Marañón River

Also known as Río Marañón, Marañon

river in Peru

AI overview

The Marañón River is a major river located in Peru that flows through the country's landscape. It is significant as one of the principal rivers in the region, contributing to Peru's geography and waterways.

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Wikidata facts

Image: Ocaso en el Marañon - panoramio (1).jpg
Length: 1737

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Commons category: Marañón River
watershed area: 350000
discharge: 16708.0

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Article

The Marañón River (Spanish: Río Marañón, IPA: [ˈri.o maɾaˈɲon], Quechua: Awriq mayu) is the principal or mainstem source of the Amazon River, arising about 160 km (100 miles) to the northeast of Lima, Peru, and flowing northwest across plateaus 3,650 m (12,000 feet) high, it runs through a deeply eroded Andean valley, along the eastern base of the Cordillera of the Andes, as far as 5° 36′ southern latitude; from where it makes a great bend to the northeast, and cuts through the jungle Ande in its midcourse, until at the Pongo de Manseriche it flows into the flat Amazon basin. Although historically, the term "Marañón River" often was applied to the river all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, nowadays the Marañón River is generally thought to end at the confluence with the Ucayali River, after which most cartographers label the ensuing waterway the Amazon River.

As the Marañón passes through high jungle in its midcourse, it is marked by a series of unnavigable rapids and falls.