River
Rio Negro
2,250 km from source to mouth · Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia.
Brazil, Venezuela and ColombiaFlows into Amazon River6th longest in Brazil
In numbers
Length
2,250km
Average flow
30,000m³/s
Basin
720,114km²
Drop
191m
from 198 m to 7 m
Countries
3
The journey
From source to mouth
2,250 km of river and 24 stops on the way: 4 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.
- 0 kmSourceat 198 m
- 441 kmAquio Rivertributary
- 573 kmCasiquiare canaltributary
- 820 kmCachoeira Ar
- 859 kmIçana Rivertributary
- 911 kmVaupés Rivertributary
- 923 kmCachoeira Marapato
- 929 kmCachoeira Quand
- 932 kmCachoeira Caranguejo
- 940 kmCachoeira São Miguel
- 940 kmCachoeira Curenaí
- 945 kmSão Gabriel da Cachoeira51,795 people
- 1,244 kmSanta Isabel do Rio Negro25,865 people
- 1,552 kmRio Deminitributary
- 1,552 kmAraçá Rivertributary
- 1,739 kmBranco Rivertributary
- 1,794 kmLagoa do Arroz1.4 km²
- 1,798 kmJauaperi Rivertributary
- 1,804 kmUnini Rivertributary
- 1,837 kmJaú Rivertributary
- 1,950 kmNovo Airão19,928 people
- 1,953 kmLago do Carão62 km²
- 2,090 kmRio Negro Bridge
- 2,096 kmManaus2,303,732 people
- 2,098 kmPort of Manaus
- 2,250 kmAmazon Riverat 7 m
Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.
Tributary of the Amazon river
At the mouth it carries 30,000 m³/s on average: 12 Olympic pools every second. It drops from 198 m to 7 m, 0.1 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 720,114 km², about the size of ZM. 17.7 million people live in it. Highest water: from May to July. No large dam holds it back: it is one of the world's free-flowing rivers.
Where to start
- ManausLargest city on its banks · 2,303,732 people
- Eduardo Gomes International Airport (MAO)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 10 km from the cityCar hire at MAO airport (Manaus)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- On the water32 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
- From May to August and NovemberThe best months to visit
Rio Negro, month by month
Highest water: from May to July
Best months to visit: from May to August and November.
From about 96,400 m³/s in the lowest month to 171,600 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
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
Rio Negro: the basin in numbers
2,931,792 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.
- 17.7millionpeople live in the basin
- 6/km²people per km²
- 509maverage altitude of the basin
- 2,360mmof rain a year (basin average)
- 24.4°Caverage air temperature
- 44%protected areas
- 0.3%covered by lakes
- 0.8km³held in reservoirs
What covers the basin
- 82% Forest
- 1% Cropland
- 5% 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
Rio Negro: what you find on the way
- 7WaterfallsRaudal, Cachoeira Aru, Cachoeira Carapanã and 4 more
- 3Boat rampsMuelle fluvial, CNA
- 25Ferry piersSão Gabriel da Cachoeira, Rio Negro, Panacarica and 22 more
- 4MarinasBalsa, Estaleiro Sales Nave, Estaleiro Sandro and 1 more
- 7River beachesIsla Piedra, Isla Murcielago, Isla La Guama and 4 more
From OpenStreetMap, within 3.3 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Rio Negro 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.
6waterfalls on the riverCascadyas
2lakes on its wayLakeyas
Waterfalls (6)
On the river, by Cascadyas
- Cachoeira Arkm 700
- Cachoeira Marapatokm 788
- Cachoeira Quandkm 794
- Cachoeira Caranguejokm 796
- Cachoeira São Miguelkm 803
- Cachoeira Curenaíkm 803
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Lakes and reservoirs (2)
Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas
- Lagoa do Arrozkm 1,5321.4km²
- Lago do Carãokm 1,66762km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
From space
The source and the mouth, seen from orbit
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
Rio Negro in pictures
Tributaries
Where it flows, and what flows into it
It flows into
Amazon RiverBrazil6,400 km209,000 m³/sTributaries (28)
Brazil1,050 km4,300 m³/sjoins at km 778Branco RiverBrazil584 km25,600 m³/sjoins at km 1,485Casiquiare canalVenezuela326 km2,400 m³/sjoins at km 489Also: Içana River, Jauaperi River, Rio Demini, Jaú River, Aquio River, Araçá River, Unini River, Cuieiras River, Cauaburi River, Curiuaú River, Puduari River, Apuaú River, Ararirá River, Caurés River, Cuini River, Curicuriari River, Daraá River, Jufari River, Marauiá River, Marié River, Padauari River, Tea River, Uneiuxi River, Urubaxi River
In the same basin
Brazil1,450 km31,200 m³/sMarañón River
Peru1,737 km16,700 m³/sUcayali RiverPeru1,460 km12,600 m³/sJapurá RiverBrazil2,820 km13,900 m³/sXingu RiverBrazil1,640 km9,700 m³/sMamoré RiverBrazil1,930 km11,600 m³/sJuruá RiverBrazil3,100 km4,800 m³/sTapajós RiverBrazil1,930 km13,000 m³/sPutumayo RiverBrazil1,610 km7,000 m³/sPurus RiverBrazil2,960 km8.4 m³/sWhere these numbers come from
| Name, length, places | Wikidata (Q118771) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Course, profile, basin | RiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata |
| Flow | WaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate along the river | WorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Towns, bridges, dams | Wikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Along the river | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Our other atlases | Cascadyas, 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?
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