Why is the Amazon important to Brazil?
In addition to its unparalleled diversity of life, the Amazon plays an essential role in helping to control the planet’s atmospheric carbon levels. The Amazon Basin stores approximately 100 billion metric tons of carbon — that’s more than ten times the annual global emissions from fossil fuels.
What are some fun facts about the Amazon?
The Amazon Rainforest is responsible for producing than 20% of the world’s oxygen, which is why it is many times referred to as “Lungs of the Earth”. While it covers only 3.4 million square miles – less than 2% of the Earth’s surface – the Amazon produces more than 10 times that amounts worth of the world’s oxygen!
How old is Amazon Rainforest?
The Amazon is 10 million years old. Home to 390 billion trees, the vast river basin reigns over South America and is an unrivaled nest of biodiversity.
Why is the Amazon rainforest famous?
The Amazon is the most biodiverse terrestrial place on the planet. This amazing rainforest is home to more species of birds, plants and mammals than anywhere else in the world. The outstanding biodiversity in the Amazon isn’t only important for the natural ecosystems, it also provides many benefits to us humans.
What makes the Amazon rainforest special?
Though the Amazon covers only four percent of the earth’s surface, it contains a third of all known terrestrial plant, animal, and insect species. The forest produces more than 50 percent of all the rain that falls in the Amazon region, and it probably affects rainfall patterns far outside South America.
What is the Amazon famous for?
Why is the Amazon River famous? The Amazon is well known for a number of reasons. It is the greatest river of South America and the largest drainage system in the world in terms of the volume of its flow and the area of its basin.
Is the Amazon a jungle or rainforest?
tropical rainforest
Amazon Rainforest, large tropical rainforest occupying the drainage basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries in northern South America and covering an area of 2,300,000 square miles (6,000,000 square km).
Do humans live in the Amazon rainforest?
The “uncontacted tribes”, as they are popularly known, mostly live in Brazil and Peru. The number of indigenous people living in the Amazon Basin is poorly quantified, but some 20 million people in 8 Amazon countries and the Department of French Guiana are classified as “indigenous”.
How big is the Amazon rainforest in Brazil?
Brazil holds approximately 60 percent of the Amazon basin within its borders, and some 1,583,000 square miles (4,100,000 square km) of this was covered by forests in 1970. The amount of forest cover declined to some 1,283,000 square miles (3,323,000 square km) by 2016, about 81 percent of the area that had been covered by forests in 1970.
Where is the Amazon located in South America?
The Amazon is found in South America, spanning across Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
How big is the Amazon in square kilometres?
Covering over 5.5 million square kilometres , it’s so big that the UK and Ireland would fit into it 17 times! 2. The Amazon is found in South America, spanning across Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
How does the Amazon rainforest affect South America?
More than half the species in the Amazon rainforest are thought to live in the canopy. 70 percent of South America’s GDP is produced in areas that receive rainfall or water from the Amazon. The Amazon influences rainfall patterns as far away as the United States.
