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River

Madeira River

1,450 km from source to mouth · Brazil and Bolivia.

BrazilBoliviaBrazil and BoliviaFlows into Amazon River

Follow the riverMonth by month

SourceMouthPorto Velho
The river and every tributary in its basin, drawn from RiverATLAS (CC BY 4.0).

In numbers

Length

1,450km

Average flow

31,200m³/s

Basin

1,420,000km²

Drop

109m

from 114 m to 5 m

Countries

2

The journey

From source to mouth

1,450 km of river and 50 stops on the way: 9 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

114 m5 m
Mamoré Riverat 114 m0 km
Cachoeira das Araras (busay sa Bolivia)100 km
Cachoeira dos Morrinhos335 km
Porto Velho517,709 people380 km
Ji-Paraná Rivertributary553 km
Humaitá56,144 people616 km
Lago Mergulhão6.0 km²811 km
Lago Jenipapo14 km²988 km
Lago do Jacaré0.5 km²1,013 km
Lago do Mato0.4 km²1,197 km
Amazon Riverat 5 m1,450 km
05001,0001,450 km
  1. 0 kmMamoré Riverat 114 m
  2. 0 kmGuayaramerín36,008 people
  3. 3 kmGuajará Mirim46,556 people
  4. 26 kmCachoeira das Bananeiras
  5. 44 kmCachoeira Pau Grande
  6. 47 kmCachoeira Lajes
  7. 54 kmMamoré Rivertributary
  8. 55 kmBeni Rivertributary
  9. 60 kmCachoeira de Madeira
  10. 72 kmCachuela Misericordia
  11. 75 kmCachoeira Ribeirão
  12. 78 kmCachoeira Chocolatal
  13. 89 kmCachoeira dos Periquitos
  14. 100 kmCachoeira das Araras (busay sa Bolivia)
  15. 144 kmAbuna Rivertributary
  16. 164 kmCachoeira Pederneira
  17. 256 kmSalto do Jira
  18. 269 kmCachoeira Caldeirão do Inferno
  19. 269 kmJirau Dam
  20. 302 kmJaciparaná Rivertributary
  21. 335 kmCachoeira dos Morrinhos
  22. 363 kmCachoeira Teotônio
  23. 365 kmCachoeira Macacos
  24. 375 kmSanto Antônio Dam
  25. 379 kmCachoeira de Santo Antônio
  26. 380 kmPorto Velho517,709 people
  27. 461 kmJamari Rivertributary
  28. 511 kmLago Mururé2.2 km²
  29. 553 kmJi-Paraná Rivertributary
  30. 616 kmHumaitá56,144 people
  31. 671 kmPirapetinga11,077 people
  32. 811 kmLago Mergulhão6.0 km²
  33. 865 kmDos Marmelos Rivertributary
  34. 939 kmManicoré Rivertributary
  35. 942 kmManicoré57,405 people
  36. 988 kmLago Jenipapo14 km²
  37. 1,013 kmLago do Jacaré0.5 km²
  38. 1,067 kmLago Paiulcur1.2 km²
  39. 1,082 kmNovo Aripuanã26,046 people
  40. 1,084 kmAripuanã Rivertributary
  41. 1,105 kmLago Marajá6.5 km²
  42. 1,188 kmLago do Ará Grande3.4 km²
  43. 1,197 kmLago do Mato0.4 km²
  44. 1,197 kmPrêto do Igapó-Açu Rivertributary
  45. 1,201 kmLago do Copaíba1.0 km²
  46. 1,203 kmLago do Redondo0.6 km²
  47. 1,224 kmBorba41,748 people
  48. 1,303 kmLago Sampaio34 km²
  49. 1,306 kmCanumã Rivertributary
  50. 1,306 kmNova Olinda do Norte38,026 people
  51. 1,377 kmLago Arari0.9 km²
  52. 1,450 kmAmazon Riverat 5 m

Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.

River in Bolivia and Brazil

At the mouth it carries 31,200 m³/s on average: 12 Olympic pools every second. It drops from 114 m to 5 m, 0.1 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 1,420,000 km², about the size of MN. 9.0 million people live in it. Highest water: from February to April; lowest: from August to October. No large dam holds it back: it is one of the world's free-flowing rivers.

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to start

  • Porto VelhoLargest city on its banks · 517,709 people
  • Governador Jorge Teixeira de Oliveira International Airport (PVH)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 6 km from the cityCar hire at PVH airport (Porto Velho)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • On the water30 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
  • From June to AugustThe best months to visit

Madeira River, month by month

Highest water: from February to April

Lowest water: from August to October. Best months to visit: from June to August.

54,600
26°300 mmJan
63,500
26°283 mmFeb
69,000
26°291 mmMar
67,100
26°243 mmApr
56,900
26°165 mmMay
41,800
26°76 mmJun
26,500
26°46 mmJul
16,000
27°57 mmAug
13,200
27°99 mmSep
18,700
27°159 mmOct
28,200
27°200 mmNov
41,100
27°262 mmDec
Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 13,200 m³/s in the lowest month to 69,000 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.

Plan the trip

Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car

Car hire at PVH airport (Porto Velho)Discover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The basin

Madeira River: the basin in numbers

1,368,780 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

Free-flowingDams upstream can hold only 0.3% of a year's flow: the river still keeps its natural rhythm.
  • 9.0millionpeople live in the basin
  • 7/km²people per km²
  • 500maverage altitude of the basin
  • 1,774mmof rain a year (basin average)
  • 24.0°Caverage air temperature
  • 29%protected areas
  • 0.5%covered by lakes
  • 3.7km³held in reservoirs

What covers the basin

  • 73% Forest
  • 2% Cropland
  • 21% Pasture

RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.

Along the river

Madeira River: what you find on the way

  • 4Dams
  • 1WaterfallsCachoeira Guajará-Açu
  • 1Boat ramps
  • 29Ferry piersAsociación de Transportistas Fluviales Nicolás Suárez, Terminal Portuario Walter Justiniano L. - Guayaramerin, Porto Oficial de Guajará-Mirim and 26 more

From OpenStreetMap, within 3.1 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Madeira River in our other atlases

What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.

  • 16waterfalls on the riverCascadyas
  • 12lakes on its wayLakeyas

Waterfalls (16)

On the river, by Cascadyas

  1. Cachoeira das Bananeiraskm 27
  2. Cachoeira Pau Grandekm 45
  3. Cachoeira Lajeskm 49
  4. Cachoeira de Madeirakm 62
  5. Cachuela Misericordiakm 75
  6. Cachoeira Ribeirãokm 77
  7. Cachoeira Chocolatalkm 81
  8. Cachoeira dos Periquitoskm 92

8 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗

Lakes and reservoirs (12)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

  1. Lago Mururékm 5292.2km²
  2. Lago Mergulhãokm 8396.0km²
  3. Lago Jenipapokm 1,02214km²
  4. Lago Paiulcurkm 1,1041.2km²
  5. Lago Marajákm 1,1436.5km²
  6. Lago do Ará Grandekm 1,2293.4km²
  7. Lago do Copaíbakm 1,2421.0km²
  8. Lago Sampaiokm 1,34834km²

4 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

Madeira River: satellite view of the source
The source14 km across
Madeira River: satellite view of the mouth
The mouth160 km across

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.

Photos

Madeira River in pictures

Confluence of the Madeira River and Aripuanã River
Neil Palmler ( CIAT ) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Araras na margem do rio Madeira
Ecoclics · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rio Madeira- Cachoeira do Teotônio
Wilson Dias/ABr · CC BY 3.0 br
Crepúsculo no Rio Madeira (4153826609)
Cleber Rech from Curitiba, PR, Brasil · CC BY 2.0

Tributaries

Where it flows, and what flows into it

It flows into

Amazon RiverBrazilBrazil6,400 km209,000 m³/s

Tributaries (17)

Mamoré RiverBrazilBrazil1,930 km11,600 m³/sjoins at km 56Beni RiverBoliviaBolivia1,100 km8.9 m³/sjoins at km 57Aripuanã RiverBrazilBrazil870 km32,100 m³/sjoins at km 1,121Abuna RiverBoliviaBolivia375 km750 m³/sjoins at km 149

Also: Ji-Paraná River, Jamari River, Dos Marmelos River, Manicoré River, Canumã River, Prêto do Igapó-Açu River, Jaciparaná River, Caracol River, Cutia River, Ipixuna River, Mataurá River, Maici-Mirim, Mariepauá River

In the same basin

Rio NegroBrazilBrazil2,250 km30,000 m³/sMarañón RiverPeruPeru1,737 km16,700 m³/sUcayali RiverPeruPeru1,460 km12,600 m³/sJapurá RiverBrazilBrazil2,820 km13,900 m³/sXingu RiverBrazilBrazil1,640 km9,700 m³/sJuruá RiverBrazilBrazil3,100 km4,800 m³/sTapajós RiverBrazilBrazil1,930 km13,000 m³/sPutumayo RiverBrazilBrazil1,610 km7,000 m³/sPurus RiverBrazilBrazil2,960 km8.4 m³/sJavary RiverBrazilBrazil1,056 km2,500 m³/s

Nearby

Rivers nearby

Rio NegroBrazilBrazil2,250 km30,000 m³/s131 km awaySolimõesBrazilBrazil1,600 km100,000 m³/s132 km awayPurus RiverBrazilBrazil2,960 km8.4 m³/s305 km awayAripuanã RiverBrazilBrazil870 km32,100 m³/s265 km awayBranco RiverBrazilBrazil584 km25,600 m³/s407 km awayTapajós RiverBrazilBrazil1,930 km13,000 m³/s448 km awayTeles Pires RiverBrazilBrazil1,370 km4,000 m³/s447 km awayJuruena RiverBrazilBrazil960 km4,500 m³/s447 km away

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, placesWikidata (Q118251) · CC0
Course, profile, basinRiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed along the river network from the point given by Wikidata
FlowWaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Climate along the riverWorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Towns, bridges, damsWikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Along the river© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Our other atlasesCascadyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every source and licence is on the data sources page.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit