By Scott A. Rowan
In our series of stories on tidal bores, we examine the geology, and details of some of the world’s most unusual bores including the Pororoca in Brazil, China’s Qiantang River bore, France’s mascaret, Malaysia’s benak, and surfing on the Alaskan Turnagain Arm bore. In this article, we’ll specifically look at one of the most famous bores in the world: the pororoca.
In Brazil, the bore at the mouth of the Amazon River, named the pororoca, is so strong that the Amazon does not have a delta. The surging waters of the pororoca can reach up to 13 feet (4 m), forcing all sediment in the river to empty directly into the Atlantic.
Pororoca is a local term that means “destroyer” or “great noise.” It is an apropos name considering that locals can hear the bore minutes or hours before it reaches them.
Learn the what/where/why/when/how about bores.
