The New International Encyclopædia/Yapurá

YAPURÁ, yä′po͞o-ra′, or JAPURÁ. One of the two largest north tributaries of the Amazon, rising in the Colombian Andes, where it is known under the name of Caquetá (Map: America, South, C 3). It flows through the eastern territory of the Colombian Department of Cauca in a southeastern direction and then enters the Brazilian Province of Amazonas, where, after flowing east for some distance, it divides into a large number of arms which join the Amazon at various points, the western and easternmost mouths being five hundred miles apart in a straight line. The central and principal arm enters the Amazon opposite the town of Teffe, about longitude 64° 40′ W. The total length of the Yapurá is estimated at nearly 1500 miles, of which about 600 are navigable. A considerable portion of its course is still unexplored and the country through which it flows is but sparsely inhabited.