Where Is the Amazon River?

The Amazon River begins as small streams high in the Peruvian Andes, about 160 km from the Pacific coast, and flows approximately 6,400 km eastward through Peru, Colombia, and Brazil before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near the city of Belém. It discharges an average of about 209,000 m³ of water per second — more than the next seven largest rivers combined. The Amazon basin covers about 7 million km², roughly 40% of South America, and contains the largest tropical rainforest on Earth. The river is home to over 3,000 known species of fish, including piranhas, arapaima, and the Amazon river dolphin.