SOLIMES RIVER

Portuguese Rio Solimes, the section of the upper Amazon River in Amazonas estado (state), northwestern Brazil, flowing from the Brazilian-Peruvian border on the west to its confluence with the Negro River near Manaus. The junction is known as the meeting of waters, where the light blue Solimes waters meet the black Negro waters to form the Amazon River. Islands covered with tropical rain forest separate the maze of channels that constitute the river. The Solimes River meanders for about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) through a floodplain about 50 miles (80 km) wide.