Vaupés River (Uaupés River) is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
of the
Rio Negro in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
. It rises in the
Guaviare Department
Guaviare () is a department of Colombia. It is in the southern central region of the country. Its capital is San José del Guaviare. Guaviare was created on July 4, 1991, by the new Political Constitution of Colombia. Up until that point, it wa ...
of
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
, flowing east through Guaviare and
Vaupés Departments. It forms part of the international border between the
Vaupés department of Colombia and the
Amazonas state of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. On the border it merges with the
Papurí River and becomes known as the Uaupés. In 1847 an explorer saw a rapid which hurled its waves in the air, "as if great subaqueous explosions were taking place." The river continues on east through the
Alto Rio Negro Indigenous Territory until it flows into the Rio Negro at
São Joaquim
São Joaquim is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina, situated in southern Brazil. It is located at latitude 28° 17' 38" south and longitude 49° 55' 54" west, with an altitude of . Its population in 2020 was 27,139 i ...
,
Amazonas.
Vaupés is a
blackwater river.
See also
*
List of rivers of Amazonas
References
External links
Brazilian Ministry of Transport
Rivers of Amazonas (Brazilian state)
Rivers of Colombia
International rivers of South America
Brazil–Colombia border
Geography of Vaupés Department
Geography of Guaviare Department
Border rivers
Tributaries of the Rio Negro (Amazon)
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