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A little trip across the river


amazondk

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I went on a little outing with some american friends of mine yesterday.   We went across the Negro River to the meeting of the waters where the muddy water Solimoes River (known outside of Brazil normally as the Amazon) joins the Negro River to form the Rio Amazonas (in Brazilian geography).  The  Negro River at this point where it joins the Solimoes is 14 kms wide and 100 meters deep in parts.  It is a lot of water.  We then went up to a lake on the other side of the Negro and took a little walk in the varzea flooded forest area.  The water is dropping quickly now and you can easily walk where 3 meters of water flowed a few months ago.  This area has a lot of forest floor palms.  The ones I photographed are I believe bactris.  They are known as maraja locally.  Maybe someone could do an ID on them.  I have not really determined which they would be.  One of the palms has fat leaves and the other skinny ones.  The fat leaved one has much more spines than the other.  I am sorry that I did not get better pictures the light was not too good.  There is also an Astrocaryum jauari which is very common in the area.

In addition there was one big samaumeira (Ceiba petandra).  There was a thread on this tree on the tropical plants forum.  You can see the high water mark on the tree.  And, last but not least there is a shot looking up the Negro River toward Manaus.

Varzeaforestfloor.jpg

Marajafineleaves.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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This I believe is also a bactris.

Fatleaves2.jpg

The A. jauari

Jauari.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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One big tree

Samaumeirajanauari.jpg

Samaumeira2.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Looking up the Negro River towards Manaus.  You can see some ocean going vessels waiting to unload on the left side of the picture.  The sky line of Manaus on the right.  You can also see the line dividing muddy waters from the black water of the Negro.  This is not the acutal Meeting of the Waters, but is where a side channel comes in from the Solimões to merge with the Negro River.

LookingupRioNegro.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Thanks guys.  The tree does sort of put one in his place.  As you can see it has seeds now and is without leaves.

dk

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Excellent. I am a long standing member of the "Bactris is Underappreciated" club.  :P

Christian Faulkner

Venice, Florida - South Sarasota County.

www.faulknerspalms.com

 

Μολὼν λάβε

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Don,

Great pictures! I always enjoy seeing the photos you post. You live in a very unique place. And that tree is incredible! Are those very old trees?

Bo-Göran

Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Thanks Bo,  I love to see the pictures you post too.  I don't really know what age the tree would be, but it must be at least 100 years old.  They do grow fast, but that is still a pretty sizable specimen.  It could be several hundred years old easily.  It is amazing it is still there so close to Manaus.  This tree was heavily harvested for the plywood industry when it was very active here.  The varzea area of amazonia produced trememdous amounts of trees and this was one of the most sought after species.  Competition from the Chinese along with depletion of the resource, softwood varzea trees, pretty much shut the industry down around here.

dk

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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"Going up that river was like traveling back to the earliest beginnings of the world, when vegetation rioted on the earth and the big trees were kings"

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (via Google Books)

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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Christian,

I did get three seeds.  Those were the only ones I found.  Although I did not really look that hard.  From what I can tell by looking at the Henderson book on American palms the thin leafed one should be Bactris maraja, and the wide leafed one could be the Bactris riparia.  They seem to fit those descrpiton.  The B. maraja would make a nice landscape palm for shade.  It has spines but nothing too radical.  

dk

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Dave,

That is a great quote.

dk

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Here is a shot of what I think is the Bactris maraja with a few fruits.  As I mentioned above I ended up with three of these.  As I mentioned there are some spines but not too many.  

dk

Bactrismaraja.jpg

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

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Dear Amazon DK  :)

thanks for those lovely pictures of amazon forest.

and iam glad you have proved your forum I.D name_

Amazon DK.

i do realise now how much you love trees and greenery.

after seeing those pictures i can understand why

singer sting,peter gabrieal etc are striving so hard

to save amazon (forest & the river course).& other

evergreen forest of the world.

thanks for those pictures_DK

love,

Kris(India).

love conquers all..

43278.gif

.

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Kris,

I am glad you like the pictures.  The meeting of the rivers is a special place.  There is no place in the world with so much flowing fresh water.

dk

Don Kittelson

 

LIFE ON THE RIO NEGRO

03° 06' 07'' South 60° 01' 30'' West

Altitude 92 Meters / 308 feet above sea level

1,500 kms / 932 miles to the mouth of the Amazon River

 

Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil - A Cidade da Floresta

Where the world´s largest Tropical Rainforest embraces the Greatest Rivers in the World. .

82331.gif

 

Click here to visit Amazonas

amazonas2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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