The Amazon River, the main river of the Amazon Basin, is also the longest river in the world. According to official data, it is 4,083 miles long. However, the Brazilian National Research Institute is conducting a study to confirm whether its source is at an altitude of 16,555 feet. If this is confirmed, the official total length of the river will be considered 4,268 miles - 124 miles longer than the Nile, in Africa. Until the present, the Amazon has been thought to have its source in Huagra, in the Peruvian Andes, one of the driest places in the world. Before reaching Brazil, the Amazon River has two different names: Apurimac and Ucavali. At its outflow, the water of the Amazon River meets the sea, causing the tidal phenomenon called the pororoca, the encounter of the waters.
