Every February or March like clockwork, a phenomenon known as a tidal bore occurs every year in Brazil, South America. The "pororoca" as it is known locally, occurs at the mouth of the Amazon River where an incoming spring tide from the Atlantic Ocean is strong enough to push a wave upriver and against the current. Though many tidal bores occur around the world, the pororoca of the Amazon is the biggest, with waves up to 13 feet high, traveling as much as 8 miles inland upstream on the river at up to 13 miles an hour. The wave is popular with river surfers and a championship has been held every year since 1999. This can be quite a feat due to the turbulent nature of tidal bores, often carrying entire trees and other debris in its wake. These bores are also characteristically loud due to the surging waters mixing, and once a captain heard the low rumble of the pororoca an hour before it reached his ship. In 2003, a Brazilian by the name of Picuruta Salazar rode the wave 7.8 miles in 37 minutes, the current record.
Check it out.
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