The mega capture of the negro river, central amazônia, brazil: a novel feature revealed by SRTM data

In Central Amazonia, Brazil, the Solimoes and Negro rivers converge to form the Amazonas, the largest river in the world. Interferometric-derived topographic data, generated during the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), indicate that the present-day lower course of the Negro River is the result of a mega fluvial capture governed by neotectonics. The data indicated that the ancient confluence of the Negro River with the Solimoes River was located where today is the mouth of Manacapuru River, 60 km west of the present location in the vicinity of the city of Manaus.