Rainforest in the

Amazon
The Amazon rainforest (Portuguese: Floresta Amaznica
or Amaznia; Spanish: Selva Amaznica, Amazona or
usually Amazonia; French: Fort amazonienne; Dutch:
Amazoneregenwoud), also known in English as Amazonia
or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that
covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America. This
basin encompasses 7,000,000 square kilometres
(2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 square kilometres
(2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This
region includes territory belonging to nine nations. The
majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60%
of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia
with 10%, and with minor amounts in Venezuela, Ecuador,
Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. States or
departments in four nations contain "Amazonas" in their
names. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's
remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most
biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world, with an
estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000
species. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_rainforest)
The Amazon River Basin is home to the largest rainforest
on Earth. The basin -- roughly the size of the forty-eight
contiguous United States -- covers some 40% of the South
American continent and includes parts of eight South
American countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador,
Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname, as well as
French Guiana, a department of France.

Reflecting environmental conditions as well as past

human influence, the Amazon is made up of a mosaic of
ecosystems and vegetation types including rainforests,
seasonal forests, deciduous forests, flooded forests, and
savannas. The basin is drained by the Amazon River, the
world's largest river in terms of discharge, and the second
longest river in the world after the Nile. The river is made
up of over 1,100 tributaries, 17 of which are longer than
1000 miles, and two of which (the Negro and the Madeira)
are larger, in terms of volume, than the Congo (formerly
the Zaire) river. The river system is the lifeline of the
forest and its history plays an important part in the
development of its rainforests.
(http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon)
The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in
the world, covering over five and a half a million square
kilometres (1.4 billion acres).
Over half of the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil but
it is also located in other South American countries
including Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana,
Bolivia, Suriname and French Guiana.10% of the worlds
known species live in the Amazon rainforest.20% of the
worlds bird species live in the Amazon rainforest. It is
home to around 2 and a half million different insect
species as well as over 40000 plant species. There are
also a number of dangerous species living in the Amazon
rainforest such as the cougar, jaguar and anaconda. While
the protection of the Amazon rainforest remains an issue,
deforestation rates have been reducing while areas of
conserved land have been increasing over the last 10
years. In both 2005 and 2010 the Amazon rainforest
suffered severe droughts that killed off large amounts of
vegetation in the worst affected areas. A recent study by

climate change experts suggests that a 3 C rise in world

temperatures by the year 2010 would destroy around 75%
of the Amazon. Enjoy more rainforest facts or if you want
to learn more about the Amazon check out our Amazon
River facts.
(http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/amazonr
ainforest.html)