth. )
Shipping
The Caquetá is used as a shipping route to a small extent. So it is used to transport goods between the port of Solano and the region around Florencia, both located in the Departamento de Caquetá in Colombia. Also the Japurá, so the Brazilian section of the river, with barges lower draft, so-called Lanchas, busy.
A continuous navigability fails due to lying to the east of the Colombian Departamento de Caquetá rapids in the narrow sandstone canyon of Araracuara and is complicated by numerous smaller rapids. The river is therefore as future waterway between Colombia and Brazil, unlike the Río Putumayo, not suitable. In the Colombian section of the activities of the guerrillas are another risk for shipping dar.
Japurá is simultaneously a city in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
Ecological aspects
Along the Rio Japurá the tropical rain forest is a large area drained pasture and other agricultural land. The river landscape is known for its wealth of fauna; in the river itself occur giant catfish, eels, turtles and caimans.
The largest tributaries
One of the largest tributaries include ( downstream ):
- Río Orteguanza (left)
- Río Macaya (right)
- Rio Caguan (left)
- Rio Yari (left)
- Río Cahuinari (right)
- Río Apaporis (left)