- Fact 2 - A
rainforest, such as
the Amazon, is defined as a forest with heavy annual rainfall
(more than 80 inches of rainfall a year).
Rainforests are
being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute. As people are made aware
of the problem initiatives such as
Recycling increase in
popularity
- Fact 3 - Tropical
Rainforests, such as the Amazon rainforest, are very important
to the Earth's ecosystem recycling and cleaning water. Tropical
trees and plants also remove carbon dioxide, CO2, from the
atmosphere and store it in their roots, stems, leaves, and
branches.
- Fact 4 - The Greenhouse Effect is
caused by a growing amount of CO2 and water vapor. An increase
in the temperature of a planet (Global
Warming) as heat energy from sunlight is trapped by the
gaseous atmosphere.
- Fact 5 - The tropical rainforest,
such as the Amazon, is divided into 4 main layers: the emergent,
canopy, understory, and forest floor layers. Each layer has
different plants, insects and animals adapted for life in the
Amazon
- The emergent layer consists of the
tops of the tallest trees, which are much higher than the
average canopy height (ranging up to 270 feet or 81 m) and
houses numerous birds and insects
- The canopy layer consists of the
upper parts of the trees (about 65 to 130 feet or 20 to 40 m
tall) and is the home to many other species of birds, insects,
arachnids and mammals
- The understory layer is a dark,
cool environment that is under the leaves but over the ground
and contains shrubs, small trees, ferns, palms and vines. The
understory layer is home to insects, arachnids, snakes, lizards
and small mammals
- The forest floor layer receives
only 2% of sunlight and a limited range of plants. The forest
floor is therefore relatively clear of vegetation. It also
contains decaying plant and animal matter
- Fact 6 - The Amazon Jungle, or
rainforest, covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America.
This basin encompasses 7,000,000 square kilometers (1.7 billion
acres), of which five and a 500,000 square kilometers (1.4
billion acres) are covered by the rainforest.
- Fact 7 - The Amazon rainforest also
comprises the
Amazon
River and covers territory belonging to nine nations:
Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana,
Suriname and French Guiana
- Fact 8 - Over 50% of all species on
the world's habitats are indigenous to the Amazon Rainforest. It
has been estimated that many millions of species of plants,
insects, and microorganisms are still undiscovered
- Fact 9 - The Amazon Rainforest has
been in existence for at least 55 million years
- Fact 10 - The Amazon Rainforest is
home to about 2.5 million insect species, at least 40,000 plant
species, 3,000 fish, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians
and 378 reptiles
- Fact 11 - Animals include the Black
Caiman, Jaguar, Cougar, Vampire Bats and the Anaconda snake.
- Fact 12 - The Amazon River is home
to the piranha, a deadly meat eating fish, poison dart frogs and
electric eels
- Fact 13 - The Amazon rainforest is
a dangerous place, not only due to the wild life but also
diseases that are prelavent in the area. Diseases include
rabies, malaria, yellow fever and Dengue fever can be contracted
in the Amazon region.
- Fact 14 - Tribes and People of the
Amazon Rainforest include the Banawá people, Barasana, Daw
people, Macuna, Palikur people, Tucano people and the Wayampi
- Fact 15 - The most widely spoken
language in the Amazon is Portuguese, followed closely by
Spanish. Day temperatures typically reach 30-35°C, while night
temperatures reach 15-25°C.
- Fact 16 - The most widely spoken
language in the Amazon Rainforest is Portuguese, followed
closely by Spanish
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