PARA RIVER

Portuguese Rio Par, channel of the Amazon delta that passes to the south and east of Maraj Island, in northeastern Par state, northern Brazil. It carries a small part of the discharge of the Amazon River eastward and northward to the Atlantic Ocean, off Cape Maguarinho. Its width varies from 5 to 40 miles (8 to 65 km), and its entire 200-mile (320-kilometre) length is navigable. Because it receives the Tocantins River from the south, the Par is often called an estuary of that river. Belm, the capital of Par state, lies on the Par River's right (south) bank, near the mouths of the Guam and Guajar rivers. The tidal bore of the Amazon is strong on the Par, reaching 12 feet (4 m) in height.