If you live in a city with a river running through it, or even if you’ve just visited one, you have almost undoubtedly walked or driven over a bridge connecting the two sides. In fact, most major cities with rivers have multiple bridges throughout the area to make it easy for people to cross.

This may make you wonder about bridges going over the Amazon River. As the largest river system in the world, boasting about 6400 kilometers (3977 miles), one might expect that there would be hundreds, or even thousands, of bridges.

The reality, however, is that there are actually no bridges on the river.

Most people who hear this fact find it hard to believe, but not only is it true, but it is also likely a very good thing.

The Amazon River travels through much of the Amazon rainforest. This can make it extraordinarily difficult for people to make bridges.  The ground is often soft due to the large amounts of rain, so that would mean that the bridge would need its footings to go deep into the ground.

Another issue is that getting the heavy equipment and large amounts of concrete, wood, steel, and other materials into an area would be nearly impossible since there are very few roads anywhere near the river.

Perhaps most important is the fact that there is very little need for a bridge in this region. Few people live in the Amazon Rainforest, and most of those who do are part of tribes who have been living in the region for generations and have no need for a bridge.

If nobody is going to use (and more importantly pay for) a bridge, then it isn’t going to be built.

When it comes to the health of the rainforest, this is actually a very good thing.

According to a study from 2022, there are only about 3.46 million kilometers (2.15 million miles) of roads anywhere in the Amazon. Other research has shown that about 95% of all deforestation occurs within just 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) of an official road.

Building roads means that the heavy equipment needed for deforestation will have easier access. Building bridges, and the roads that lead to them, would almost certainly mean a greater level of deforestation than would otherwise be possible.

So, with this in mind, hopefully, everyone can agree that the largest river system in the world has no need of bridges.