Interesting facts about The Amazon rain-forest

"Hello friends i'm Abhishek Jha welcome to my blog <science, computer and gaming zone>. Today we will know about The Amazon rain-forest that is interesting."

The Amazon Rain-forest, also known as Amazonia, is located in South America and is the world’s largest tropical rain-forest covering an area of 5,500,000 km squire. Due to its large size, the Amazon forest covers a territory of nine nations with the biggest part of it in Brazil. The climate within the region is mainly tropical with hot, humid and very wet conditions.

Fact 1: The Amazon rain-forest covers over half of the world’s remaining rain-forest.

Amazon is the world’s largest tropical. Only 6% of the earth’s surface is covered by the rain-forest and out of this, the Amazon rain-forest covers over half of the world’s remaining rain forests.

Fact 2: More than 80% of the types of food the globe consumes have its origin in the Amazon rain-forest.

More than 3000 fruit types that grow in the rain-forest are edible. They include avocados, coconuts, oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pineapples, and mangoes. A variety of vegetables and spices were also originally found in the rain-forest.

Fact 3: The Amazon rain-forest acts as a carbon sink.

Because of its vastness, the Amazon rain-forest absorbs and stores carbon dioxide. The rain-forest therefore plays a crucial role in maintaining the global carbon levels.

Fact 4: A three degrees rise in temperature will destroy 75% of the Amazon rain-forest.

Climate change experts warn that global temperature increases will kill the rain-forest within 100 years. The impacts of the temperature rise cannot be seen now but it will surely affect the rain-forests in years to come.

Fact 5: The Amazon River once flowed West ward.

A long time ago, the river once flowed east-to-west, but due to the continental drift, it created a raised highland along the east coast of South America, which tilted the Amazon flow, sending water and sediments rushing towards the center of the continent.

Fact 6: The toucan is the loudest creature in the Amazon.

It is a brilliantly colored arboreal fruit-eating bird, which aids to give it camouflage in the tropical rain-forest.

Fact 7: The Amazon River is the world’s largest river by volume.

The Amazon rain-forest hosts the Amazon River, which is the largest by volume and the second longest in length globally. The river has 17 tributaries draining 55 million gallons of water per second into the Atlantic Ocean, making it the largest in the quantity of water that it transports.

Fact 8: The floor of the Amazon forest is completely dark.

The broad-leafy canopies of the Amazon trees block most of the sunlight. Only 1% of the light makes it to the floor. The broad-leaf canopies also slow down rainwater, making it take up to ten minutes to reach the ground.

Fact 9: The rain-forest is home to very many dangerous animals.

From poisonous reptiles to predatory creatures, the Amazon rain-forest hosts numerous dangerous creatures. In fact, some the creatures, like the poison dart frog has enough venom that can kill up to 10 humans. The eight most dangerous Amazonian rain-forest animals are the Green Anaconda, Poison dart frog, Brazilian wandering spider, the Jaguar, Electric Eel, South American Rattlesnake, Bullet Ant and the Red Bellied piranhas.

Fact 10: There are hundreds of endangered and threatened species of Amazon wildlife.

About 137 species of the plants, animals and insects become extinct everyday through forces of destruction such as logging and cattle ranching, which have contributed to the loss of many acres of the rain-forest. In the present day, anthropogenic activities in the Amazon rain-forest threaten numerous species that at the verge of extinction.

Fact 11: In the past years, the Amazon has suffered a loss of approximately 20% of its size due to the cutting down of trees.

All of it started with the controversial Trans-Amazonian Highway, which created room logging and more destructive actions such as illegal hunting of wildlife and clearing of interior forest areas for farming and settling squatters.

Fact 12: The Kapok tree is the tallest in the Amazon.

The tree can grow to lengths of 200 ft towering over the other rain-forest vegetation.

Fact 13: The Amazon suffered a drought in the years 2005 and 2010.

In 2005 and 2010, the Amazon rain-forest experienced a significant drop in rainfall causing the Rio Negro Tributary to fall to its lowest level on record and the release of greenhouse gases from dead wood. The drought also resulted in very low stream flows and increased frequency of forest fires.

Fact 14: Interestingly, a European by the name Francisco de Orellana is named after the Amazon for navigating the entire Amazon River.

He gained recognition as the first explorer to traverse the Amazon River within the Amazon rain-forest.

Fact 15: Deforestation is extensive in the rain-forest.

On aerial view, the Amazon rain-forest is depleting at an astonishing rate because of extensive deforestation. Experts postulate that in the next forty years, the rain-forest will be completely lost especially if action is not taken to address the problem. The rain-forest is disappearing at a rate of 1.5 acres every second. The main reason for deforestation in the area is to clear the forest for cattle grazing and crop production.