Tapajós

{{Other uses}} {{Infobox river | name = Tapajós River | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = | name_etymology = <!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP --> | image = Front View of Itaituba, Brazil.jpg | image_size = 300 | image_caption = The city of Itaituba on the banks of the Tapajós River | map = Tapajosrivermap.png | map_size = 300 | map_caption = Map of the Amazon Basin with the Tapajós River highlighted | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = 300 | pushpin_map_caption = <!---------------------- LOCATION --> | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = Brazil | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 = <!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS --> | length = {{cvt|840|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name=fao>{{cite book |last1=Ziesler |first1=R. |last2=Ardizzone |first2=G.D. |title=The Inland waters of Latin America |year=1979 |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/ad770b/AD770B06.htm |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |isbn=92-5-000780-9 |chapter=Amazon River System |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021061745/http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/ad770b/AD770B06.htm |archive-date=21 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> ({{cvt|825|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="Determining Monthly Discharge on the Tapajos River Using a Rainfall-Runoff Model">{{cite web|url=https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/determining-monthly-discharge-on-the-tapajos/#gref|title=Determining Monthly Discharge on the Tapajos River Using a Rainfall-Runoff Model|year=2019}}</ref>–{{cvt|843|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name="GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS">{{cite book|url=https://www.ppe.ufrj.br/images/publica%C3%A7%C3%B5es/mestrado/DanielCarvalho._MESTRADO-2019.pdf|title=GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS|last1=Daniel|first1=Magalhães de Carvalho|year=2019}}</ref>) | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location = Santarém, Pará State, Brazil (near mouth) | discharge1_min = {{cvt|2,500|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} {{cvt|4,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} | discharge1_avg = (Period: 1985–2018){{cvt|12,800|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="The fate of vegetation remnants in the southern Amazon's largest threatened hotspot: part (I) a 33-year analysis of LULCC in the Tapajos River basin, Brazil">{{cite journal|journal=Agrarian and Biological Sciences|doi=10.33448/rsd-v11i10.32553|url=https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/32553|volume=11|year=2022|last1=Guilherme|first1=Augusto Borge|last2=Gabriel|first2=Mancilla|last3=Auberto José|first3=Barros Siqueira|last4=Maurício|first4=Vancine|last5=Milton|first5=Cezar Ribeiro|last6=João|first6=Carlos de Souza Maia|title=The fate of vegetation remnants in the southern Amazon's largest threatened hotspot: part (I) a 33-year analysis of LULCC in the Tapajos River basin, Brazil|issue=10 |pages=e448111032553 |doi-access=free}}</ref> (Period: 1973–1990){{cvt|13,540|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Hydrologie du Bassin de l'Amazone">{{cite web |url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/colloques2/42687.pdf |last=Molinier M |display-authors=et al |title=Hydrologie du Bassin de l'Amazone |date=22 November 1993 |access-date=16 July 2017 |language=fr |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007151725/http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_6/colloques2/42687.pdf |archive-date=7 October 2016}}</ref> | discharge1_max = {{cvt|28,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} {{cvt|30,000|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} | source1 = | source1_location = Juruena–Teles Pires junction, Brazil | source1_coordinates = {{coord|7|20|15|S|58|8|35|W|display=inline}} | source1_elevation = {{cvt|95|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Determining Monthly Discharge on the Tapajos River Using a Rainfall-Runoff Model">{{cite web|url=https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/determining-monthly-discharge-on-the-tapajos/#gref|title=Determining Monthly Discharge on the Tapajos River Using a Rainfall-Runoff Model|year=2019}}</ref> | source2 = Teles Pires | source2_location = Serra Azul, Mato Grosso | source2_coordinates = {{coord|14|52|9.7608|S|54|38|52.8468|W}} | source2_elevation = {{cvt|800|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Determining Monthly Discharge on the Tapajos River Using a Rainfall-Runoff Model">{{cite web|url=https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/determining-monthly-discharge-on-the-tapajos/#gref|title=Determining Monthly Discharge on the Tapajos River Using a Rainfall-Runoff Model|year=2019}}</ref> | source3 = Juruena | source3_location = Parecis Plateau, Mato Grosso | source3_coordinates = {{coord|14|43|6.0168|S|59|9|45.7848|W}} | source3_elevation = {{cvt|700|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Determining Monthly Discharge on the Tapajos River Using a Rainfall-Runoff Model">{{cite web|url=https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/determining-monthly-discharge-on-the-tapajos/#gref|title=Determining Monthly Discharge on the Tapajos River Using a Rainfall-Runoff Model|year=2019}}</ref> | mouth = Amazon | mouth_location = Santarém, Pará State, Brazil | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|2|24|30|S|54|44|12|W|display=inline,title}} | mouth_elevation = {{cvt|1.4|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="Determining Monthly Discharge on the Tapajos River Using a Rainfall-Runoff Model">{{cite web|url=https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/determining-monthly-discharge-on-the-tapajos/#gref|title=Determining Monthly Discharge on the Tapajos River Using a Rainfall-Runoff Model|year=2019}}</ref> | progression = Amazon → Atlantic Ocean | river_system = Amazon | basin_size = {{cvt|494,253.9|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}<ref name="Amazon">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=43&catid=191&Itemid=179|title=Amazon}}</ref> | tributaries_left = Juruena, Arapiuns | tributaries_right = Teles Pires, Cururu, Das Tropas, Crepori, Jamanxim | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = | discharge2_location = Itaituba (Basin size: {{cvt|460,101.1|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name="Amazon">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=43&catid=191&Itemid=179|title=Amazon}}</ref> | discharge2_avg = (1985–2012){{cvt|12,259|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="HIDROGEOMORFOLOGIA DA PAISAGEM DO MÉDIO-BAIXO RIO TAPAJÓS">{{cite book|url=https://files.abrhidro.org.br/Eventos/Trabalhos/107/XXIII-SBRH0524-1-20190504-011236.pdf|title=HIDROGEOMORFOLOGIA DA PAISAGEM DO MÉDIO-BAIXO RIO TAPAJÓS|last1=Ivinny|first1=Barros de Araújo|last2=Aline Maria|first2=Meiguins de Lima|last3=Cleber|first3=Assis dos Santos|year=2015}}</ref> | discharge2_max = {{cvt|34,233|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="HIDROGEOMORFOLOGIA DA PAISAGEM DO MÉDIO-BAIXO RIO TAPAJÓS">{{cite book|url=https://files.abrhidro.org.br/Eventos/Trabalhos/107/XXIII-SBRH0524-1-20190504-011236.pdf|title=HIDROGEOMORFOLOGIA DA PAISAGEM DO MÉDIO-BAIXO RIO TAPAJÓS|last1=Ivinny|first1=Barros de Araújo|last2=Aline Maria|first2=Meiguins de Lima|last3=Cleber|first3=Assis dos Santos|year=2015}}</ref> | discharge3_location = São Luiz do Tapajós (420 km upstream of mouth; Basin size: {{cvt|455,891.2|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name="Amazon">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=43&catid=191&Itemid=179|title=Amazon}}</ref> | discharge3_min = {{cvt|3,475|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}(1963/10)<ref name="GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS">{{cite book|url=https://www.ppe.ufrj.br/images/publica%C3%A7%C3%B5es/mestrado/DanielCarvalho._MESTRADO-2019.pdf|title=GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS|last1=Daniel|first1=Magalhães de Carvalho|year=2019}}</ref> | discharge3_max = {{cvt|39,277|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}(1940/03)<ref name="GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS">{{cite book|url=https://www.ppe.ufrj.br/images/publica%C3%A7%C3%B5es/mestrado/DanielCarvalho._MESTRADO-2019.pdf|title=GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS|last1=Daniel|first1=Magalhães de Carvalho|year=2019}}</ref> | discharge3_avg = (Period: 1931–2012){{cvt|12,998.3|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS">{{cite book|url=https://www.ppe.ufrj.br/images/publica%C3%A7%C3%B5es/mestrado/DanielCarvalho._MESTRADO-2019.pdf|title=GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS|last1=Daniel|first1=Magalhães de Carvalho|year=2019}}</ref> | discharge5_location = Barra de São Manuel (Basin size: {{cvt|333,767.7|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name="Amazon">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=43&catid=191&Itemid=179|title=Amazon}}</ref> | discharge5_min = {{cvt|2,148|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}(Year: 2002)<ref name="OBTENÇÃO DO POTENCIAL HIDROLÓGICO DO RIO TAPAJÓS ATRAVÉS DA CURVA DE PERMANÊNCIA">{{cite web|url=https://files.abrhidro.org.br/Eventos/Trabalhos/107/XXIII-SBRH0524-1-20190504-011236.pdf|title=OBTENÇÃO DO POTENCIAL HIDROLÓGICO DO RIO TAPAJÓS ATRAVÉS DA CURVA DE PERMANÊNCIA|last1=Anne Karine|first1=Arakian Izel|last2=Francisco Oscar|first2=Oliveira da Silva Junior|last3=Kèssia Lira|first3=Matos da Silva|last4=Álvaro Ramos|first4=Menezes Santos|last5=Joecila|first5=Santos Da Silva}}</ref> | discharge5_avg = (Period of data: 1970–1996){{cvt|8,339|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="auto10">{{cite CiteSeerX|citeseerx=10.1.1.549.3854|title=Long-term simulations of discharge and floods in the Amazon Basin|last1=Michael|first1=T. Coe|last2=Marcos|first2=Heil Costa|last3=Aurélie|first3=Botta|last4=Charon|first4=Birkett|date=23 Aug 2002}}</ref> (Period: 1971–2000){{cvt|8,419.3|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="Amazon">{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=43&catid=191&Itemid=179|title=Amazon}}</ref> | discharge5_max = {{cvt|22,612|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}(Year: 1979)<ref name="OBTENÇÃO DO POTENCIAL HIDROLÓGICO DO RIO TAPAJÓS ATRAVÉS DA CURVA DE PERMANÊNCIA">{{cite web|url=https://files.abrhidro.org.br/Eventos/Trabalhos/107/XXIII-SBRH0524-1-20190504-011236.pdf|title=OBTENÇÃO DO POTENCIAL HIDROLÓGICO DO RIO TAPAJÓS ATRAVÉS DA CURVA DE PERMANÊNCIA|last1=Anne Karine|first1=Arakian Izel|last2=Francisco Oscar|first2=Oliveira da Silva Junior|last3=Kèssia Lira|first3=Matos da Silva|last4=Álvaro Ramos|first4=Menezes Santos|last5=Joecila|first5=Santos Da Silva}}</ref> | discharge4_location = Jatobá (Basin size: {{cvt|387,378|km2|abbr=on}} | discharge4_min = {{cvt|3,430|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}(1931/09)<ref name="GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS">{{cite book|url=https://www.ppe.ufrj.br/images/publica%C3%A7%C3%B5es/mestrado/DanielCarvalho._MESTRADO-2019.pdf|title=GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS|last1=Daniel|first1=Magalhães de Carvalho|year=2019}}</ref> | discharge4_max = {{cvt|31,623|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}(1940/02)<ref name="GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS">{{cite book|url=https://www.ppe.ufrj.br/images/publica%C3%A7%C3%B5es/mestrado/DanielCarvalho._MESTRADO-2019.pdf|title=GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS|last1=Daniel|first1=Magalhães de Carvalho|year=2019}}</ref> | discharge4_avg = (Period: 1931–2013){{cvt|10,814.2|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS">{{cite book|url=https://www.ppe.ufrj.br/images/publica%C3%A7%C3%B5es/mestrado/DanielCarvalho._MESTRADO-2019.pdf|title=GERAÇÃO ELÈTRICA E MUDANÇAS CLIMÁTICAS: AVALIAÇÃO ECONÕMICO-FINANCEIRA DE USINAS HIDRELÈTRICAS A FIO D'ÁGUA NO RIO TAPAJÓS|last1=Daniel|first1=Magalhães de Carvalho|year=2019}}</ref> (Period: 1970–1996){{cvt|10,795|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name="auto10" /> }} The '''Tapajós''' ({{langx|pt|Rio Tapajós}} {{IPA|pt|ˈhi.u tapaˈʒɔs|}}) is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately {{cvt|2,080|km|mi|abbr=on}} long.<ref name=fao /> Prior to a drastic increase in illegal gold mining and consequent soil erosion it was one of the largest clearwater rivers<ref name="Duncan" /> and currently is an anthropogenic whitewater river,<ref name="reu" /> accounting for about 6% of the water in the Amazon basin.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://amazonwaters.org/waters/flows-and-floods/ | title=Waters | publisher=Amazon Waters | access-date=10 October 2017 }}</ref>

== Course == For most of its length the Tapajós runs through Pará State, but the upper (southern) part forms the border between Pará and Amazonas State. The source is at the Juruena–Teles Pires river junction.<ref name=fao /> The Tapajós River basin accounts for 6% of the water in the Amazon Basin, making it the fifth largest in the system.<ref name=FEW>Hales, J., and P. Petry (2013). ''[http://www.feow.org/ecoregions/details/320 Tapajos – Juruena]''. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World. Retrieved 16 February 2013.</ref>

From the lower Arinos River (a tributary of Juruena) to the Maranhão Grande falls are a more or less continuous series of formidable cataracts and rapids; but from the Maranhão Grande to the mouth of Tapajós, about {{convert|188|mi|abbr=on}}, the river can be navigated by large vessels.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Amazon |volume= 01 |last= Church |first= George Earl |author-link= George Earl Church | pages = 783–790; see page 784 |quote=Tributaries.....The Tapajos, running through a humid, hot and unhealthy valley....}}</ref>

For its last {{convert|100|mi|abbr=on}} it is between {{convert|4|and|9|mi|abbr=on}} wide and much of it very deep. The valley of the Tapajós is bordered on both sides by bluffs. They are from {{convert|300|to|400|ft|abbr=on}} high along the lower river; but a few miles above Santarém, they retire from the eastern side and do not approach the Amazon floodplain until some miles below Santarém.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

== Geography == {{Unreferenced section|date=July 2025}} The eastern border of Amazônia National Park is formed by the Tapajós River. From Itaituba and southwest a part of the Parque Nacional do Jacaré Branco e Azulado and the follows the river, while a part of Parque Nacional do Mico Verde de Olhos Azuis runs parallel to the river from Santarém and south.

The South American pole of inaccessibility is located close to the sources of Tapajós's tributaries, near Utiariti.

The Tapajós is named after the Tapajós people, an extinct group of indigenous people from Santarém.

== Ecology == [[File:Geophagus surinamensis - Blue Reef Aquarium Newquay.jpg|thumb|''Geophagus'' pyrocephalus known only from the lower Tapajós basin<ref>{{cite web| title=Geophagus sp. 'orange head' | url=http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/geophagus-sp-orange-head/ | publisher=SeriouslyFish | access-date=22 October 2017 }}</ref>]]The Tapajós is one of three major clearwater rivers in the Amazon Basin (the others are Xingu and Tocantins; the latter arguably outside the Amazon).<ref name="Duncan">Duncan, W.P.; and Fernandes, M.N. (2010). ''Physicochemical characterization of the white, black, and clearwater rivers of the Amazon Basin and its implications on the distribution of freshwater stingrays (Chondrichthyes, Potamotrygonidae).'' PanamJAS 5(3): 454-464.</ref><ref name="Giovanetti">Giovanetti, T.A.; and Vriends, M.M. (1991). ''Discus Fish'', p. 15. Barron's Educational Serie. {{ISBN|0-8120-4669-2}}</ref> Clearwater rivers share the low conductivity and relatively low levels of dissolved solids with blackwater rivers, but differ from these in having water that at most only is somewhat acidic (typical pH ~6.5)<ref name="Duncan" /> and very clear with a greenish colour.<ref name="Giovanetti" /> Although most of the tributaries in the Tapajós basin also are clearwater, there are exceptions, including the blackwater Braço Norte River (southeastern Serra do Cachimbo region).<ref name="Ohara2017">Ohara, W.M.; Mirande, J.M.; & Lima, F.C.T.d. (2017). Phycocharax rasbora, a new genus and species of Brazilian tetra (Characiformes: Characidae) from Serra do Cachimbo, rio Tapajós basin. PLoS ONE 12(2): e0170648.</ref> About 325 fish species are known from the Tapajós River basin, including 65 endemics.<ref name="GRP">The Great Rivers Partnership: ''[http://www.greatriverspartnership.org/en-us/SouthAmerica/tapajos/Pages/default.aspx Tapajós River Basin].'' Retrieved 16 February 2013.</ref> Many of these have only been discovered within the last decade, and a conservative estimate suggests more than 500 fish species eventually will be recognized in the river basin.<ref name="GRP" />

== Pollution through illegal gold mining == {{Main|Gold mining in Brazil#Environmental impact}} The climate change denialist<ref name="Atkins 2018">{{cite web|last=Atkins|first=Ed|title=Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil Is a Disaster for the Amazon and Global Climate Change|website=Motherboard|date=29 October 2018|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/jair-bolsonaros-brazil-is-a-disaster-for-the-amazon-and-global-climate-change/ | access-date=30 October 2018 | archive-date=30 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030090701/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/43ejw3/jair-bolsonaros-brazil-is-a-disaster-for-the-amazon-and-global-climate-change | url-status=live}}</ref> and far-right<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last=Brooke |first=James |date=25 July 1993 |title=Conversations/Jair Bolsonaro; A Soldier Turned Politician Wants To Give Brazil Back to Army Rule |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/25/weekinreview/conversations-jair-bolsonaro-soldier-turned-politician-wants-give-brazil-back.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024103225/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/25/weekinreview/conversations-jair-bolsonaro-soldier-turned-politician-wants-give-brazil-back.html |archive-date=24 October 2018 |access-date=7 September 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=8 October 2018 |title=Brazilian Swamp Drainer |url=https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/brazilian-swamp-drainer-1539039700 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010234348/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/brazilian-swamp-drainer-1539039700 |archive-date=10 October 2018 |access-date=11 October 2018 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=The Editorial Board}}</ref> politician Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil in 2019, leading the efforts of environmental enforcement against the ensuing rush of illegal gold miners on the Tapajós valley to be thwarted.<ref name=reu>{{Cite news |last=Boadle |first=Anthony |date=24 January 2022 |title=Brazil's clearwater Tapajos river polluted by illegal gold mining |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/brazils-clearwater-tapajos-river-polluted-by-illegal-gold-mining-2022-01-24/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=Reuters}}</ref> Additionally, rising gold prices,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://goldprice.org/|title=Gold Price|last=Price|first=Gold|website=Gold Price|language=en|access-date=2020-03-06}}</ref> mostly due to an ongoing surge in gold investment,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alvarez-Berríos |first1=Nora L. |last2=Aide |first2=T. Mitchell |display-authors=1 |date=January 2015 |title=Global demand for gold is another threat to tropical forests |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272180225 |journal=Environmental Research Letters |volume=10 |issue=1}}</ref> have made the risks of illicit mining worth taking. The ecosystem of the Tapajós is damaged in a number of ways by the illegal miners – known in Brazil as garimpeiros.

Through the use of excavators and dredging barges the illegal miners suck up the mud of the stream bed and the riparian buffer (which is first deforested leading to further environmental degradation), search it for gold and consequently dump the sediments, amounting to an estimated 7 million tonnes per year in the Tapajós alone, into the river.<ref name=reu /> This has led to the Tapajós, formerly known colloquially as the "blue river", turning a light brown colour.<ref name=reu />

Furthermore, the use of mercury in the purification process of gold has adverse environmental and social impacts. The illegal miners use mercury for a technique of separation, called amalgamation, which is done without protective equipment and without any regulations to dispose of the mercury safely. There are also no real measurements used when the mercury is added, the amount of mercury added to the batch is based on how much gold is thought to be in the mixer, the more gold the miners think they have the more mercury is added. The main loss happens when the mercury is mixed in, where it gets ground to fine particle and becomes more soluble.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Balzino |first1=Michela |last2=Seccatore |first2=Jacopo |last3=Marin |first3=Tatiane |last4=De Tomi |first4=Giorgio |last5=Veiga |first5=Marcello M. |date=2015-09-01 |title=Gold losses and mercury recovery in artisanal gold mining on the Madeira River, Brazil |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652615005521 |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |volume=102 |pages=370–377 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.012 |issn=0959-6526|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The mercury and the even more toxic methylmercury, formed by the action of microbes out of the mercury,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ullrich |first1=Susanne |last2=Tanton |first2=Trevor |last3=Abdrashitova |first3=Svetlana |title=Mercury in the Aquatic Environment: A Review of Factors Affecting Methylation |journal=Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=241–293 |year=2001 |s2cid=96462553 |doi=10.1080/20016491089226|bibcode=2001CREST..31..241U }}</ref> then enter the food chain via fish (amongst others), which are caught by inhabitants of the Tapajós valley and eaten, leading to mercury poisoning.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nevado |first1=J.J. Berzas |last2=Martín-Doimeadios |first2=R.C. Rodríguez |display-authors=1 |date=August 2010 |title=Mercury in the Tapajós River basin, Brazilian Amazon: A review |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160412010000516 |journal=Environment International |volume=36 |issue=6 |pages=593–608 |doi=10.1016/j.envint.2010.03.011 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Malm |first1=Olaf |last2=Branches |first2=Fernando J.P. |date=11 December 1995 |title=Mercury and methylmercury in fish and human hair from the Tapajós river basin, Brazil |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004896979504910X |journal=Science of the Total Environment |volume=175 |issue=2}}</ref> This condition can cause visual disturbances, psychiatric disorders<ref>{{Cite news|last=Darlington|first=Shasta|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/world/americas/brazil-amazon-tribe-killings.html|title='Uncontacted' Amazon Tribe Members Reported Killed in Brazil|date=2017-09-10|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-03-06|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and infertility<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Henriques |first1=Magda Carvalho |last2=Loureiro |first2=Susana |display-authors=1 |date=April 2019 |title=Exposure to mercury and human reproductive health: A systematic review |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0890623818302442 |journal=Reproductive Toxicology |volume=85 |pages=93–103 |doi=10.1016/j.reprotox.2019.02.012 |hdl=10773/29542 |hdl-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref> to name a few.

Mercury and methylmercury poisoning have taken a serious toll on the Munduruku,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Basta |first1=Paulo Cesar |last2=de Sousa Viana |first2=Paulo Victor |display-authors=1 |date=1 September 2021 |title=Mercury Exposure in Munduruku Indigenous Communities from Brazilian Amazon: Methodological Background and an Overview of the Principal Results |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |volume=18 |issue=17 |pmc=8430525 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 November 2021 |title=Every person in three indigenous Munduruku villages in Pará is contaminated by mercury from wildcat mining |url=https://infoamazonia.org/en/2021/11/26/indigenous-munduruku-contaminated-mercury/ |website=Infoamazonia}}</ref> whose ancestral land, Mundurukânia (coextensive with the Tapajós valley)<ref name=pib>[http://pib.socioambiental.org/en/povo/munduruku/ "Munduruku: Introduction."] ''Povos Indígenous no Brasil.'' (retrieved 22 June 2011)</ref> is being steadily degraded.

== Proposed dams == thumb|Sketch map showing locations of dams The fish, along with many other endemic species of flora and fauna are threatened by the Tapajós hydroelectric complex dams that are planned on the river.<ref name="GRP" /> The largest of those projects is the São Luiz do Tapajós Dam, whose environmental licensing process has been suspended – not yet cancelled – by IBAMA due to its expected impacts on indigenous and river communities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.mongabay.com/2016/04/amazon-mega-dam-suspended-hope-indigenous-people-biodiversity/|title=Amazon mega-dam suspended, providing hope for indigenous people and biodiversity|website=Conservation news|language=en-US|access-date=2016-04-22|date=2016-04-22}}</ref> It would flood a part of the area of the Sawré Muybu Indigenous Territory. Another is the planned 2,338&nbsp;MW Jatobá Hydroelectric Power Plant.<ref>{{citation|work=Hydro World|publisher=PennWell Corporation|ref={{harvid|Brazil sets concession auction for 8,040-MW Sao Luiz do Tapajos...}} |title=Brazil sets concession auction for 8,040-MW Sao Luiz do Tapajos hydro project|location=Brasilia|date=17 September 2014 |url=http://www.hydroworld.com/articles/2014/09/brazil-sets-concession-auction-for-8-040-mw-sao-luiz-do-tapajos-hydro-project.html|access-date=2017-02-13}}</ref> A third dam, the controversial Chacorão Dam, would flood a large area of the Munduruku Indigenous Territory.<ref name=Fearnside426 />

The dams are part of a plan to convert the Tapajos into a waterway for barges to take soybeans from Mato Grosso to the Amazon River ports. A continuous chain of dams, with locks, would eliminate today's rapids and waterfalls.<ref name=Fearnside426>{{citation |title=Amazon dams and waterways: Brazil's Tapajo´s Basin plans |last=Fearnside|first=Philip M.|journal=Ambio|year=2015|volume=44|issue=5|pages=426–39|doi=10.1007/s13280-015-0642-z|pmid=25794814 |pmc=4510327}}</ref> The Washington Post has referred to this issue as the next battle over saving the Amazon as a result of its controversy involving Indigenous communities, the Brazilian government, large multinationals and international environmental organizations.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/04/15/this-will-be-the-next-battle-over-saving-the-amazon/|title=This will be the next battle over saving the Amazon|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2016-04-22}}</ref>

== In popular culture == The river is the sixth title of the album ''Aguas da Amazonia''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

In May 2025 Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha's performance ''Tapajós'' premiered at Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gabriela Carneiro Da Cunha/Rio Tapajós |url=https://www.vidy.ch/en/production/tapajos/ |access-date=12 June 2025 |website=Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne}}</ref> and was shown again in June at the Vienna Festival.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tapajós |url=https://www.festwochen.at/en/tapajos |access-date=12 June 2025 |website=Wiener Festwochen}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Tapajós River}}

== Further reading == {{refbegin}} * Heinsdijk, Dammis, and Ricardo Lemos Fróes. ''Description of Forest-Types on "Terra Firme" between the Rio Tapajós and the Rio Xingú in the Amazon Valley''. 1956.

{{refend}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapajos}} Category:Tributaries of the Amazon River Category:Rivers of Amazonas (Brazilian state) Category:Rivers of Pará