| “...trees of a thousand kinds and tall, so that they seem to touch the sky. I am told they never lose their foliage, and this I can believe for I saw them as green and lovely as they are in Spain in May...” - Christopher Columbus
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 The Amazon Rainforest contains the largest area of tropical forest in the world. It covers 6 million square kilometers in 9 different countries (circa 60% in Brazil). At first look, the Amazon forest seems to be rather uniform in physiognomy but in fact there are many typological variations and ample species diversity. The forest canopy is frequently discontinuous, giving space for special ecological niches. At the heart of this region lies the huge Amazon River, the longest water course of the world. The Amazon holds more than 20% of the planet's fresh water, has at least 1,000 tributaries. The Rio Negro is its largest tributary.The Amazon Rainforest with Gateway Manaus actually includes four major vegetation types : |
TERRA FIRME Forest (Upland forest) Located on higher grounds with no direct influence from rivers.
VÁRZEA Forest (Marshland forest) Seasonally flooded lowland forest.
IGAPÓ Forest (Flooded forest) Permanently flooded lowland forest.
CATINGA Forest (Along Rio Negro) River, called as well Campinarana.
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 Do you really think you know everything about the Amazon Forest? Let us be your introduction to one of the last undiscovered places on Earth. The Nature's Greatest Show. THE AMAZON FOREST!
Home of the world's largest rainforest, and a ceaseless source of myth, mystery and adventure.
A canopy of green spreads over a 2,030,000 square mile ecosystem that includes the Amazon River, Amazon Forest (the largest and densest rainforest in the world) and upwards of five million animal species.
Over 25,000 species of plants and more butterflies can be found here than anywhere else on the planet.
There are also 170 Indian cultural groups living in the Amazon, remnants of the 7 million who flourished there once, but who have been reduced to no more than 200,000 today.
The Amazon is an area of superlatives. Home to our planet's greatest diversity of plant and animal species:
The Amazon Basin is the planet's largest body of fresh water !
Besides the Amazon River, there are 1100 tributaries, 17 of which are more than 1000 miles long !
Now recognized as the world’s greatest reserve of life form !
Holds the greatest biological accumulation of carbon on Earth !
Marajó Island, located near the river mouth, is the size of Switzerland !
Giant Victoria lilies, pink dolphins, poison arrow frogs, and much more is all to be found here !
Once an oceanic gulf, some 250 million years ago opening westward to the Pacific Ocean, the Amazon River today flows 1/5 of the world’s fresh water into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Amazon is one of the largest remaining contiguous tracts of nature on earth. Here nature’s finest show unfolds before our eyes !
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