Amazon Rainforest Facts – 100 Facts About the Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest Facts

The World’s largest tropical rainforest is the Amazon rainforest, covering over 2.1 million square miles (55 million sq km).

Amazon is located in South America spanning over many countries including Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Venezuela, Suriname and French Guiana.

Amazon River, the second longest river in the world runs through the Amazon rainforest. The length of the river is around 6,400 km.

Amazon rainforest is home to around 400-500 indigenous Amerindian tribes. It is even believed that around 50 of these tribes have no contact with the outside world.

Amazon has rich biodiversity; it has around 1,300 bird species, 40,000 plant species, 430 mammals, 3,000 fish species and 2.5 million insects.

Amazon rainforest is sometimes referred to as ‘the lungs of the Earth’, because the rich vegetation takes carbon dioxide out of air and releases oxygen into it.

Deadly creatures are even found in Amazon including piranhas, jaguars, snakes, electric eels, spiders, poison dart frogs and vampire bats.

Only 2% of the light from above reaches to the ground level.

Amazon is host to Pirarucu, a meat eating fish that partakes of other fishes. Interesting feature is that it is not only having teeth on roofs of its mouth but also on its tongue.

20% of the bird species live in Amazon rainforest.