View source for Purus River

{{Infobox river
 | name                 = Purus River
 | native_name          = 
 | native_name_lang     = 
 | name_other           = 
 | name_etymology       = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
 | image                = Purus.jpg
 | image_size           = 300
 | image_caption        = Purus River
 | map                  = Purusrivermap.png
 | map_size             = 300
 | map_caption          = Map of the Amazon Basin with the Purus River highlighted
 | pushpin_map          = 
 | pushpin_map_size     = 300
 | pushpin_map_caption  = 
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
 | subdivision_type1    = Country
 | subdivision_name1    = [[Brazil]], [[Peru]]
 | subdivision_type2    = 
 | subdivision_name2    = 
 | subdivision_type3    = 
 | subdivision_name3    = 
 | subdivision_type4    = 
 | subdivision_name4    = 
 | subdivision_type5    = 
 | subdivision_name5    = 
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
 | length               ={{cvt|3,361.02|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="Perú: Anuario de Estadistícas Ambientales 2022">{{cite book|url=https://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1877/libro.pdf|title=Perú: Anuario de Estadistícas Ambientales 2022|year=2022}}</ref> {{cvt|3,382|km|mi|abbr=on}} 
 | width_min            = 
 | width_avg            = 
 | width_max            = 
 | depth_min            = 
 | depth_avg            = 
 | depth_max            = 
 | discharge1_location  = Confluencia of [[Solimões River|Solimões]], [[Amazonas State (Brazil)|Amazonas State]] (near mouth) 
 | discharge1_min       = 
 | discharge1_avg       =(Period: 1973–1990){{cvt|10,970|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Hydrologie du Bassin de l'Amazone">{{cite web |url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/colloques2/42687.pdf |last=Molinier M |display-authors=et al |title=Hydrologie du Bassin de l'Amazone |date=22 November 1993 |access-date=16 July 2017 |language=fr |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007151725/http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/colloques2/42687.pdf |archive-date=7 October 2016}}</ref>
(Period: 1979–2015){{cvt|11,206.9|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="PLANO ESTADUAL DE RECURSOS HÍDRICOS DO AMAZONAS, (PERH/AM) - RT 03 - DIAGNÓSTICO, PROGNÓSTICO E CENÁRIOS FUTUROS DO RECURSOS HÍDRICOS DO ESTADO - TOMO III">{{cite web|url=http://meioambiente.am.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Produto-II-Diagn%25C3%25B3stico-Progn%25C3%25B3stico-e-Cen%25C3%25A1rios-volume-II.pdf|title=PLANO ESTADUAL DE RECURSOS HÍDRICOS DO AMAZONAS, (PERH/AM) - RT 03 - DIAGNÓSTICO, PROGNÓSTICO E CENÁRIOS FUTUROS DO RECURSOS HÍDRICOS DO ESTADO - TOMO III|date=Jan 2019|access-date=2021-10-03|archive-date=2021-05-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506021650/http://meioambiente.am.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Produto-II-Diagn%C3%B3stico-Progn%C3%B3stico-e-Cen%C3%A1rios-volume-II.pdf}}</ref>
 | discharge1_max       =
 | source1              = Confluence of Cujar and Curiuja rivers
 | source1_location     = [[Ucayali Region]], [[Peru]]
 | source1_coordinates  = {{coord|10|44|56|S|71|47|14|W}}
 | source1_elevation    = {{cvt|330|m|abbr=on}}
 | source2              = Most distant source approximate area. Headwaters of Cujar River.
 | source2_location     = [[Ucayali Region]], [[Peru]]
 | source2_coordinates  = {{coord|10|42|52|S|72|26|44|W}}
 | source2_elevation    = {{cvt|498|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Perú: Anuario de Estadistícas Ambientales 2022">{{cite book|url=https://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1877/libro.pdf|title=Perú: Anuario de Estadistícas Ambientales 2022|year=2022}}</ref>
{{cvt|520|m|abbr=on}}
 | mouth_location       = 
 | mouth_coordinates    = {{coord|3|41|35|S|61|28|12|W|display=inline,title}}
 | mouth_elevation      = {{cvt|11|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Perú: Anuario de Estadistícas Ambientales 2022">{{cite book|url=https://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1877/libro.pdf|title=Perú: Anuario de Estadistícas Ambientales 2022|year=2022}}</ref>
 | progression          =[[Amazon River|Amazon]] → [[Atlantic Ocean]] 
 | river_system         = [[Solimões River|Solimões]]
 | basin_size           = {{cvt|371,042|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} to {{cvt|376,600|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}<ref name="PLANO ESTADUAL DE RECURSOS HÍDRICOS DO AMAZONAS, (PERH/AM) - RT 03 - DIAGNÓSTICO, PROGNÓSTICO E CENÁRIOS FUTUROS DO RECURSOS HÍDRICOS DO ESTADO - TOMO III">{{cite web|url=http://meioambiente.am.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Produto-II-Diagn%25C3%25B3stico-Progn%25C3%25B3stico-e-Cen%25C3%25A1rios-volume-II.pdf|title=PLANO ESTADUAL DE RECURSOS HÍDRICOS DO AMAZONAS, (PERH/AM) - RT 03 - DIAGNÓSTICO, PROGNÓSTICO E CENÁRIOS FUTUROS DO RECURSOS HÍDRICOS DO ESTADO - TOMO III|date=Jan 2019|access-date=2021-10-03|archive-date=2021-05-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506021650/http://meioambiente.am.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Produto-II-Diagn%C3%B3stico-Progn%C3%B3stico-e-Cen%C3%A1rios-volume-II.pdf}}</ref> 
 | tributaries_left     = [[Inauini River|Inauini]], [[Pauini River (Purus River tributary)|Pauini]], [[Tapauá River|Tapauá]] 
 | tributaries_right    = [[Chandless River|Chandless]], [[Iaco River|Iaco]], [[Acre River|Acre]], [[Sepatini River|Sepatini]], [[Ituxi River|Ituxi]], [[Mucuim River|Mucuim]], [[Itaparaná River|Itaparaná]] 
 | custom_label         = 
 | custom_data          = 
 | extra                = 
 | discharge2_location  = Arumã-Jusante, [[Amazonas State (Brazil)|Amazonas State]] ({{cvt|359,853|km2|abbr=on}}
 | discharge2_avg       = (Period of data: 1970–1996){{cvt|10,469|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="auto">{{cite CiteSeerX|citeseerx=10.1.1.549.3854|title=Long-term simulations of discharge and floods in the Amazon Basin|last1=Michael|first1=T. Coe|last2=Marcos|first2=Heil Costa|last3=Aurélie|first3=Botta|last4=Charon|first4=Birkett|date=23 Aug 2002}}</ref>
 | discharge3_location  = [[Lábrea]], [[Amazonas State (Brazil)|Amazonas State]] (Basin size: {{cvt|220,351|km2|abbr=on}}
 | discharge3_avg       = (Period of data: 1970–1996){{cvt|5,569|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="auto"/>
}}

The '''Purus River''' (Portuguese: ''Rio Purus''; Spanish: ''Río Purús'') is a [[tributary]] of the [[Amazon River]] in [[South America]]. Its [[drainage basin]] is {{convert|371,042|km2|0|abbr=on}}, and the mean annual [[discharge (hydrology)|discharge]] is {{convert|11,207|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}. The river shares its name with the [[Alto Purús National Park]] and the [[Purús Province]] (and its conformed [[Purús District]]), one of the four [[provinces of Peru]] in the [[Ucayali Region]].

== Geography ==

The Purus River rises in Peru.
It defines the boundary between Peru and Brazil in the centre of the state of [[Acre (state)|Acre]], then runs for a short distance along the boundary of the {{convert|231555|ha}} [[Santa Rosa do Purus National Forest]], a sustainable use conservation unit created in 2001 after it is joined by the [[Santa Rosa River (Acre)|Santa Rosa River]].
The Purus then flows north east through [[Manoel Urbano]]<ref>{{citation|ref={{harvid|FLONA de Santa Rosa do Purus – ISA}}|language=pt
 |title=FLONA de Santa Rosa do Purus|publisher=ISA: Instituto Socioambiental
 |url=https://uc.socioambiental.org/uc/5945|access-date=2016-06-21}}</ref>
It runs through a continuous forest at the bottom of the great depression, lying between the Madeira River, which skirts the edge of the [[Brazil]]ian [[sandstone]] plateau, and the [[Ucayali River]], which hugs the base of the [[Andes]].{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

In the state of [[Amazonas (Brazilian state)|Amazonas]] the river runs through the {{convert|133637|ha}} [[Arapixi Extractive Reserve]], created in 2006 and past the town of [[Boca do Acre]] at the end of the [[BR-317]] highway.<ref>{{citation|ref={{harvid|RESEX Arapixi – ISA}}|language=pt |title=RESEX Arapixi|publisher=ISA: Instituto Socioambiental |url=https://uc.socioambiental.org/uc/877|access-date=2016-09-08}}</ref>
Further down, it forms the west boundary of the {{convert|256000|ha}} [[Purus National Forest]], created in 1988.<ref>{{citation|ref={{harvid|FLONA do Purus – ISA}}|language=pt
 |title=FLONA do Purus|publisher=ISA: Instituto Socioambiental
 |url=https://uc.socioambiental.org/uc/5112|access-date=2016-09-08}}</ref>
From the town of [[Pauini]] down to the town of [[Lábrea]] the river is bordered by the  {{convert|604209|ha}} [[Médio Purus Extractive Reserve]], created in 2008.<ref>{{citation|ref={{harvid|RESEX Médio Purus – ISA}}|language=pt |title=RESEX Médio Purus|publisher=ISA: Instituto Socioambiental |url=https://uc.socioambiental.org/en/uc/4548|access-date=2016-09-03}}</ref>
Below this it runs through the {{convert|197,986|ha}} [[Canutama Extractive Reserve]] along the stretch between the towns of Lábrea and [[Canutama]].<ref>{{citation|ref={{harvid|RESEX Canutama – ISA}}|language=pt |title=RESEX Canutama|publisher=ISA: Instituto Socioambiental |url=https://uc.socioambiental.org/uc/1575|access-date=2016-09-02}}</ref>
In the lowest reaches the river flows through the {{convert|1008167|ha}} [[Piagaçu-Purus Sustainable Development Reserve]], established in 2003, which holds a large part of its floodplain.<ref>{{citation|ref={{harvid|RDS Piagaçu-Purus – ISA}}|language=pt |title=RDS Piagaçu-Purus|publisher=ISA: Instituto Socioambiental |url=https://uc.socioambiental.org/uc/5047|access-date=2016-08-20}}</ref>
It enters the Amazon River west of the [[Madeira River]], which it parallels as far south as the falls of the latter stream.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

[[William Chandless]] found its elevation above sea level to be only {{convert|107|ft|m}} {{convert|590|mi|km}} from its mouth. It is one of the most crooked streams in the world, and its length in a straight line is less than half of its length following its curves. It is practically only a drainage ditch for the half-submerged, lake-flooded district it crosses.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}
Its width is very uniform for {{convert|1000|mi|km}} up, and for {{convert|800|mi|km}} its depth is never less than {{convert|45|ft|m}}.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

[[File:Purus Red Howler Monkey.jpg|thumb|left|Purus red howler monkey]]

== Biodiversity ==
The [[Purús red howler]] (''Alouatta puruensis'') is a species of howler monkey native to Brazil, Peru and north of Bolivia.<ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Cornejo, F.M. |author2=Boubli, J.P. |author3=Alves, S.L. |author4=Bicca-Marques, J.C. |author5=Cortés-Ortiz, L. |author6=Calouro, A.M. |author7=de Melo, F.R. |date=2021 |title=''Alouatta puruensis'' |volume=2021 |article-number=e.T136787A190430767 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T136787A190430767.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref>
''[[Peckoltia brevis]]'', a kind of catfish, is found in the middle and upper Amazon within the Purus river basin.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=1339| title = Planet catfish}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.fishbase.org/summary/49958| title = Fish Base}}</ref>

Most of the central and lower sections of the river flow through the [[Purus várzea]] ecoregion.<ref>{{citation|ref={{harvid|Purus varzea – Myers}}
 |title=Purus varzea|publisher= Myers Enterprises II |work=Global Species
 |url=http://www.globalspecies.org/ecoregions/display/NT0156|access-date=2017-03-15}}</ref>
In the municipality of [[Tapauá]], Amazonas, the river flows through the {{convert|233864|ha}} [[Abufari Biological Reserve]], a strictly protected area.<ref>{{citation|language=pt |title=Unidade de Conservação: Reserva Biológica do Abufari|publisher=MMA: Ministério do Meio Ambiente |url=http://sistemas.mma.gov.br/cnuc/index.php?ido=relatorioparametrizado.exibeRelatorio&relatorioPadrao=true&idUc=194|access-date=2016-04-24}}</ref>

== Earthworks discovery ==

In 2008, a previously unknown [[pre-Columbian]] civilization was discovered in the upper region of the river close to the [[Bolivia]]n border. After much of the forest in the region was [[Clear-cut|cleared]] for agricultural use, [[Satellite photography|satellite pictures]] revealed the remains of large geometric [[Earthworks (archaeology)|earthworks]].<ref name="earthworks">Martti Pärssinen, Denise Schaan, Alceu Ranzi: [http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/083/ant0831084.htm ''Pre-Columbian geometric earthworks in the upper Purús: a complex society in western Amazonia'']. Antiquity, Volume 83, 2009, p. 1084–1095</ref>

==See also==
* [[Amazon rainforest]]
* [[Esperanza, Ucayali]]
* [[Brazilian Amazon]]
* [[Peruvian Amazon]]
* [[River basin]]
* [[Catauxi]]

{{Portal bar|Environment|Ecology|Geography|Brazil|Peru}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/484217/Purus-River Purus River. (2010). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.] Retrieved January 12, 2010, from [[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]].

==External links==
* [https://www.gifex.com/imapa/americas/md_amazonas_brazil.pdf Map of Amazon State with Purus River], Brazilian Ministry of Transport
* {{cite web
|url= http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2005/2005-04-01-02.asp
|title= Peru Preserves Biodiversity in Vast New Park
|access-date= 5 November 2014
|date= 1 April 2005
|work= Environment News Service
}}
* {{cite web
|url= http://www.enjoyperu.com/peru_travel_tours_information/peru_nature_ecology_biodiversity/peru_nature_ecology_biodiversity_national_parks_altopurus_national_park_part1.html
|title= Alto Purús National Park
|access-date= 5 November 2014
|work= Enjoy Peru
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080517005333/http://www.enjoyperu.com/peru_travel_tours_information/peru_nature_ecology_biodiversity/peru_nature_ecology_biodiversity_national_parks_altopurus_national_park_part1.html
|archive-date= 17 May 2008
}}

{{Natural and Cultural Peruvian Heritage}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tributaries of the Amazon River]]
[[Category:Rivers of Acre (state)]]
[[Category:Rivers of Amazonas (Brazilian state)]]
[[Category:Rivers of Peru]]
[[Category:International rivers of South America]]
[[Category:Brazil–Peru border]]
[[Category:Rivers of the Department of Ucayali]]
[[Category:Border rivers]]