The Amazon Attractions
The Rio Negro
The Meeting of the Waters
Where the dark waters of the Rio Negro join the lighter muddy
waters of the Rio Solimoes a natural phenomenon is caused: the
separate shades of water run side by side for a length of more than
four miles (6km) without mixing. The separation is apparently
caused by the difference in temperature, density and flow rate of
the waters from each river: Rio Negro travels at about a mile (2km)
per hour with a temperature of 72ºF (22ºC) while Rio
Solimoes flows at between two and four miles (4-6km) per hour with
a temperature of 82ºF (28ºC). This phenomenon has become
a major tourist attraction in Brazil, best accessed by taking an
hour's journey by boat from the floating docks in Manaus.
