The Amazon is on record as the 2nd longest river in the world, but some say that it is actually the longest river in the world when you take into account all the tributaries. It is certainly the largest river in the world and accounts for more than 20 percent of the Earth's fresh water, which it carries from high up in the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, it picks up rich soil that flows into dozens of streams and small rivers. The Amazon Basin has two freshwater systems, the igapó (blackwater) and the varzea (whitewater). The varzea contains a large amount of minerals that fertilize land and help trees and other vegetation grow.
The Amazon River, according to many accounts, was named by Spanish explorer Fransisco de Orellana in 1541. The Amazon River basin is about 4,195 miles long, covering about 2,720,000 square miles in area, including its 15,000 tributaries and subtributaries (four of which are in excess of 1,000 miles long). It is the largest river basin in the world.
