Exploring the Amazon Rain Forest
With an ecosystem under siege, every moment in this wild wonderland is one to savor
- By Sarah Zielinski
- Smithsonian magazine, January 2008, Subscribe
Amazon Rain Forest Morley Read, iStockphoto
The Amazon rain forest covers more than two million square miles of the earth's surface, spanning eight South American countries. Although the region has no seasons, the Amazon River rises and falls by as much as 30 feet during the year, and the variety of living things one can see changes with it. Every journey reveals new wonders.
More than a third of the world's species—mostly plants and insects—make their home in the rain forest. But with the help of an experienced guide, you can also glimpse a rainbow of exotic creatures that includes toucans, red deer and pink dolphins. The astonishment and beauty of the Amazon lie "in the intricacy of this fabulously complex ecosystem," says Roger Harris, co-author of The Amazon: The Bradt Travel Guide.
Most travelers visit the western areas of the rain forest that remain largely untouched, such as the Loreto region of Peru, so they may not notice that the ecosystem is under siege. Already 20 percent of the forest has been cut down for timber or burned to make way for farms, with thousands more acres disappearing each day. "I've seen areas along the river where it's been beautiful, pristine forest one year, and the next it's been clearcut," says Harris. "That's pretty hard to take."
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Related topics: Tourism Brazil Rain Forests
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Comments (4)
very nice & very simple
Posted by pv.sunitha on December 6,2011 | 07:54 AM
here a want to make a amazon house so atleast tell me how to p.s it is for school
Posted by jamielee solomon on October 12,2009 | 12:35 PM
Amazon rainforest’s sustainability The Vast majority of scientific opinion is in agreement that it is Humankind's footprint that has brought about a perceptible shift in the natural balance, which is the global ecosystem. Of Which the Amazon rainforest, plays such pivotal roll There should be a global collective responsibility for sustaining this primary rainforest Over time the leading majority of co2 emitters are directly linked to disforestation, both in terms of timber extraction and pollution from global fossil fuel dependent industrial mechanisms. There is a clear correlation between exponential fossil fuel usage, and global carbon emission levels, which are a major global warming driving force. The major oil dependent economies have a foot placed firmly on a pedal that has been locked and frozen into a revved position. The oil in this case is not a coolant for global industrial mechanisms, but a catalyst for overheating; because of increasing demand of static supply and state sponsored hoarding, oil levels are dropping exponentially. This in turn is giving way to increased global friction and tensions We have rushed at the wheel for control only to find there is no driver, there never was. It is clear, as the world wakes up to an oncoming iceberg, there must be a collective reasonability given to the direction,level and action we take. It will take a global coalition of consensus to bring about clear decisive structured plans for the mitigation of global warming. If we ignore our history we are doomed to repeat our past Failure means we face the same Untimely fate as the titanic. Only this time, “we will learn to live on a floundering planet”
Posted by Philip Clarkson on August 4,2008 | 11:54 AM
What legends are there involving the Amazon Rainforest?
Posted by Mitch on May 23,2008 | 08:06 PM