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The Brazilian rainforest of Amazonia, the largest in the world, was originally covered by more than 2 million square miles (5,000,000 km²) of dense tropical forest. For centuries, this has protected the area and the animals residing in it. But over the past 30 years the Brazilian government has transformed Amazonia into factory sites and settlements by sponsoring road projects, colonization schemes, and industrial developments.
The Amazon River is the largest river in the world. With its more than 1,000 tributaries, the Amazon River network encompasses almost half of South America. The Amazon itself is 4,080 miles (6,600 km) long. Only the Nile River is longer. Its total drainage basin is nearly as large as the entire United States. The Amazon Basin has a very warm and humid climate. It rains almost 200 days of the year, and per year rainfall exceeds 80 inches (2 m). The flow of the river into the sea is about 10 times the flow of the Mississippi and 56 times the flow of the Nile, about 28 billion gallons per minute (1.8 million m³/s).
Tides affect the Amazon River almost 600 miles (1,000 km) inland because of the shallow gradient. An interesting fact is that the river is so large that it splits into channels around numerous islands. One island, Marajo, is as big as New Hampshire and Vermont combined.
Amazonia is not very populated. There are a few cities along the Amazon's banks and scattered settlements inland. The jungle has been cleared in areas for plantations and some of the inhabitants search for latex and Brazil nuts in the streams. But most of the rain forest is still wilderness.
Not all of the plant and animal life of Amazonia are known because of its hugely unexplored areas. No one knows how many species of fish there are in the river either. Some have estimated close to 2,000 though. Some of the famous Amazon animals that reside here are the electric eel, the piranhaPiranha Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Characiformes Family: Characidae Genera Serrasalmus Pristobrycon and 5 others Species Catoprion mento ''Citharinus citharus citharus ''Metynnis maculatus ''P, and the anacondaAnacondas are three species of aquatic boa inhabiting the swamps and rivers of the dense forests of tropical South America. Two species are well-known: The Green Anaconda Eunectes murinus , which has been reported at up to 10 metres in length (although mo. The small percentage of plants and animals know to science have produced valuable foods, medicine, and commercial products.
This information was taken from the website; http://www.smm.org/greatestplaces/notes/amazon.htm
Amazon rainforest information and photos; http://www.junglephotos.com
Information and a map of the Amazon's watershed
South American rivers