Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. The amount of forest cover declined to some 1,283,000 square miles (3,323,000 square km) by 2016, about 81 percent of the area that had been covered by forests in 1970. Some of the major fish groups of the Amazon basin include: More than 90% of the animal species in the Amazon are insects,[33] of which about 40% are beetles (Coleoptera constituting almost 25% of all known types of animal life-forms.)[34][35][36]. "[37], "Amazon biodiversity also plays a critical role as part of global systems, influencing the global carbon cycle and thus climate change, as well as hemispheric hydrological systems, serving as an important anchor for South American climate and rainfall. Orchids and bromeliads exploit trees and other plants to get closer to the sunlight. [24][25][26] The perhaps most unusual habitat used by Amazonian fish is land. 'All Intensive Purposes' or 'All Intents and Purposes'?

A final part of the deforestation process is the large-scale production of charcoal for industrial processes such as steel manufacturing. Amazonia is the largest river basin in the world, and its forest stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the tree line of the Andes in the west. Unlike temperate frogs which are mostly limited to habitats near the water, tropical frogs are most abundant in the trees and relatively few are found near bodies of water on the forest floor. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. The forest widens from a 200-mile (320-km) front along the Atlantic to a belt 1,200 miles (1,900 km) wide where the lowlands meet the Andean foothills. See the full definition for amazon in the English Language Learners Dictionary, Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for amazon, Nglish: Translation of amazon for Spanish Speakers, Britannica English: Translation of amazon for Arabic Speakers, Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about amazon. [11], In addition to major differences in behavior and ecology, Amazonian fish vary extensively in form and size. Deforestation of the Amazon River basin has followed a pattern of cutting, burning, farming, and grazing.

Goulding, M., Barthem, R. B. and Duenas, R. (2003). Many reptiles species are illegally collected and exported for the international pet trade. 'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'? river 4000 miles (6400 kilometers) long in northern South America flowing from the Peruvian Andes into the Atlantic in northern Brazil, I felt dwarfed, standing beside this redheaded, Post the Definition of amazon to Facebook, Share the Definition of amazon on Twitter, 'Cordial': A Word Straight from the Heart. "[38], Drainage basin in South America drained via the Amazon River into the Atlantic Ocean, This article is about the drainage basin. Birds such as toucans, and hummingbirds are also found here. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... A stream in the Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador. The Amazon Rainforest is the world’s richest and most-varied biological reservoir, containing several million species of insects, plants, birds, and other forms of life, many still unrecorded by science. The river is the principal path of transportation for people and produce in the regions, with transport ranging from balsa rafts and dugout canoes to hand built wooden river craft and modern steel hulled craft. One of the more widely spoken indigenous languages in the Amazon is Nheengatu, which descends from the ancient Tupi language, originally spoken in the coastal and central regions of Brazil.

Seasonal floods excavate and redistribute nutrient-rich silt onto beaches and islands, enabling dry-season riverside agriculture of rice, beans, and corn on the river's shoreline without the addition of fertilizer, with additional slash and burn agriculture on higher floodplains. Amazonia is the largest river basin in the world, and its forest stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the tree line of the Andes in the west. Extensive deforestation, particularly in Brazil, is leading to the extinction of known and unknown species, reducing biological diversity and adversely impacting soil, water, and air quality. Although Brazil’s Amazon continues to lose forest cover, the pace of this loss declined from roughly 0.4 percent per year during the 1980s and ’90s to roughly 0.1–0.2 percent per year between 2008 and 2016. About 1500 bird species inhabit the Amazon Basin. [13] The remarkable species richness can in part be explained by the large differences between the various parts of the Amazon basin, resulting in many fish species that are endemic to small regions. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2005). By volume, the Amazon is the largest river in the world. In many regions, the forest has been cleared for soya bean plantations and ranching (the most extensive non-forest use of the land); some of the inhabitants harvest wild rubber latex, and Brazil nuts. The largest organization fighting for the indigenous peoples in this area is COICA. A brief treatment of the Amazon Rainforest follows. Several cavefish species in the genus Phreatobius are found in the Amazon, as is the cave-dwelling Astroblepus pholeter in the far western part of the basin (Andean region). More than 1,400 species of mammals are found in the Amazon, the majority of which are species of bats and rodents. Whereas all of Europe has some 321 butterfly species, the Manú National Park in Peru (4000 hectare-survey) has 1300 species, while Tambopata National Reserve (5500 hectare-survey) has at least 1231 species. The most widely spoken language in the Amazon is Portuguese, followed closely by Spanish. Live animals are the fourth largest commodity in the smuggling industry after drugs, diamonds and weapons.[10].

[19][20] In contrast to the giants, there are Amazonian fish from several families that are less than 2 cm (0.8 in) long. Fishing provides additional food year-round, and free-range chickens need little or no food beyond what they can forage locally. Politically the basin is divided into the Brazilian Amazônia Legal, the Peruvian Amazonia, the Amazon region of Colombia and parts of Bolivia, Ecuador and the Venezuelan state of Amazonas. Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). The forest widens from a 200-mile (320-km) front along the Atlantic to a belt 1,200 miles (1,900 km) wide at the Andean foothills. There are hundreds of native languages still spoken in the Amazon, most of which are spoken by only a handful of people, and thus are critically endangered. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Brazilians have settled large portions of the Amazon, clearing the land for lumbering, grazing, and agriculture. Between 1970 and 2016, Brazilian Amazon forest cover declined from some 1,583,000 square miles to about 1,283,000 square miles. About 2,500 fish species are known from the Amazon basin and it is estimated that more than 1,000 additional undescribed species exist. The name was popularly explained by ancient authors as deriving from the negating prefix a- ( — see a- entry 2) and mazós "breast," from the belief that the Amazons removed their right breast to be better able to draw a bow. Jair Bolsonaro, a strong proponent of tree clearing. Definition of Amazon (Entry 2 of 2) river 4000 miles (6400 kilometers) long in northern South America flowing from the Peruvian Andes into the Atlantic in northern Brazil Note: By volume, … Note:

The Amazon system transports the largest volume of water of any river system, accounting for about 20% of the total water carried to the oceans by rivers. This is a form of extractive farms, where the trees are not cut down. The Amazon basin has the greatest variety of plant species on Earth and an abundance of animal life, in contrast to the scrublands that border it to the south and east. The luxuriant vegetation encompasses a wide variety of trees, including many species of myrtle, laurel, palm, and acacia, as well as rosewood, Brazil nut, and rubber tree. In the 20th century, Brazil’s rapidly growing population settled major areas of the Amazon Rainforest. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/place/Amazon-Rainforest, World Wide Fund for Nature - Amazon rainforest, Amazon Rainforest - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way. Little sunlight reaches the ground due to the dense roof canopy by plants. [22] The Tocantins basin, arguably not part of the Amazon basin, has several other cavefish species. 1. The Amazonian region includes vast areas of rainforest, widely dispersed grasslands, and mangrove…, …of Manaus, Brazil, in the Amazon basin revealed that around 20 percent of the precipitation came from water transpired by vegetation; the remaining 80 percent of this precipitation (an estimate made by German American meteorologist Heinz Lettau in the 1970s) was generated by the Atlantic Ocean. One of the famous labors of Heracles (Hercules) was to obtain the sash of the Amazon queen Hippolyta, and the hero Theseus married Hippolyta's sister. On the Brazilian side, Portuguese is spoken by at least 98% of the population, whilst in the Spanish-speaking countries, a large number of speakers of indigenous languages are present, though Spanish is predominant. Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon rainforest, also … Learn a new word every day. Besides modern Nheengatu, other languages of the Tupi family are spoken there, along with other language families like Jê, Arawak, Karib, Arawá, Yanomamo, Matsés and others. Macaws are famous for duck With a length of about 6,400 km (4,000 mi) before it drains into the Atlantic Ocean, it is one of the two longest rivers in the world. The Central and Northern Andes and the Amazon River basin and drainage network.

[17][18] The bull shark and common sawfish, which have been recorded far up the Amazon, may reach even greater sizes, but they are euryhaline and often seen in marine waters. The mystery of these warriors continues to this day. For a list of the great number of indigenous peoples and cultures, still alive or already extinct, see Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas and Indigenous peoples in Brazil. ... the Amazon's role is as a sink, draining heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A member of a legendary nation of women warriors reputed to have lived in ancient Scythia. An example of such would be the cotinga family, to which the Guianan cock-of-the-rock belong. [11] Although the true danger they represent often is greatly exaggerated, the Amazon basin is home to several feared fish species such as piranhas (including the famous red-bellied), electric eel, river stingrays and candiru. The Amazon Rainforest is the world’s richest and most-varied biological reservoir, containing several million species of insects, plants, birds, and other forms of life, many still unrecorded by science.