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... of the Para River, on the southern side of Marajo Island. Ocean vessels can sail about 3,700 kilometres up the Amazon to Iquitos, Peru. Belem, at the mouth of the Para River, and Manaus, 1,600 kilometres upstream from the mouth of the Amazon, are important ports. Ships bring in clothing, food, tools, and other products. They pick up such raw materials as animal skins, Brazil nuts, timber, and rubber. The ships also take aboard live birds, fish, and other animals bought by pet shops and zoos. The course of the Amazon begins high in the Andes Mountains of Peru as a small stream called the Apurimac River. The Apurimac lies 5,240 metres above sea level. It flows northwest into the Ucayali River, the lower branch of the Amazon in Peru. The Ucayali flows north through the Andes and then turns east and joins the Maranon River, the Amazon's upper branch. ...