The Mighty Amazon  

Was that picture really the Amazon or just a tributary? If the former, it had to be close to the source, right?

According to the story its on the Amazon itself near the town of Santarem, so it seems its not a tributary nor near the source.

The river is miles wide though, so I guess it could still be flowing happily a mile or so wide while there are hundreds of meters of stuff like the photo to each side.

The photos here would indicate its a fairly lush place normally...

http://www.worldsurface.com/browse/location.asp?locationid=1446

Thanks, that makes some sense. Up here in North America, we call those river fingers that tend to separate out "ox-bow" lakes.