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Imagine a city so big it has tall skyscrapers, millions of people, and busy streets filled with cars—but it’s located right at the edge of the world’s largest rainforest! That city is Belém (pronounced beh-LEM), Brazil.
Many people think the Amazon is just tiny villages and trees, but Belém is a huge city. It is the “Gateway to the Amazon” because it is the main place where people and goods enter and leave the jungle.
Where is it exactly?
Belém is in the Amazon Basin. Think of the Basin like a giant bowl on the earth. When it rains anywhere in that bowl, the water flows toward the ocean. Even though Belém is in that “bowl,” it isn’t actually on the famous Amazon River! It sits on a different river called the Pará River.
Why is the water brown?
If you look at the water in Belém, it looks like chocolate milk! This isn’t because it’s dirty. It’s because the rivers carry “gifts” from the rainforest—lots of sand, soil, and old leaves. Scientists call this sediment. It’s like a vitamin shake for the plants and fish that live there!
Why is it called the Amazon?
The Legend: Long ago, ancient Greeks told stories about a tribe of super-strong women warriors called Amazons. They were famous for being as brave and tough as any soldier.
The Naming: About 500 years ago, a Spanish explorer named Francisco de Orellana was the first European to sail down the river. During his trip, his team got into a big battle with a local tribe. He was amazed to see women fighting just as fiercely as the men!
He remembered those old Greek stories and said, “These women are just like the Amazons!” Because of that battle, he named the whole river The Amazon, and we still use that name today.
Icoaraci & Belém
Smaller boats, called tenders, shuttled passengers ashore from our large vessel to the smaller town of Icoaraci. From there buses took passengers into Belém… which could take up to one hour, depending on road conditions and traffic.
The Flat Friends came, knowing the Amazon basin is full of diversity, but it can be easy to forget a city of nearly 1.4 million people is on the edge of this globally famous rainforest. Manaus is IN the Amazon and has an even larger population!
