Jamanxim River Jamanxim River The Jamanxim River is a river of Pará state in north-central Brazil. Originating in the Serra do Cachimbo, it is a tributary of the Tapajós, into which it flows a few kilometers upstream from Itaituba. The river flows through the Tapajós-Xingu moist forests ecoregion. It flows through the Itaituba I National Forest, a sustainable use conservation area established in 1998. The river basin also contains part of the Rio Novo National Park, a conservation unit created in 2006. Its hydroelectric potential, along with that of the Tapajós, was assessed by Eletronorte (Centrais Elétricas do Norte do Brasil S.A.),
Xingu peoples number had been reduced by foreign epidemic diseases such as flu, measles, smallpox and malaria to less than 1,000. Only an estimated 500 Xingu peoples were alive in the 1950s. The Brazilian Villas-Bôas brothers visited the area beginning in 1946, and pushed for the creation of the Parque Indígena do Xingu, eventually established in 1961. Their story is told in a film, "Xingu". The number of Xingu living there in 32 settlements has risen again to over 3000 inhabitants, half of them younger than 15 years. The Xingu living in this region have similar habits and social systems, despite different