Over time the Amazon river has changed course.

Mineral grains found in Sedimentary rocks incidate that thou out the Earths history the Amazon river has changed course. The Amazon once flowed East - West across South America connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.



The implications of the Amazon river changing course are massive even if the changes occured over millons of years. Climate change must have been or is an effect of the Amazon river changing course. The Eco system must have been or is being effected as well any form of life requires freshwater to survive.

I suspect that the destruction of the Amazon Rain forest may have a bigger impact then any future direction the Amazon river may take.
Will humans be around to witness the future direction of the worlds largest river ?

[edit on 24-10-2006 by xpert11]

[edit on 24-10-2006 by xpert11]

Most likely tectonic forces that lifted the Western South American Andes mountain chain changed it course by making it impossible to go west.

I am in agreement with dj here. This is very likely simpy the result of natural geoligical changes the Earth happens to go through. Perhaps this shift will give birth to an array of new species in an attempt to adapt to their changing environment?

I suggest we watch the fish, and those that feed on them to find out.

Very interesting. Thanks.

So 145-65 million years ago, the Amazon flowed east to west. It now flows west to east - and for a while, it flowed BOTH east and west, from the middle.

South America is a HUGE continent - and water does flow downhill - so the Amazon's change of direction means that the changes were dramatic, even if they were slow.

Wow. Just like they say - mountains become plains, and plains rise up to become mountains. Very cool.

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For a time there must have been a heck of a lake (or fresh water sea) on the western side of the Amazon basin because it would have taken time to breach the central hills. It would be interesting to see how much of the basin was flooded, where the flooding was and how long it lasted.

The mississippi changed course after an earthquake... I'm sure the amazon could do the same just as easily.

Granted, climate change is very concerning anyway but I doubt it has too much of an effect on the flow of major rivers.

hmm , quite interesting - but the andes are fold mountains

IIRC charles darwin believed that the presence of marine fossils in striations hi on chilean sea cliffs was evidence of prior elevated sea levels .

later geolgy demonstrated that it was the mountains that had risen , not the seas fallen .

buut to get back to the point millions of years of geolgy has produced numerous anomolies .

here [ UK ] glaciation has left several granite and other igeneous rock bouders sitting forlorn in the midst of limestone landscapes .

the andes did not rise overnight [ geologically speaking ] , nor did they rise uniformly or consistantly .

so the news that the andes inevitably rose higer than the head waters of the amazon blocking its path to the pacific - and forcing the waters to flow east - comes as no suprise

as someone pointed out - water flows down hill

still a bloddy intereting read though - kudos for bringing it to ATS attention .

The western Hemisphere's mountain range, (The Ande's and the Rockies, Cascades etc) are all very new mountains, and are like the Alps and the Himalaya are caused by the collusion of large tetonic plates and land masses....and the Amazon, like the Nile (and the New river here in S.W. Va) is a very old river that predates the mountains so it doesn't surprise me...what would is it its source changed.