Amazon / Rio Negro "Meeting of the Waters"

The ship had a full and half day tour of the Famous "Meeting of the Waters", which included jungle and village visits. Since John and I toured the jungle by boat earlier and we had also been to an Amazon village earlier, we opted to take a city tour for Manaus which would include the famous Opera house. Much to our surprise on the day of arrival to Manaus, we find out that the ship will actually pass through the Famous "Meeting of the Waters". The silty Amazon running alongside the deep black Rio Negro. We are thrilled and go out to our lounge deck 5 to see this amazing sight.


The tributaries and the Amazon River are two different colors -- the "white" water rivers, which are really muddy and look much like cocoa, the "black" water rivers, which are filled with tannin and are clear like coffee. At any point where two of these rivers join, their density is so different that they will not mix for several miles. No where is this natural event more dramatic than near Manaus, where the Solimoes and the Rio Negro merge. The Amazon River is formed at the point these two rivers join together.

Rio Negro at the " Meeting of the Waters": the dark Rio Negro meeting the silty Amazon Solimoes River.