The Acre River (called Aquiry in the local Iñapari language; locally, ''Rio Acre'') is a long river in central South America.

Course

The river is born in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and runs North-Eastwards, forming part of the border between Peru and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and then part of the border between

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and Brazil. It runs through the Brazilian states of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

and Amazonas, before eventually running into the

Purus River The Purus River (Portuguese: ''Rio Purus''; Spanish: ''Río Purús'') is a tributary of the Amazon River in South America. Its drainage basin is , and the mean annual discharge is . The river shares its name with the Alto Purús National Park a ...

at Boca do Acre. It runs along the Bolivian frontier and flows northeastward to a junction with the Purus at 8° 45' South latitude. The name is also applied to a district situated on the same river and on the former boundary line of 1867, between Bolivia and Brazil. This region's area is estimated at . It is navigable from the mouth until the Xapuri River (), even farther in the

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

from January until May. The river was an important transportation artery at the end of the 19th century due to newly discovered

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

tree forests. The Rio Acre Ecological Station lies in the municipalities of

Assis Brasil Assis Brasil () is a municipality located in the south of the Brazilian state of Acre. Its population is 7,534 (2020 est) and its area is . The municipality contains part of the Rio Acre Ecological Station. It also contains part of the Chi ...

and

Sena Madureira Sena Madureira () is a municipality located in the center of the Brazilian state of Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, ...

in the state of

, Brazil. It contains Amazon forest bounded to the north by an Indian reservation and to the south by the Acre River. It was created to preserve the headwaters of the Acre River.

History

The region was settled by Peruvians between 1870 and 1878, but was invaded by Brazilian rubber collectors during the next decade (during the '

rubber boom The Amazon rubber cycle or boom (, ; , ) was an important part of the socioeconomic history of Brazil and Amazonian regions of neighboring countries, being related to the commercialization of rubber and the genocide of indigenous peoples. Cente ...

') and became tributary to the

markets of

Iquitos Iquitos (; ) is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province, Peru, Maynas Province and Loreto Region. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, as well as the List of cities in Peru, ninth-most populous city in Peru ...

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

and

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

. In 1899, the Bolivian government established a custom-house at Puerto Alonso, on the Acre river, for the collection of export duties on rubber, which precipitated a conflict with the Brazilian settlers, and finally brought about a boundary dispute between the two republics. In July 1899 the "Acreanos" declared their independence and set up a republic of their own, but in the following March they were reduced to submission by Brazil. Various disorders followed until Brazil decided to occupy Puerto Alonso with a military force. The boundary dispute was finally settled at Petropolis on November 17, 1903, through the purchase by Brazil of the rubber-producing territory, south to about the ninth parallel.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Amazonas (Brazilian state) Rivers of Acre (state) Rivers of Peru Rivers of the Department of Madre de Dios Rivers of Pando Department Bolivia–Brazil border Brazil–Peru border International rivers of South America Tributaries of the Amazon River Border rivers