The Amazon is one of the most important forest types in the
river basin. The basin measures approximately 48 us -- covers about 40% of the
Yankee continent and includes 8 southern Yankee countries. Brazil, Bolivia,
Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname, in addition. French
Guiana drugs can.
Reflecting environmental conditions as well as past human
influence, the Amazon is made up of ecosystems and vegetation types such as
rainforests, temperate forests, deciduous forests, floodplain forests, and
savannas.
The basin is drained by the Amazon River, the world's
largest waterway by overflow, and the Nile, the second longest river in the
world when it flows. The river is made up of 1,100 tributaries over a thousand
miles long, 2 of which are larger than the Congo River in volume. The river
system is the lifeline of the forest and its history plays a vital role in the
development of its rainforests.
The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world, larger
than the 2 largest rainforests combined in the Congo Basin and the mainland.
As of 2020, the Amazon has 526 million hectares of forest,
nearly 84% of the region's 629 million hectares of total tree cover. The Congo
basin has 168 million hectares of forest and 288 million hectares of tree
cover, while the combined tropical regions of Indonesia, New Guinea, Malaysia,
and Australia have 120 million and 216 million hectares of forest.
The Amazon River flowed westward. Possibly as part of the Proto-Congo
River system from within the present continent after the continents joined as
part of Gondwana. The rise of the Andes Mountain range and the joining of the
Brazilian and Guyana tectonic plates blocked the river and turned the Amazon
into a vast sea. This land-locked sea gradually turned into a huge marsh, a
fresh lake, and marine inhabitants adapted to living in freshwater. More than
20 species found in the Pacific Ocean are now found in the freshwater Amazon.
Ten million years ago, the water moved west through the Palm
Rock and the Amazon began to flow east. At this time, the Amazon Forest has
emerged. Throughout the Ice Age, sea levels rose and the beautiful Amazon Lake
rapidly drained and became a river.
The Ice Age caused the retreat of tropical forests around
the world. It is believed that the abundance of the Amazon returned to savannas
and high-altitude forests. Savannah rainforest fragments were divided into
"islands," and existing species were long separated to allow for
genetic variation. A similar retreat of rainforests occurred in Africa. Even
the mighty Congo watershed was now barren of rainforest, according to the Delta
Core Sampling Advisory. After the end of the Ice Age, the forest once again
came together, and species diverged significantly enough to be named separate
species, adding to the region's enormous diversity. 6000 years ago, the sea
level rose about one hundred and thirty meters, and the river once again
flooded into a long, large fresh lake.
How big is the Amazon rainforest?
The Amazon River is estimated at 6.915 million square
kilometers or roughly forty of South America. Generally, however, when talking
about the Amazon, areas outside the basin are encompassed. Biogeographically,
the Amazon Forest covers an area of 7.76-8.24 million square kilometers. 80%
of it is forest. An almost common part of the Amazon Forest is located in
Brazil.
Amazon forest
The Amazon basin is home to the world's largest tropical rainforest. The region consists of a variety of ecosystems, from natural savannas to swamps. Even rainforests are highly variable. The variety and composition of trees vary depending on soil type, history, drainage, elevation, and other factors.
AMAZON VARIETY
The Amazon is home to more species of plants and animals
than any other terrestrial system in the world. Perhaps thirty of the world's
plant and animal species are found there. The following figures represent a sampling
of its astonishing level of biodiversity:
- 16,000 tree species
- 3,000 species of fish
- 1,300 birds
- 430+ mammals
- 1,000+ amphibians
- 400+ reptiles
