Tapajós [key], river, c.600 mi (970 km) long, formed at the border of Mato Grosso, Pará, and Amazonas states, central Brazil, by the confluence of the Juruena and Teles Pirez rivers. It flows NE across W Pará into the Amazon River at Santarém. There are many falls and rapids on the river above Itaituba, the head of navigation and an important river port at the junction with the Trans-Amazon Highway. The Tapajós flows past Fordlândia and Belterra, both sites of failed attempts by Henry Ford to establish large rubber plantations.
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