Revision 31944 of "Ucayali" on enwiki

:''Alternative use: [[Ucayali region]]''


The '''Ucayali''', which rises about 70 miles north of [[Lake Titicaca]], is the most interesting branch of the [[Amazon River]] next to the [[Madeira]]. The Ucayali was first called the [[San Miguel]], then the Ucayali, [[Ucayare]], [[Poro]], [[Apu-Poro]], [[Cocama]] and [[Rio de Cuzco]]. [[Peru]] has fitted out many costly and ably-conducted expeditions to explore it. One of them ([[1867]]) claimed to have reached within 240 miles of [[Lima, Peru|Lima]], and the little steamer "[[Napo]]" forced its way up the violent currents for 77 miles above the junction with the [[Pachitea]] river as far as the river [[Tambo]], 770 miles from the confluence of the Ucayali with the Amazon. The "Napo" then succeeded in ascending the [[Urubamba]] branch of the Ucayali 35 miles above its union with the Tambo, to a point 200 miles north of [[Cuzco]]. The remainder of the Urubamba, as shown by [[Bosquet]] in [[1806]] and [[Castelnau]] in [[1846]], is interrupted by cascades, reefs and numberless other obstacles to navigation. [[Torres]], who explored the Alto Ucayali for the Peruvian government, gives it a length of 186 miles, counting from the mouth of the [[Pachitea]] to the junction of the Tambo and Urubamba. Its width varies from 1300 to 4000 feet, due to the great number of islands. The current runs from 3 to 4 miles an hour, and a channel from 60 to 150 feet wide can always be found with a minimum depth of 5 feet. There are five bad passes, due to the accumulation of trees and rafts of timber. Sometimes enormous rocks have fallen from the mountains and spread over the river-bed causing huge whirlpools. "No greater difficulties present themselves to navigation by 10-knot steamers drawing 4 feet of water."

The river gives name to the department of [[Ucayali Department|Ucayali]] in [[Peru]].

==External link==
* [http://dmoz.org/Regional/South_America/Peru/Departments/Ucayali/ Ucayali Department ODP category]

[[Category:South American rivers]]
[[Category:Amazon river tributaries]]
[[Category:Peru]]

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