MARAJ ISLAND

Portuguese Ilha De Maraj, island, in the Amazon River delta, eastern Par state, Brazil. It is the world's largest fluvial island (i.e., one produced by sediments deposited by a stream or river). The island is 183 miles (295 km) long and 124 miles (200 km) wide, with an area of 15,500 square miles (40,100 square km). The main flow of the Amazon River passes to the north of Maraj, but numerous furos, or narrow channels, direct part of its water into the Par River, an estuary that separates the island from the mainland to the south. Cattle and water buffalo graze in the savanna of eastern Maraj, which also contains a large number of archaeological mounds rich in pottery similar to that of pre-Columbian Andean cultures. Half of the island is flooded during the annual rainy season. Soure, a modern town and beach resort on the island's Atlantic coast, is linked to Belm, the state capital, by overnight ferry service.