Amazon River Brazil

The Amazon River is the largest river in the world with a total river flow in excess of the total flow of the next six largest rivers (up to 300 thousand cubic meters per second). Even one-fifth of the total volume of freshwater that enters the ocean comes from the Amazon River. The Amazon River also includes the second longest river after the Nile in Africa. Catchment area (drainage area) of the Amazon River is often called the Amazon Basin (Amazon Basin) in area nearly twice the size of India, or about 40 per cent of Americans. With a drainage area of ​​that size and a very large flow downstream or how the appearance of the Amazon River estuary?

The Amazon River is also a tourist spot of the lung, with a natural feel fresh. During the rainy season, the width of the estuary could reach 500 kilometers and forms the estuary of the Amazon River was changed in the last 5 years. It's very possible that a large enough river flow which can reach 125 miles into the Atlantic Ocean.
Many previous researchers have surmised that the Amazon River once flowed to the west where the flow is opposite direction to the Amazon River alirang now. Some of them were carry his part of the Amazon River is a river system proto-Congo (Zaire) which is formed when Africa and South America together in one large continent called Gondwana. But how do researchers now describe the flow of the Amazon River once flowed westward.
Beginning of an idea how Amazon River once flowed to the west is based on the discovery of several researchers from UNC (University of North Carolina) which examined the beginnings of the sedimentary rocks in the Amazon Basin



But they accidentally discover an ancient mineral grains in the central part of South America who believed these minerals come from the east. Mineral grains are zircon. The zircons have uranium and thorium content, so we can determine the age of the mineral is based on the time of clearance. Besides these minerals also have the ability to survive through geological processes such as erosion, transport and even be able also to withstand the process of metamorphosis. The results of the mineral zircon age determination could be interpreted to be roughly the age of formation of the crystallization process. Based on this information, along with professor Dr. Russell Mapes. Drew Coleman of the University of North Carolina 80% browse the Amazon Basin and collect the zircon grains that they find for its age and then measured using radiometry technique (U-Pb). And the results of these measurements that reinforce their interpretation of the Amazon River formerly flowed from east to west. Why are they so confident that based on the age of the zircon is the flow of the Amazon River was once the east-west? The discovery of zircon ages that vary between 1.4 to 2 billion years ago gave an indication that the source or origin of these zircons are from the east where old rocks 2.5 billion years ago are found in the eastern part of South America. What about the Andes? Would not be possible source of zircon from the west (Andes)? It is highly unlikely that the source of the zircons are derived from the Andes. This is due to recently formed Andes after 65 million years ago when the tectonic plates of South America and African tectonic plates have been separated due to the expansion of the existing embankment on the ocean floor between the two tectonic plates. Because of ongoing geological processes, especially in the western part of South America (Andes area), rocks in the western part is getting younger age than the rocks in the eastern part of South America.
About 50 million years ago, South American tectonic plates separate from the African tectonic plate collides with the Nazca tectonic plate from the Pacific Ocean to form the Andes Mountains are formed by the process of appointment by the tectonic plate subduction to the west of South America was and still continues to this day . The formation of the Andes is able to withstand the Amazon River flows from east to west. Amazon River and then turns into a kind of ocean in the middle of the continent that with time turn into swamps and lakes.
Andes is derived from the Quechua language means the Anti or high peak is the world's longest mountain range. Extends for more than 7000 kilometers and a width of 500 kilometers and has an average altitude of 4000 meters.
Until about Miocene where the Andes has been formed and still form capable of reversing the flow of the Amazon River from east to west was originally to be from west to east in the direction of Tinggian Purus. Purus altitude include high or altitude ancient paleo formed from north to south in the middle of South America. Purus altitude is the Amazon basin divides into two (one to the west to the Andes and one toward the Atlantic Ocean). Around the Late Miocene, or about 10 million years ago, finally able to flow through the Amazon River Purus Tinggian and at the higher Andes are formed so as to completely reverse the flow of the Amazon River to the Atlantic Ocean. Another factor that supports the reversal of the flow of the Amazon River is the decline in sea levels that Amazon originally formed lakes capable of flowing into the Atlantic Ocean as we see today.
This is the history of the Amazon River flow reversal caused by the formation of the Andes Mountains to the west of South America and South America to the east into areas that are relatively stable.