Comparion of high water to low water

[amazondk]

We have just entered the dry season here on the south side of the equator. This year was an all time record season flood with the water level surpasing the previous high water mark set in 1953 reaching 29,71 meters above sea level at the port of Manaus. The river has now dropped about 50 cms from that point. I stopped by the Ponta Negra and took a picture today to compare the river to it´s level during the dry season. I took the first picture a few years ago and I do not know the actual date, but it was during the peak of the low water period. The beach is quite large during this time. And, it visited a lot by locals. The normal difference from low to high water is about 15 meters or so. It is a lot of water. The Negro River is the largest tributary of the Amazon the worlds largest and now considered longest river. The Tropical Business hotel is the building on the point.

People still go swiming in the high water. But, instead of the beach they just jump off the containment wall. The river at this point is about 8 kms across and at the deepest point about 90 meters deep. It is a lot of water.

[Palm Guy]

Wow I could've sworn there was a beach here somewhere??? lol.

Great pics Don. I also like to see how boats become beached whenever low tide hits some of the bays here. Places that were about 4 feet under water suddenly become dry!

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

Amazing shots Don! You are right about that being a lot of water! Good lord. Also, the water appears clean in both images. If we have a big flood, the water is usually full of silt.

[Tyrone]

That's some amazing pics Don.

Best regards

Tyrone

[sonoranfans]

Wow Don,

The amazon is amazing, and that water level change is incredible! The amazon is truly one of the top wonders of the world, giving rise to such a high percentage(40%?) of the worlds plant and animal life. Hopefully someday I can make it there and see it in person.

Tom

[amazondk]

The river is on it´s way down now. From now until the end of October it should drop at least 14 meters. The Negro River never gets muddy. Although some of the tributaries are muddy water rivers, like the Rio Branco which comes from Roraima, the river is too big and just absorbs the silt. The seasonal flood is a slow process starting in the begining of November and ending somewhere around the end of June every year. The two factors impacting the water level are the amount of rain over the watershed, which stretches up to Colombia, and the amount of water in the Amazon which acts as a dam at the mouth of the Negro. This year the Amazon River was also at record high water levels which impacted the amount of water held in the Negro.

These pictures taken off the bluff in front of my place at Paricatuba give a pretty good idea of the water levels as well. They were taken at pretty much the same spot one the end of October and the other one the middle of June.

[amazondk]

Here are a couple of other pictures of the river at Paricatuba. They are basically from the same place but the angle is a bit different from one to the other.