Scientists have made a unique discovery in the Brazilian rainforests of the Amazon: a subterranean river that flows underneath the Amazon River, some four thousand metres below the actual Amazon River. It’s also roughly the same length of the Amazon River, according to the scientists.

Last week, at a meeting of the Brazilian Geophysical Society that took place in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, Valiya Hamza, of Brazil’s National Observatory explained that researchers had found indications that the subterranean river is about 6 000 kilometres long – roughly the same as the Amazon River.

It follows a similar path to the Amazon River and researchers have honoured Hamza for his work by naming it after him.

Although this is exciting news in some respects, nobody has really actually seen the river because it’s so far underground.

Hamza emphasised that the studies indicating the underground river were still in their preliminary stages, and that they will probably confirm the subterranean flow by the end of 2014.

The discovery of the possible underground river system came from studying temperature variations at 241 inactive oil wells drilled during the 1970s and 1980s by Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobras.

Hamza said the “thermal information” provided by Petrobras allowed his team of researchers to identify the movement of water 4 000 metres under the Amazon River but declined to comment on the economic and environmental impact of such an underground river.

Essentially, the new research is proof that the Amazon rain forest has two drainage systems: the Amazon and Hamza Rivers.

[Source: Guardian]