Fire bombs were thrown at shops and windows were smashed as looters made off with designer clothes, electrical items, jewellery, mobile phones and alcohol.
Hundreds of rioters, some looking as young as nine or 10, rampaged throughout Manchester city centre and Salford shopping precinct from about 5pm on Tuesday.
Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan, of Greater Manchester police, said his officers were "absolutely intent" on bringing those responsible for the destruction to justice.
"Already today we have begun the process of arresting people whose images have been captured on CCTV and other media," he said.
"My message is extremely simple - hundreds and hundreds of people, we have your image, we have your face, we have your acts of wanton criminality on film.
"We are coming for you from today, and no matter how long it takes, we will arrest those people responsible."
Shewan admitted that Greater Manchester police were overwhelmed by the "sickening" violence and had to call in help from other forces in the region.
The chaos ensued for hours and calm was not largely restored in both locations until around 1am as a total of 47 arrests were made with officers from Northumbria, Staffordshire and north Wales assisting GMP.
Shewan said: "We saw some of the most sickening scenes as a police officer that I have ever experienced last night.
"We were overwhelmed. We had to draw resources from all over the North West to be able to ensure that we could protect life and property here in Manchester and Salford."
Riot police concentrated on containing the troublemakers in Manchester rather than seeking direct confrontation as they opted to take control street by street in an effort to flush out the offenders.
Earlier sporadic looting broke out across the city centre with gangs playing cat and mouse with riot officers.
On occasions youths could be seen talking to drivers of cars on mobile phones, exchanging information, while they drove around the streets in what appeared to be co-ordinated manoeuvres.
Two youths used a stone slab to smash the front door of Foot Asylum in the Arndale Centre and more than 50 others followed through the store for clothing and shoes.
Some items were thrown in the air in delight as raiders made off with their haul, only to be picked up by fellow looters.
Another mob broke into Bang & Olufsen in King Street and the store was cleaned out of its electrical items.
Two youths brazenly carried out a widescreen TV, while two more later returned to the store for a photo opportunity as one posed smiling for the camera in his balaclava.
Former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher's recently opened fashion boutique in King Street - Pretty Green - also fell victim to the looters, while Miss Selfridge in Market Street was set alight.
At Salford Shopping City, just 200 yards from a large police station, evidence of the ferocity of the violence could be seen.
Glass from shop windows and bus shelters littered the streets along with house bricks and rubble used to pelt riot police.
Two cars, one believed to be a BBC radio car, lay overturned and burnt out.
Firefighters came under attack from missile-throwing youths as they attended incidents at the Lidl supermarket in Jubilee Street, which was extensively damaged, and at several shop fires in Fitzwarren Street.
By 1am riot police and vans, one with a shattered windscreen, lined one shopping parade, with only small pockets of youths wandering the streets.
Graham Stringer, Labour MP for Blackley and Broughton, said he believed police had questions to answer on the disorder.
"It was known that this was coming to Salford and Manchester, and now shops have been looted and set on fire," he said.
"Businesses have been seriously damaged. There are a lot of questions that the chief constable needs to answer. The police need to get control of the streets, which they have failed to do.
"This was predicted. The police knew it was coming. It was co-ordinated and organised by well-known criminals and gangsters. They were taking the opportunity because of the publicity.
"It wasn't spontaneous - it was organised."
Manchester city council said the city would be open for business as usual on Wednesday with a clean-up planned at Piccadilly Gardens from 9am.
Pat Karney, the council's city centre spokesman, said: "People in Manchester are very angry about what has happened in our city centre and it is time for us to stand together and say we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour.
"We have a very clear message for the criminal thugs who tried to destroy our city centre. You will not beat us. You will not win. Manchester is open for business as usual."
He said the council would ask the government to assist affected businesses to ensure they would not be broken by the "criminal hoodlums".
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