Tartarugas River
| Tartarugas River | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Native name | Rio Tartarugas (Portuguese) |
| Location | |
| Country | Brazil |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Mondongo swamps, Marajó |
| Mouth | |
• location | Atlantic Ocean |
• coordinates | 0°14′S 48°55′W / 0.233°S 48.917°W |
The Tartarugas River (Portuguese: Rio Tartarugas) is a river of Marajó, which itself is an island in the mouth of the Amazon. It is located in the state Pará in northern Brazil, and forms the border between the municipalities Chaves and Soure.
The source of Tartartugas River is in the swamp areas called mondongos that are normally flooded during the wet season. When the area around the source is flooded, it is sometimes called Lake Tartarugas (Lago Tartarugas). It has a connection to Lake Arari through the Jenipapucu River. It is fed by a stream called Igarapé Jararaca.[1]
Part of the river was canalised in the first half of the 20th Century, named the Tartarugas Canal (Canal Tartarugas). This was done to connect Lake Arari to the Atlantic Ocean, and also to facilitate drainage of the area in times of flooding.[2] Because of this, the river can be navigated well.[1]
Along the river there are several elevations called tesos. They contain indigenous cemeteries with human remains buried in ceramic pots according to Marajoara culture.[3] Depending on the water level, the tesos can present themselves as islands in the river, which is how naturalist Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira described them in the 18th Century.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Lisboa, P.L.B. (2012). A Terra dos Aruã: Uma história ecológica do arquipelágo do Marajó. Belém: Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi.
- ^ "Marajó and Inner Delta". Amazon Waters Alliance.
- ^ Araújo, L.M.; Sanjad, N.R. (2025). "A ocupação humana da ilha de Marajó como problema científico: Domingos Soares Ferreira Penna (1818-1888) e as origens da arqueologia marajoara". Hawò (5).
- ^ Ferreira, A.R. (1906). "Noticia da Ilha Grande de Joannes dos rios e igarapés que tem na sua circumferencia, de alguns lugares que se tem descoberto e de algumas couzas curiozas". Revista do Instituto Historico e Geographico do Brasil. 67 (1): 294–301.