Why is the Amazon River so called?

In 1539 a large Spanish force get out from the town of Quito, in Ecuador, to find out what could be discovered to the east. As their supplies were running out, Gonzalo Pizarro, a brother of the conqueror of Peru, ordered a small party to retrace their route by boat and return with fresh supplies. Commanded by Francisco de Orellana, the fifty men set off. However, a strong current swung their boat around, forcing them eastwards in the opposite direction. After several exhausting days, Orellana decided to let the current carry them where trees fringed the water’s edge. On one occasion they were attacked by more than 2,000 natives and had to fight them off, using cross-bows, for their powder was damp. Shortly after they met a fleet of canoes filled with tall, fair-haired women who shot arrows at them, killing seven of their number. Because of this incident, Orellana called the river the ‘Amazon’ after a race of legendary women warriors. Finally, after a voyage of nearly 4,000 miles, they came at last to the Atlantic Ocean-the first men to cross South America at its widest part.