Amazon River Trade

The river highway network that serves a basin where roads barely exist.

Overview

Ocean ships reach Iquitos in Peru, about 3,700 kilometers from the sea, often cited as the world's most distant ocean port, and barge trains push fuel, containers and general cargo through a network that substitutes for roads across much of the basin. Manaus grew its free trade zone from 1967 tax incentives into a manufacturing island in the forest. Seasonal water swings of over ten meters rework beaches and landings each year, and Brazilian flag rules reserve the domestic trades. Proposals to dredge channels for soy corridors surface regularly and meet the forest first.