The Amazon River drainage basin is the largest river system in the world
New research suggests that the Amazon is rerouting water from a neighboring river
in a phenomenon called "river capture"
River capture can cause rivers to change course or reverse flow direction
and forge new waterways for fish and other organisms to travel through
But the process of river capture is rarely observed and poorly understood
Now, researchers think they’ve identified a river capture in action
The Rio Casiquiare is rerouting water from the Rio Orinoco into an Amazon tributary
All the water in the upper Rio Orinoco is expected to change course
If this happens, the Amazon will acquire an additional ~40,000 km² of drainage area
creating a river network of astonishing proportions
Stokes, et al. Ongoing River Capture in the Amazon. (2018) Geophysical Research Letters