The Amazon River begins in the Andes Mountains in South America. It (21)______ six countries before it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It is almost 6,500 kilometers long. The Amazon is the second longest river in the world. The Nile in Africa is longer. But the Amazon has more water in it than any other river. This is why it is called the (22)______ river. There is so much water in the Amazon that when it reaches the sea this water travels far out into the ocean. The water has a lot of mud in it, so it is brown. Five hundred years ago, (23)______ on a ship 300 kilometers from land saw this brown water. They followed it and found the Amazon River! The river is very deep and very wide. In some places it is so wide that a person on one side cannot see the other side. When the river floods, it is (24)______. The river floods every year. Some people who live beside the river build their houses (25)______. When the river rises, their houses rise too!