| The Amazon River (US pron Spanish & Portuguese: Amazonas) in South America is the second longest [2][not in citation given] river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined (not including Madeira and Rio Negro, which are tributaries of the Amazon). The Amazon, which has the largestdrainage basin in the world, about 7,050,000 square kilometres (2,720,000 sq mi), accounts for approximately one-fifth of the world's total river flow.
In its upper stretches, above the confluence of the Rio Negro, the Amazon is called Solim�es in Brazil; however, in Peru, Colombia andEcuador, as well as the rest of the Spanish-speaking world, the river is generally called the Amazon downstream from the confluence of the Mara��n and Ucayali rivers in Peru. The Ucayali-Apur�mac river system is considered the main source of the Amazon, with as its main headstream the Carhuasanta glacial stream flowing off the Nevado Mismi mountain.
The width of the Amazon varies between 1.6 and 10 kilometres (1.0 and 6.2 mi) at low stage, but expands during the wet season to 48 kilometres (30 mi) or more. The river enters the Atlantic Ocean in a broad estuary about 240 kilometres (150 mi) wide. The mouth of themain stem is 80 kilometres (50 mi). Because of its vast dimensions, it is sometimes called The River Sea. The first bridge in the Amazon river system (over the Rio Negro) opened on 10 October 2010. It is in the immediate vicinity of the city of Manaus.
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