A moist, broadleaf rainforest that covers most of the Amazon River Basin.
AKA the amazonian or the Amazon Jungle.
50% of the world’s rainforest.
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The Amazon
2,100,000 square miles
60% of the rainforest is located in Brazil.
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History
Most likely formed in the Eocene era, somewhere between 56 and 39 million years ago.
After the Cretaceous extinction event the climate was very wet which helped the rainforest flourish.
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History
First human inhabitants settled in the rainforest 11,200 years ago.
Poor soil made it very hard for these people to grow crops.
Population made it to 5 million in 1500s.
By the 1980s the population was 200,000.
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History
First European to travel through the Amazon was Francisco de Orellana while he was fighting a war with the Amazonian native tribes.
Named the area after the mythical amazons of Asia.
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Biodiversity
The Amazon is the MOST biodiverse forest in the world!
10% of the world’s species live in the Amazon.
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Animals
Over 2.5 million insects
1,294 bird species
428 amphibians
427 mammals
378 reptiles
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Predatory Animals
The largest predators are the black caiman, jaguar, cougar, and anaconda.
In the river deadly species of Piranha can be found along with electric eels.
There are many species of poison dart frogs along with vampire bats which can spread rabies.
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Trees and plants
Estimated 390 billion trees and 1600 different species of trees in the Amazon.
More than 438,000 plant species.
Bromeliads, Orchids, Kapok Trees, and Rafflesia flowers.
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Deforestation
The process of deforestation is taking a forested area and clearing it into a non-forest area. Prior to the 1960’s the rainforest was very restricted and had almost no damage.
The first large scale deforestation began in the 1970’s during beginning construction of the Trans-Amazonian highway (still not finished).
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Deforestation
The rainforests are know as the lungs of the Earth…
Single greatest source of fresh air on the Earth.
The Amazon takes large amounts of carbon dioxide (chemical emitted by animals) which is then converted into oxygen through photosynthesis.
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What are we doing?
We have over 1,730,000 square miles of conserved land.
We have set up these groups to monitor and control the deforestation. the Rainforest Alliance, Rainforest Foundation Fund, Rainforest Action Network, Save the Amazon Rainforest Organization, and the Amazon Conservation Team