Globo: scientists have found that the age of the Amazon river is 9 million years
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 7. /Offset. TASS Darya Yuryeva/. A group of scientists from the University of Brasilia with the support of colleagues from European countries found that the age of the Amazon river is 9 million years — 8 million years longer than previously thought.
As reported on Thursday, the Globo channel, the corresponding conclusion was made on the basis of the analysis of the deposits, discovered in her direction.
“In fact, 9 million years ago the Amazon was a lake of water which is sought to the North. This period witnessed her transformation into the river,” said the Brazilian geologist Robert Ventura.
The authors of previous studies have argued that the age of the Amazon ranges from 1 million to 1.5 million years. According to Ventura, the current opening will not only better understand the history of the river, but also to predict its future. “Now in the Amazon began to occur droughts, which are accompanied by periods of flood of the river in the typical for these phenomena time. And we will not be able to understand the nature of this phenomenon, if we will only refer to the present”, — said the scientist.
The Amazon river flows in the Northern part of South America. A large part of its basin belongs to Brazil, southwestern and Western regions of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Is the world’s largest river basin area, and affluent, in addition, on its shores is the world’s largest rain forest. In 2011, according to the world contest Amazon was recognized as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.