No, not Amazon.com. The Amazon.
So I was poking around Encarta today. Ever run across a bit of knowledge that truly amazes you? Happens to me once in a while.
So you know the Amazon is in South America. You probably know it’s, by far, the largest river in the world (containing more water than the next ten largest rivers combined!). You might know piranhas live in the Amazon and nowhere else (well, natively). I learned today that it dumps so much water and sediment into the Atlantic—20 million gallons per second—that the ocean’s color and salinity are altered for a distance of 200 miles from the mouth.
But that’s not what blew my mind. Check this out:
There is no bridge across the Amazon. The river is four thousand miles long, and there is not a single bridge across it. It’s a shorter distance across the continental United States than the Amazon is long, and there is no bridge!
Why not? Well, there just aren’t a whole lot of people on the Amazon anywhere but its mouth. I mean, you sort of figure that—rainforest and all—but still, would you have guessed there was no bridge anywhere on it? I wouldn’t have.
I’d love to take an Amazon trip one day, just spending as much time as I could afford on the river. I’d plan a trip of recreational ichthyology, observing many of my favorite tropical fish species in their native environment.
The boys are pretty much my only hope if I want any companionship beyond a paid guide, though. I just don’t see “Lea” and “jungle vacation” in the same sentence.
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Long ago I heard or read that if you put the State of Connecticut in the middle of the mouth of the Amazon River, you would not be able to see it from either shore. If true, I find that astounding.
No bridges? Wow. now that’s are really cool fact.
ooooh – Jungle vacation! You really should start planning now. Aim for a time say – 10 years from now – so you boys will be big enough to fend off the pirana’s for you.
Heh. I’m kind of with Lea on this one. Shame on me, I know, but still…
I did not know any of the facts you (or Gerry) mentioned. I have a hard time appreciating that kind of scope…