{"id":2096,"date":"2023-03-06T01:18:47","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T00:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/?p=2096"},"modified":"2023-03-06T01:18:47","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T00:18:47","slug":"does-the-amazon-river-change-flow-direction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutriver.com\/does-the-amazon-river-change-flow-direction\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the amazon river change flow direction?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Amazon River is the largest river by discharge of water in the world, and its basin is the largest drainage basin in the world. The Amazon River has over 3,000 species of fish, more than any other river. The river changes flow direction seasonally. From May to October, the river flows to the east, and from November to April, the river flows to the west.<\/p>\n

The Amazon River changes flow direction every six months, due to the region’s wet and dry seasons. During the dry season, the river flow slows and eventually reverses direction, flowing back into the Atlantic Ocean. This process is known as “retrograding.”<\/p>\n

Does the Amazon River flow both ways? <\/h2>\n

The Amazon River flows to the east, or toward the Atlantic ocean. But more than 10 million years ago the river flowed to the west. When you look at a map of South America and see the Andes Mountains on the western edge of the continent, you may wonder, “Why did the river flow to the west? Water always flows downhill.”<\/p>\n

The answer has to do with plate tectonics, the movement of the Earth’s crust. South America is on a plate that is slowly moving westward. Millions of years ago, the plate was moving faster and the Amazon River flowed into what is now the Pacific Ocean. The Andes Mountains were not as tall then as they are now, so the river was able to flow over them.<\/p>\n