The Amazon River is the mother and sustainer of the Amazon rain forest. The River is considered to be the largest drainage system in the world by the volume of discharge water in its basin. It is also the second-longest river in the word, second only to the river Nile.

The Amazon River is special because it is the world's largest river by volume, discharging more water into the ocean than the next seven largest rivers combined. It moves a staggering 219,000 cubic meters of water per second, accounting for approximately 20% of the total river water entering the world's oceans. While there is an ongoing debate about whether it or the Nile is the longest, the Amazon’s sheer scale is unmatched; it is often called an "Ocean River" because parts of it are so wide (up to 30 miles in the wet season) that you cannot see the opposite bank. Furthermore, it supports the Amazon Rainforest, the most biodiverse ecosystem on Earth, housing one-third of the world's known species. The river's freshwater influence is so powerful that it dilutes the salinity of the Atlantic Ocean for nearly 100 miles offshore from its mouth. It is a vital life-support system for millions of people and a critical regulator of the global climate and carbon cycle.