Tag: Rainforests

Amazon River is in South America and is surrounded by thick amazon rainforest. The snake-like River is a magnificent river for it is home to millions of animals and plants. Almost one-third of all species in the world are found in Amazon Rainforest. Let’s discover some more amazon river facts for kids!

Amazon River Facts For Kids

Characteristics and Size

The Amazon River is the second longest river in the world—after the longest River Nile. The length of the river is measured around 6,400 to 6,800 kilometers. It is quite difficult to measure the total length and is still under discussion. Besides, the geologists are not certain regarding the exact origin of the river. It runs across the North of Brazil.

It is the largest river in terms of water discharge as the average water-flow is 209,000 cubic meters per second. The total volume of water being discharged from the Amazon River is 220,800 m³ per second

It has the largest drainage basin in the world measuring 7,050,000 sq. kilometers and accounts for almost one-fourth of the total waterflow in the world. The river carries almost 15 percent of the world’s freshwater and discharge into the oceans. (UNEP Amazon Basin GIWA Assessment 40b). The river has the largest area of land through which the water flows and it contains 200 tributaries.

The river can be as wide as 48 kilometers or it can be as low as 10 kilometers depending on the season.

During wet season, the river becomes wider and rises 30 feet thus flood the surrounding rainforest habitats. The maximum water it releases into the Atlantic Ocean is great and is up to 300,000 cubic meters per second.

Source of the River

The source of the Amazon River is in snowcapped peak known as Nevado Mismi and Peruvian Andes. It has several primary river systems such as in Peru, Ecuador, and Columbia probably due to the fact that seven countries share the Amazon Basin including Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Guyana.

Amazon River’s headquarters are located in the Andes Mountains while the source of many amazon tributaries remains in the Brazilian and Guyana shields. The origin in the Andes Mountains is almost 100 km from the Pacific Ocean. The central, the lower, and the mouth of the river is included in Brazil and it goes into the North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem.

Climate of the Amazon Basin

The temperature of the amazon basin remains relatively small despite the enormous size of the basin. The temperature remains in between 24^o to 26^o.

Annual Rainfall

The total annual rainfall on the Amazon River varies throughout the coastal regions; the mouth of the river experiences the total annual rainfall of 3,000 mm, whereas in the less rainy parts ranging from Roraima all through the State of Goiaz (Brazil), the rainfall varies in between 1,500 mm to 1,700 mm.

Fish Diversity and other Species

Although the exact number of fish species in the Amazon River is difficult to predict yet the total number of fish in South America is 5,000 to 8,000 most of which belongs to the Amazon River. Of all the freshwater dolphins, Amazon River dolphins are the largest as they can grow up to 8 feet in length. Alongside river dolphins, Tucuxi dolphins are also found in the Amazon waters. Other mammals such as Amazonian Manatee also live; and the largest snake species Anaconda often swims in these waters.

Learn more: Amazon Rainforests Facts For Kids

The Amazon Rainforest is one of the most interesting places on Earth. These amazon rainforest facts for kids will give you an insight about its flora, fauna and its people. Amazon rainforest covers an enormous area in South America, roughly 7,000,000 square kilometres (2,700,000 square miles).  It forms a jagged circle that has nine different countries in it. They are: Brazil; Peru; Columbia; Bolivia; Suriname; French Guiana and Venezuela.  There are an estimated 16,000 tree species that make up a mass of about 390 billion individual trees. The Amazon Rainforest is so very important because, by its self, it is half of all the rainforest ecosystems in the world. The famous Amazon River runs through the rainforest.

Amazon Rainforest Facts For Kids

What is a Rainforest?

A rainforest is just as the name means: it is a forest that gets a lot of rain. The Amazon Rainforest receives an average of 250 centimeters (98inches) to 450 centimeters (180 inches) of rain every year. There are several things that all rainforests have in common. They usually have moderate climates that never get too cold. They can be very hot and humid.  Most rainforests have layers of trees: very short to very tall. This is called stratified. There is basically four layer or strata of trees. Starting on the forest floor, there are small plants, along with tiny versions of what will be the forest giants. Next, in the strata is the understory. These trees are the homes for most of the rainforest’s animals. The trees in the understory are shrubs and bushes. The next layer is the canopy.  These are the largest trees that give the rainforest a dense shade and create a thick tree cover. These trees are usually 30 meters (8 feet) to about 45 meters (148 feet) tall. Above the canopy is the emergent layer. These are the trees that have grown taller than the other trees in the canopy layer.

Animal Species in the Amazon

Amazon Rainforest is home to estimated 3000 species of fish; 400 species of amphibians, including the poison dart frogs; 378 reptile species; 1300 species of birds; 427 species of mammals, including Jaguar and Anteater; and at least 40,000 different plant species.

The rainforest is two different habitats that occupy the same area. There are some species that stay in the canopy layer and there or many species that stay on the forest floor and the understory. Coati, Monkeys and Toucan and among the species that stay in the canopy where they are safe from predators. The forest floor and the understory are home to deer, wild pigs and tapirs.

Human History in the Amazon Rainforest – Amazon Rainforest Facts for Kids

Human history in the Amazon Rainforest can be traced to about 13,000 years ago. There are still signs of these early people. Anthropologist and archaeologist are professionals who dig for evidence of past people and study how they lived.

Francisco de Orellana was the first European to travel the Amazon River in 1542. He was amazed at all the people he found and was surprised that they were living in villages. The indigenous or native people were semi-nomadic surviving on hunting, fishing and gathering food from the rainforest. As more European people came to the rainforest many of the indigenous people began to die from diseases that had never come into contact with before.

Threat to Amazon Rainforest

There are many changes happening the Amazon Rainforest that is having terrible effects of the land, animals and people that live there. Climate change is threatening this unique area. One significant problem is that the Amazon Rainforest has been suffering from a drought starting in 2005. In moist, humid habitat that depends on large amounts of rain, drought can be very damaging.

Another problem is the amount of deforestation that is happening every day. Humans are cutting the canopy trees down or burning them to clear the land for growing crops and grazing livestock. With the canopy layer removed all life, the either lived in the canopy or lived under it is being disturbed. It is becoming very difficult for some of the animals to find the food and shelter they have depended on now that their habitat is so different.

The indigenous people who have lived in the Amazon Rainforest for thousands of years are also suffering as the landscape of their homeland is changing. In the past 40 years, it is estimated that 20% of the Amazon Rainforest has been cut down. Trees are being removed for two reasons. First the giant trees are very valuable to the logging industry. Mahogany and other unique hardwoods bring a very high price when they are exported and sold all over the world. The other main reason the trees are being removed it so the land can be used for farming and grazing. More land is needed all the time to feed a hungry world.

How to Save the Rainforest?

It is going to be very difficult to save the Amazon Rainforest for several reasons. There are 9 countries that share the rainforest and each one has a different policy in regards to deforestation; that is removing the trees for wood or to create more soy fields and grazing land for cattle. To save the rainforest there needs to be a cohesive policy that every country agrees to follow.

Currently, the land is valued for what can be taken from it. To protect the Amazon Rainforest, the value must be placed on the importance of leaving it as it has been for thousands of years. Money can be made for the local economies through tourism. People from all over the world are currently visiting the rainforests.

To save the Amazon Rainforest value must also be placed on how it functions as a “carbon sink.” A “carbon sink” is any land or forest that absorbs carbon from the atmosphere. The rainforest can create weather patterns and actually pull in extra carbon that is currently playing a major role in climate change. If the Amazon Rainforest continues to be removed and destroyed the overall conditions on Earth will become worse. By saving the Amazon Rainforest, we will be saving ourselves.

Share these amazon rainforest facts for kids with your class mates, friends and family.