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Coordinates: 1°31′59″S 52°14′30″W / 1.53306°S 52.24167°W / -1.53306; -52.24167
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{{about|the river|other uses|Xingu (disambiguation){{!}}Xingu}}
[[File:Xingurivermap.png|thumb|300px|Amazon basin with Xingu highlighted]]
{{Infobox river
The '''Xingu River''' ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|iː|ŋ|ˈ|ɡ|uː}} {{respell|sheeng|GOO}}; {{lang-pt|Rio Xingu}}, {{IPA-pt|ʃĩˈɡu}})
| name = Xingu River
is a long north-flowing river in the eastern [[Amazon basin]] of Brazil. It is the easternmost major tributary of the Amazon. To the east is the [[Tocantins River]], a small part of which may enter the Amazon. To the west is the [[Tapajos River]].
| name_native = Rio Xingu ([[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]), Byti ([[Kayapó language|Mẽbêngôkre]])
| name_native_lang =
| name_other =
| name_etymology =
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image = Rio Xingu.jpg
| image_size = 300
| image_caption = Xingu River from space, downstream section.
| map = Xingurivermap.png
| map_size = 300
| map_caption = Map of the [[Amazon Basin]] with the Xingu 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 = {{convert|1640|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 |chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/ad770b/AD770B06.htm |publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization|Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations]] |isbn=92-5-000780-9 |chapter=Amazon River System |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021061745/http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/ad770b/AD770B06.htm |archivedate=21 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| width_min =
| width_avg =
| width_max =
| depth_min =
| depth_avg =
| depth_max =
| discharge1_location=
| discharge1_min =
| discharge1_avg = {{convert|9680|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_max =
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1 =
| source1_location =
| source1_coordinates=
| source1_elevation =
| mouth = [[Amazon River]]
| mouth_location =
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|1|31|59|S|52|14|30|W|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation =
| progression =
| river_system =
| basin_size = {{convert|520300|km2|abbr=on}}
| tributaries_left = [[Iriri River]], [[Pardo River (Xingu)|Pardo River]]
| tributaries_right =
| custom_label =
| custom_data =
| extra =
}}
The '''Xingu River''' ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|iː|ŋ|ˈ|ɡ|uː}} {{respell|sheeng|GOO}}; {{lang-pt|Rio Xingu}}, {{IPA-pt|ʃĩˈɡu}}; [[Kayapó language|Mẽbêngôkre]]: ''Byti'', {{IPA|[bɯˈti]}}<ref name="Passos-2018">{{cite thesis|last=Passos |first=João Lucas Moraes |date=2018 |title=Caminhos mẽbêngôkre: andando, nomeando, sentando sobre a terra |type=Ph.D. dissertation |location=Brasília |publisher=Universidade de Brasília}}</ref>{{rp|73}}) is a {{Convert|1640|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=fao/> river in north [[Brazil]]. It is a southeast tributary of the [[Amazon River]] and one of the largest [[Clearwater river (river type)|clearwater river]]s in the [[Amazon basin]],<ref>{{cite news | author=Perez, M.S. | url=https://www.americanscientist.org/article/where-the-xingu-bends-and-will-soon-break | title=Where the Xingu Bends and Will Soon Break | publisher=American Scientist | accessdate=1 October 2017 }}</ref> accounting for about 5% of its water.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://amazonwaters.org/waters/flows-and-floods/ | title=Waters | publisher=Amazon Waters | accessdate=10 October 2017 }}</ref>


__TOC__
It is about 2100km long, about as long as the Ohio River and its Allegheny tributary. Its basin is about 504,000 km<sup>2</sup>, roughly the size of France, and makes up about 7.3 percent of the Amazon basin.<ref>per Smithonian Atlas. Other sources have different figures and it is not clear why they differ. It is also not clear which branch is the official headwaters.</ref> Its average discharge is about 9,700 m<sup>3</sup> /s, which contributes about 4-5% of the Amazon’s waters. Since it is a [[Clearwater river (river type)|clearwater river]] flowing off the [[Brazilian Highlands]] it contributes relatively little sediment to the main river.


==Description and history==
The river can rise as much as five meters. High water is in Mar-Apr and low water is in Sep-Oct, although this varies with location. At Altamira in the period 1971-1995 the highest flow was 32,298 and lowest flow 808 m<sup>3</sup>/s. <ref>[http://www.grdc.sr.unh.edu/html/Polygons/P3630050.html GRDC - Amazon Basin - Station: Altamira]</ref>.
The first Indigenous Park in Brazil was created in the river basin by the Brazilian government in the early 1960s. This park marks the first indigenous territory recognized by the Brazilian government and it was the world's largest indigenous preserve on the date of its creation. Currently, fourteen tribes live within [[Xingu Indigenous Park]], surviving on natural resources and extracting from the river most of what they need for food and water.


The Brazilian government is building the [[Belo Monte Dam]], which will be the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam, on the Lower Xingu. Construction of this dam is under legal challenge by environment and indigenous groups, who assert the dam would have negative environmental and social impacts along with reducing the flow by up to 80% along a {{Convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on|-1}} stretch known as the Volta Grande ("Big Bend").<ref name=rainfoun>{{cite web|title=Summary and History of the Belo Monte Dam: Rainforest Foundation |url=http://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/files/Belo%20Monte%20Factsheet.pdf |publisher=Summary and History of the Belo Monte Dam: Rainforest Foundation |accessdate=9 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106172656/http://rainforestfoundationuk.org/files/Belo%20Monte%20Factsheet.pdf |archivedate=6 January 2011 }}</ref> The river flow in this stretch is highly complex and includes major sections of [[rapids]].<ref name=Fitzgerald2018>{{Cite journal |author1=Fitzgerald |author2=Perez | author3=Sousa |author4=Gonçalves |author5=Py-Daniel |author6=Lujan |author7=Zuanon |author8=Winemiller |author9=Lundberg |date=2018 |title=Diversity and community structure of rapids-dwelling fishes of the Xingu River: Implications for conservation amid large-scale hydroelectric development | journal=Biological Conservation |volume=222 | pages=104–112 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2018.04.002 }}</ref> More than 450 fish species have been documented in the Xingu River Basin and it is estimated that the total is around 600 fish species, including many [[endemics]].<ref>Camargo, M., T. Giarrizzo and V. Isaac (2004). ''Review of the geographic distribution of fish fauna in the Xingu River Basin, Brazil.'' [[Ecotropica]] 10: 123–147</ref> At least 193 fish species living in rapids are known from the lower Xingu,<ref name=Fitzgerald2018/> and at least 26 of these are endemic.<ref name=Hyland/> From 2008 to 2018 alone, 24 new fish species have been described from the river.<ref name=Fitzgerald2018/><ref name=Hyland>Hyland, T: ''[http://exelmagazine.org/article/race-against-time/ Race against time.]'' Retrieved 4 June 2014.</ref><ref name=Sousa2018>{{cite journal| author1=Sousa, L.M. | author2=M.S. Chaves | author3=A. Akama | author4=J. Zuanon | author5=M.H. Sabaj | year=2018 | title=Platydoras birindellii, new species of striped raphael catfish (Siluriformes: Doradidae) from the Xingu Basin, Brazil | journal=Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia | volume=166 | issue=1 | pages=1–13 | doi=10.1635/053.166.0106 }}</ref> Many species are seriously threatened by the dam, which will significantly alter the flow in the Volta Grande rapids.<ref name=Fitzgerald2018/><ref>Ekström, J. (23 December 2007) ''[http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/shanesworld.php?article_id=360 Hydroelectric dam constructions in Amazonas.]'' Retrieved 10 February 2013.</ref><ref>Survival International (2009). ''[http://assets.survivalinternational.org/documents/266/Experts_Panel_BeloMonte_summary_oct2009.pdf Experts Panel Assesses Belo Monte Dam Viability].'' Retrieved 10 February 2013.</ref>
==Description==
[[File:Rio Xingu, Altamira-PA.png|300px|thumb|Big Bend (Volta Grande), Belo Monte reservoir inside. Altamira town at top of loop at left.]]
Its mouth is about 420 km from the Atlantic. Ocean tides are felt about 100km up the Xingu. The lower river north of the Big Bend is very broad, at least at high water.


In the Upper Xingu region was a highly self-organized [[pre-Columbian]] anthropogenic landscape, including deposits of fertile agricultural [[terra preta]], black soil in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], with a network of roads and polities each of which covered about 250 square kilometers.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Heckenberger|first=Michael J.|author2=J. Christian Russell |author3=Carlos Fausto |author4=Joshua R. Toney |author5=Morgan J. Schmidt |author6=Edithe Pereira |author7=Bruna Franchetto |author8=Afukaka Kuikuro |date=2008-09-29|title=Pre-Columbian Urbanism, Anthropogenic Landscapes, and the Future of the Amazon|journal=Science|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|volume=321|issue=5893|pages=1214–1217|doi=10.1126/science.1159769|pmid=18755979|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/2b80ef3f6f890437d35ce22a47c18aa7e27520b6}}</ref>
About 180km south of the mouth (in a straight line) is the Volta Grande or Big Bend where the river makes an S-curve. The [[Trans-Amazonian Highway]] crosses here. Near the highway is the [[Belo Monte Dam]]. The river drops a few hundred feet to the Amazon lowland and the numerous cataracts are a major divide for aquatic life. The rapids tended to block European expansion upriver.
About 270km south of the Amazon the Xingu's major tributary, the [[Iriri River]], joins from the west. It flows north perhaps 500km before turning east to join the Xingu. To the west is the low [[Serra do Cachimbo]] which separates the basins of the Xingu and Tapajos.


Near the source of Xingu River is [[Culuene River]], a 600&nbsp;km tributary.
South of the Big Bend it flows northward about 900km through undeveloped rainforest. The exception is a significant area of deforestation and development near [[São Félix do Xingu]] where the [[Fresco River]] comes in from the east. This is about 550km south of the mouth. About 900km south of its mouth in enters [[Pará]] from [[Mato Grosso]]. The headwaters of the Xingu in Mato Grosso was one of the last parts of Brazil to be reached by Europeans. For this see [[Xingu Indigenous Park]].
[[File:Rio Xingu, Vitória do Xingu - Pará.jpg|thumb|300px|Rapids at Vitoria, north of Big Bend, probably at low water]]
[[File:Rio Xingu.jpg|thumb|300px|Middle Xingu. São Felix deforestation at top right]]
It flows through the [[Amazonian rainforest]] except for some scrub-savanna at its headwaters. Around half of its basin is in conservation units. The areas of deforestation are along the Trans-Amazon highway, a projection from the east near São Felix do Xingu and on three sides of the headwaters area.


==In popular culture==
The only developed crossings appear to be the Trans-Amazon Highway and a dirt road with ferry in Mato Grosso west of [[São José do Xingu]]. The only notable towns are [[Porto de Moz]] near the mouth, [[Vitória do Xingu]], [[Altamira, Para]] on the Big Bend and São Felix.
*The name is the title of a humorous [[Edith Wharton]] [[short story]] from 1911.
*"Xingu" is the title of a song on ''[[Waterfall Cities]]'', a 1999 album by [[Ozric Tentacles]].
*The river is also honoured in the album ''[[Aguas da Amazonia]]''.
*A [[Xingu (beer)|beer]] produced near the river is sold in the international market under the name "Xingu".
*In the novel ''[[Relic (novel)|Relic]]'' by [[Douglas Preston]] and [[Lincoln Child]], the Xingu River is the location of the doomed Whittlesey/Maxwell expedition responsible for discovering evidence of the lost Kothoga tribe and their savage god Mbwun.
*It is the name of a 2011 Brazilian movie, directed by famous Brazilian [[Film director|film-maker]] [[Cao Hamburger]]. The movie tells the story of the [[Villas-Bôas brothers]] 1943 expedition to the region, which led to the creation of the indigenous reserve twenty years later.


==See also==
Historical tribes were, from north to south, the Apenqu at the mouth, the [[Takunyapé language|Taconyape]], [[Juruna]] along most of the river, then the [[Kayapo]] and the tribes of the Xingu Indigenous Park.
*[[Percy Fawcett]]
*[[Aloysius Pendergast]]
*[[Xingu National Park]]
*[[Xingu peoples]]


==Fish==
==References==
{{reflist}}
The numerous rapids prevent most migratory fish from using the river. More than 450 fish species have been documented in the Xingu River Basin and it is estimated that the total is around 600 fish species, including many [[endemics]].<ref>Camargo, M., T. Giarrizzo and V. Isaac (2004). ''Review of the geographic distribution of fish fauna in the Xingu River Basin, Brazil.'' [[Ecotropica]] 10: 123–147</ref> At least 193 fish species living in rapids are known from the lower Xingu and at least 26 of these are endemic.<ref name=Hyland/> From 2008 to 2018 alone, 24 new fish species have been described from the river<ref name=Hyland>Hyland, T: ''[http://exelmagazine.org/article/race-against-time/ Race against time.]'' Retrieved 4 June 2014.</ref><ref name=Sousa2018>{{cite journal| author1=Sousa, L.M. | author2=M.S. Chaves | author3=A. Akama | author4=J. Zuanon | author5=M.H. Sabaj | year=2018 | title=Platydoras birindellii, new species of striped raphael catfish (Siluriformes: Doradidae) from the Xingu Basin, Brazil | journal=Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia | volume=166 | issue=1 | pages=1–13 | doi=10.1635/053.166.0106 }}</ref> Many species are seriously threatened by the dam, which will significantly alter the flow in the Volta Grande rapids<ref>Ekström, J. (23 December 2007) ''[http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/shanesworld.php?article_id=360 Hydroelectric dam constructions in Amazonas.]'' Retrieved 10 February 2013.</ref><ref>Survival International (2009). ''[http://assets.survivalinternational.org/documents/266/Experts_Panel_BeloMonte_summary_oct2009.pdf Experts Panel Assesses Belo Monte Dam Viability].'' Retrieved 10 February 2013.</ref>
* Cowell, Adrian. 1973. ''The Tribe that Hides from Man''. The Bodely Head, London.
* ''Original text from 1911 [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''


==Further reading==
==Sources and footnotes==
*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.
*Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon, 2003, Chapters 1,2,3 and 8.
*Sipes, Ernest "Brazilian Indians: what FUNAI Won't Tell YOU". 2002.
*footnotes {{reflist}}
*[http://www.brazzillog.com/2003/html/news/articles/aug03/p118aug03.htm Brazilian Indians: What FUNAI Won't Tell You]

==Movies==
* {{IMDb title|id=2142055|title=Xingu|3=(2012)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2011}}


[[Category:Tributaries of the Amazon River]]
[[Category:Tributaries of the Amazon River]]

Revision as of 20:53, 8 October 2020

This article is about the river. For other uses, see Xingu.
Xingu River
Xingu River from space, downstream section.
Map of the Amazon Basin with the Xingu River highlighted
Native nameRio Xingu (Portuguese), Byti (Mẽbêngôkre) Error {{native name checker}}: parameter value is malformed (help)
Location
CountryBrazil
Physical characteristics
MouthAmazon River
 • coordinates
1°31′59″S 52°14′30″W / 1.53306°S 52.24167°W / -1.53306; -52.24167
Length1,640 km (1,020 mi)[1]
Basin size520,300 km2 (200,900 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • average9,680 m3/s (342,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftIriri River, Pardo River

The Xingu River (/ʃiːŋˈɡuː/ sheeng-GOO; Portuguese: Rio Xingu, Portuguese pronunciation: [ʃĩˈɡu]; Mẽbêngôkre: Byti, [bɯˈti][2]: 73 ) is a 1,640 km (1,019 mi)[1] river in north Brazil. It is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River and one of the largest clearwater rivers in the Amazon basin,[3] accounting for about 5% of its water.[4]

Description and history

The first Indigenous Park in Brazil was created in the river basin by the Brazilian government in the early 1960s. This park marks the first indigenous territory recognized by the Brazilian government and it was the world's largest indigenous preserve on the date of its creation. Currently, fourteen tribes live within Xingu Indigenous Park, surviving on natural resources and extracting from the river most of what they need for food and water.

The Brazilian government is building the Belo Monte Dam, which will be the world's third-largest hydroelectric dam, on the Lower Xingu. Construction of this dam is under legal challenge by environment and indigenous groups, who assert the dam would have negative environmental and social impacts along with reducing the flow by up to 80% along a 100 km (60 mi) stretch known as the Volta Grande ("Big Bend").[5] The river flow in this stretch is highly complex and includes major sections of rapids.[6] More than 450 fish species have been documented in the Xingu River Basin and it is estimated that the total is around 600 fish species, including many endemics.[7] At least 193 fish species living in rapids are known from the lower Xingu,[6] and at least 26 of these are endemic.[8] From 2008 to 2018 alone, 24 new fish species have been described from the river.[6][8][9] Many species are seriously threatened by the dam, which will significantly alter the flow in the Volta Grande rapids.[6][10][11]

In the Upper Xingu region was a highly self-organized pre-Columbian anthropogenic landscape, including deposits of fertile agricultural terra preta, black soil in Portuguese, with a network of roads and polities each of which covered about 250 square kilometers.[12]

Near the source of Xingu River is Culuene River, a 600 km tributary.

  • The name is the title of a humorous Edith Wharton short story from 1911.
  • "Xingu" is the title of a song on Waterfall Cities, a 1999 album by Ozric Tentacles.
  • The river is also honoured in the album Aguas da Amazonia.
  • A beer produced near the river is sold in the international market under the name "Xingu".
  • In the novel Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, the Xingu River is the location of the doomed Whittlesey/Maxwell expedition responsible for discovering evidence of the lost Kothoga tribe and their savage god Mbwun.
  • It is the name of a 2011 Brazilian movie, directed by famous Brazilian film-maker Cao Hamburger. The movie tells the story of the Villas-Bôas brothers 1943 expedition to the region, which led to the creation of the indigenous reserve twenty years later.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Ziesler, R.; Ardizzone, G.D. (1979). "Amazon River System". The Inland waters of Latin America. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 92-5-000780-9. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013.
  2. ^ Passos, João Lucas Moraes (2018). Caminhos mẽbêngôkre: andando, nomeando, sentando sobre a terra (Ph.D. dissertation). Brasília: Universidade de Brasília.
  3. ^ Perez, M.S. "Where the Xingu Bends and Will Soon Break". American Scientist. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Waters". Amazon Waters. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Summary and History of the Belo Monte Dam: Rainforest Foundation" (PDF). Summary and History of the Belo Monte Dam: Rainforest Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d Fitzgerald; Perez; Sousa; Gonçalves; Py-Daniel; Lujan; Zuanon; Winemiller; Lundberg (2018). "Diversity and community structure of rapids-dwelling fishes of the Xingu River: Implications for conservation amid large-scale hydroelectric development". Biological Conservation. 222: 104–112. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2018.04.002.
  7. ^ Camargo, M., T. Giarrizzo and V. Isaac (2004). Review of the geographic distribution of fish fauna in the Xingu River Basin, Brazil. Ecotropica 10: 123–147
  8. ^ a b Hyland, T: Race against time. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  9. ^ Sousa, L.M.; M.S. Chaves; A. Akama; J. Zuanon; M.H. Sabaj (2018). "Platydoras birindellii, new species of striped raphael catfish (Siluriformes: Doradidae) from the Xingu Basin, Brazil". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 166 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1635/053.166.0106.
  10. ^ Ekström, J. (23 December 2007) Hydroelectric dam constructions in Amazonas. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  11. ^ Survival International (2009). Experts Panel Assesses Belo Monte Dam Viability. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  12. ^ Heckenberger, Michael J.; J. Christian Russell; Carlos Fausto; Joshua R. Toney; Morgan J. Schmidt; Edithe Pereira; Bruna Franchetto; Afukaka Kuikuro (29 September 2008). "Pre-Columbian Urbanism, Anthropogenic Landscapes, and the Future of the Amazon". Science. 321 (5893). American Association for the Advancement of Science: 1214–1217. doi:10.1126/science.1159769. PMID 18755979.
  • Cowell, Adrian. 1973. The Tribe that Hides from Man. The Bodely Head, London.
  • Original text from 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica

Further reading

  • 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.
  • Sipes, Ernest "Brazilian Indians: what FUNAI Won't Tell YOU". 2002.
  • Brazilian Indians: What FUNAI Won't Tell You

Movies

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