Para is directly on the equatorial line.  It is also the metropolis of the mighty Amazon, the king of all the world's rivers, whose width here at its mouth is close to two hundred miles, and which carries into the Atlantic so much mud from the interior of South America that it is said the waters of that ocean are stained yellow for five hundred miles outward.  This mighty stream is formed by countless mountain creeks and rivers draining practically the whole northern half of the continent, and these streams are formed in their turn by the heavy rains which fall frequently from swiftly-gathered clouds.  In fact, it rains nearly every afternoon in Para, and the air is always moist, so much so, that articles made of steel and iron quickly rust, and furniture must be pegged together rather than glued to keep it from coming apart.