The Ucayali River (, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...

, in the

Arequipa region Arequipa () is a department and region in southwestern Peru. It is the sixth largest department in Peru, after Puno, Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto, its sixth most populous department, and its eleventh least densely populated dep ...

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 becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to

Nauta Nauta is a town in the northeastern part of Loreto Province in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, Amazon, roughly south of Iquitos, the provincial capital. Nauta is located on the north bank of the Marañón River, a major tributary of the Uppe ...

city. The city of

Pucallpa Pucallpa (, ; Shipibo language, Shipibo: ''May Ushin'') is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the C ...

is located on the banks of the Ucayali.

Description

The Ucayali, together with the

Apurímac River The Apurímac River ( ; , ; from Quechua ''apu'' 'chief' and ''rimaq'' 'the one who speaks, oracle', thus 'the chief oracle') rises from glacial meltwater of the ridge of the Mismi, a mountain in the Arequipa Province in the south-western mo ...

, the

Ene River The Ene River (; ) is a Peruvian river on the eastern slopes of the Andes. It is a headwater of the Amazon River. Geography Headwaters The Ene is formed at at the confluence of the Mantaro River and the Apurímac River, circa 400 m above ...

and the Tambo River, is today considered the main headwater of the ''Amazon River'', totaling a length of from the source of the ''Apurímac'' at

Nevado Mismi Mismi is a mountain peak of volcanic origin in the Chila mountain range in the Andes of Peru. A glacial stream on the Mismi was identified as the most distant source of the Amazon River in 1996; this finding was confirmed in 2001 and again in ...

to the confluence of the Ucayali and

Marañón River The Marañón River (, , ) is the principal or mainstem source of the Amazon River, arising about 160 km (100 miles) to the northeast of Lima, Peru, and flowing northwest across plateaus 3,650 m (12,000 feet) high, it runs through a deeply ero ...

s: *Apurímac River (total length): *Ene River (total length): *Tambo River (total length): * Ucayali River (confluence with Tambo River to confluence with the Marañón):

Exploration

The Ucayali was first called ''San Miguel'', then ''Ucayali'', ''Ucayare'', ''Poro'', ''Apu-Poro'', ''Cocama'' and ''Rio de Cuzco''.

has organised many costly and ably-conducted expeditions to explore it. One of them (1867) claimed to have reached within of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, and the little steamer "Napo" found its way up the violent currents for above the junction with the Pachitea River, and as far as the Tambo River, from the confluence of the Ucayali with the Amazon. The "Napo" then succeeded in ascending the

Urubamba River The Urubamba River or Vilcamayo River (possibly from Quechua ''Willkamayu'', for "sacred river") is a river in Peru. Upstream it is called Vilcanota River (possibly from Aymara ''Willkanuta'', for "house of the sun"). Within the La Convención ...

upstream from its junction with the Tambo, to a point north of

Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...

Rubber boom

During the first Amazon rubber boom, the Ucayali River basin and its indigenous inhabitants were heavily exploited for the collection of rubber. One of Peru's first rubber barons,

Carlos Fitzcarrald Carlos Fermín Fitzcarrald López (6 July 18629 July 1897) was a Peruvian Rubber boom#Rubber barons, rubber baron. He was born in San Luis, Ancash, in a province that was later Carlos Fermín Fitzcarrald Province, named after him. In the early ...

, based his enterprise in the Ucayali and due to his success he became the richest rubber entrepreneur on the river by 1888. Many indigenous tribes along the Ucayali were targeted by rubber barons like Fitzcarrald during ''Correrias'' ("forays" or "chasings"), which were effectually

slave raids Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. Some of the indigenous groups that were targeted include Asháninka, Amahuaca, Piro ine

Shipibo The Shipibo-Conibo are an indigenous people along the Ucayali River in the Amazon rainforest in Peru. Formerly two groups, they eventually became one tribe through intermarriage and communal rituals and are currently known as the Shipibo-Conib ...

and Conibo. Other prominent Peruvian rubber barons ran enterprises with operations on the Ucayali, including Luis Felipe Morey, along with his brother Adolfo, Julio Cesar Arana as well as the Rodriguez brothers Maximo and Baldomero. The latter of which was killed near the Sutilija tributary of the Manu River at his estate named Honoria in September of 1910 by a group of Piros. Fitzcarrald's enterprise dominated the area around Atalaya, which is located near the Tambo and Urubamba River's confluence. According to anthropologist Søren Hvalkof, the "favourite focus of the Atalaya patrons’ correrías" were isolated Asháninka settlements around the Gran Pajonal and Ucayali. In 1893, Fitzcarrald was credited with establishing the Isthmus of Fitzcarrald, an important portage route between the Urubamba River, a tributary of the Ucayali, and the Manu tributary of the

Madre de Dios River The Madre de Dios River () is a river shared by Bolivia and Peru which is homonymous to the Peruvian region it runs through. On Bolivian territory, it receives the Beni River, close to the town of Riberalta, which later joins with the Mamore Riv ...

. In subsequent years, several other prominent rubber entrepreneurs, like Carlos Scharff and Leopoldo Collazos, attempted to establish portage routes which connected the Ucayali River to the Madre de Dios. The establishment of Fitzcarrald's portage route marked the beginning of Peruvian activity with the rubber trade in the Madre de Dios River basin. In July of 1897, Fitzcarrald and his partner Antonio Vaca Díez, a Bolivian rubber baron, drowned on the Urubamba after the steamship they were traveling on sank.

Navigation

The Ucayali's width varies from , due to the large number of islands. The current runs from , and a channel from wide can always be found with a minimum depth of . There are five difficult passes, due to the accumulation of trees and rafts of timber. Sometimes large rocks which have fallen from the mountains and spread across the riverbed cause whirlpools.

National Reserve

The Ucayali is home to the

Amazon river dolphin The Amazon river dolphin (''Inia geoffrensis''), also known as the boto, bufeo or pink river dolphin, is a species of toothed whale Endemism, endemic to South America and is classified in the family Iniidae. Three subspecies are currently recogni ...

giant otter The giant otter or giant river otter (''Pteronura brasiliensis'') is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the weasel family, Mustelidae, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to . Atypical of mustel ...

, and the

Amazonian manatee The Amazonian manatee (''Trichechus inunguis'') is a species of manatee that lives in the Amazon Basin in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. It has thin, wrinkled brownish or gray colored skin, with fine hairs scattered over its body and a white ...

, which are abundant in

Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve Pacaya–Samiria National Reserve, is a protected area located in the region of Loreto, Peru and spans an area of . It protects an area of low hills and seasonally flooded forest in the Amazon rainforest. Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve and ...

, close to Nauta. The southeastern border of the reserve is formed by the lower Ucayali River. The river gives its name to the

Ucayali Region Ucayali () is an inland department and region of Peru. Located in the Amazon rainforest, its name is derived from the Ucayali River. Its capital is the city of Pucallpa. It is the second largest department in Peru, after Loreto, and it is s ...

and the Ucayali Province of the Loreto Region.

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{Authority control Rivers of Peru Tributaries of the Amazon River

Rivers A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it ru ...

Rivers of the Department of Ucayali Upper Amazon