River
Xingu River
1,640 km from source to mouth · Brazil.
BrazilFlows into Amazon River10th longest in Brazil
In numbers
Length
1,640km
Average flow
9,700m³/s
Basin
513,000km²
Drop
279m
from 277 m to -2 m
Country
1
The journey
From source to mouth
1,640 km of river and 26 stops on the way: 4 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.
- 0 kmSourceat 277 m
- 4 kmCuluene Rivertributary
- 238 kmCachoeira Von Martius
- 261 kmCachoeira Pedras
- 651 kmCachoeira da Carreira Comprida
- 670 kmCachoeira do Coatá
- 729 kmCachoeira do Tamanduá
- 739 kmCachoeira Curumati
- 747 kmSão Félix do Xingu132,138 people
- 750 kmFresco Rivertributary
- 754 kmLago de Santa Rosa0.5 km²
- 1,023 kmCachoeira Paiçandu
- 1,027 kmCachoeiras Paiçandu
- 1,039 kmCachoeira do Padre
- 1,068 kmCachoeira da Cajazeira
- 1,076 kmCachoeira Piraquara
- 1,083 kmCachoeira Itapaiúna
- 1,084 kmCachoeira Saranzal
- 1,088 kmCachoeira do Camaleão
- 1,109 kmIriri Rivertributary
- 1,183 kmAltamira126,279 people
- 1,218 kmPimental Dam
- 1,261 kmBacajá Rivertributary
- 1,333 kmBelo Monte Dam
- 1,369 kmVitória do Xingu15,607 people
- 1,467 kmAcarai Rivertributary
- 1,497 kmPorto de Moz41,801 people
- 1,640 kmAmazon Riverat -2 m
Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.
Tributary river of the Amazon River in South America
At the mouth it carries 9,680 m³/s on average: 3.9 Olympic pools every second. It drops from 277 m to -2 m, 0.2 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 513,000 km², about the size of TH. 528,000 people live in it. Highest water: from March to April; lowest: from August to November. No large dam holds it back: it is one of the world's free-flowing rivers.
Where to start
- São Félix do XinguLargest city on its banks · 132,138 people
- Carajás Airport (CKS)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 228 km from the cityCar hire at CKS airport (Parauapebas)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- On the water17 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
- From June to AugustThe best months to visit
Xingu River, month by month
Highest water: from March to April
Lowest water: from August to November. Best months to visit: from June to August.
From about 2,800 m³/s in the lowest month to 21,100 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.
Plan the trip
Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The basin
Xingu River: the basin in numbers
513,138 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.
- 528,000people live in the basin
- 1/km²people per km²
- 294maverage altitude of the basin
- 1,996mmof rain a year (basin average)
- 25.1°Caverage air temperature
- 57%protected areas
What covers the basin
- 82% Forest
- 1% Cropland
- 7% Pasture
RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.
Along the river
Xingu River: what you find on the way
- 16Ferry piersBalsa do Rio Xingu, Balsa do Rio Xingu., Balsa Assuruni and 13 more
- 1MarinasMarina
- 3River beachesPraia do pedral, Praia do Assurini, Praia do Massanori
From OpenStreetMap, within 2.8 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Xingu River in our other atlases
What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.
14waterfalls on the riverCascadyas
1lake on its wayLakeyas
Waterfalls (14)
On the river, by Cascadyas
- Cachoeira Von Martiuskm 261
- Cachoeira Pedraskm 286
- Cachoeira da Carreira Compridakm 713
- Cachoeira do Coatákm 734
- Cachoeira do Tamanduákm 799
- Cachoeira Curumatikm 810
- Cachoeira Piraquarakm 1,179
- Cachoeira Saranzalkm 1,187
6 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Lakes and reservoirs (1)
Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas
- Lago de Santa Rosakm 8260.5km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
From space
The source and the mouth, seen from orbit
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.
Photos
Xingu River in pictures
Tributaries
Where it flows, and what flows into it
It flows into
Amazon RiverBrazil6,400 km209,000 m³/sTributaries (18)
Also: Culuene River, Acarai River, Bacajá River, Fresco River, Atelchu River, Auaiá-Miçu River, Suia-Miçu River, Arraias River, Bacajaí River, Curisevo River, Huaiá-Miçu River, Jaraucu River, Sete de Setembro River, Tucurui River, Itata River, Liberdade River, Pardo River
In the same basin
Brazil2,250 km30,000 m³/sMadeira RiverBrazil1,450 km31,200 m³/sMarañón River
Peru1,737 km16,700 m³/sUcayali RiverPeru1,460 km12,600 m³/sJapurá RiverBrazil2,820 km13,900 m³/sMamoré RiverBrazil1,930 km11,600 m³/sJuruá RiverBrazil3,100 km4,800 m³/sTapajós RiverBrazil1,930 km13,000 m³/sPutumayo RiverBrazil1,610 km7,000 m³/sPurus RiverBrazil2,960 km8.4 m³/sWhere these numbers come from
| Name, length, places | Wikidata (Q49544) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Course, profile, basin | RiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata |
| Flow | WaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate along the river | WorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Towns, bridges, dams | Wikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Along the river | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Our other atlases | Cascadyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every source and licence is on the data sources page.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit