Office of the President of Brasil
What is a rainforest?
Rainforests are very dense
(crowded), warm, wet
forests. They are a living
place for millions of plants
and animals.
Where is it?
• The Amazon
rainforest is
located in South
America in parts
of Brazil,
Venezuela,
Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru,
and Bolivia.
How big is it?
• Over 2,123,562
square miles!
• Equal to the size
of the continental
United States!
The Amazon River
• The Amazon
River runs
through the
heart of the
rainforest.
• At 4,007 miles it
is the 2nd
longest river in
the world.
• BUT, by amount
of water… it is
the world’s #1.
The Amazon River is an important
part of Brazil’s economy… allowing
for easy trade and transportation
around the country.
Biodiversity
Even though the
Amazon
rainforest only
takes up 3.5%
of the Earth’s
land it is
home to one
in ten (10%) of
all the known
species in the
world!
The largest collection of species in the world! That’s…
2.5 million insects
2,200 fishes
427 mammals
428 amphibians
40,000 plants
1,294 birds
378 reptiles
Rainforest Ecosystem
At different
layers of the
Amazon
rainforest
different
species live
and interact.
Indigenous People
Over 500,000
people in
about 200
different
ORIGINAL
tribes live
traditional
lives in the
Amazon
rainforest
Benefits of the Amazon Rainforest
• 20% of the world’s
oxygen is produced by
the trees of the Amazon
• Currently, 121
prescription drugs
(medicine) currently sold
worldwide come from
plant-derived sources
• 70% of the plants
identified as having anticancer characteristics
by the US National
Cancer Institute are
found only in the tropical
rainforest
The periwinkle plant helps make one
of the most powerful cancer
fighting medicines.
Foods of the Amazon Rainforest
• At least 80% of the developed world's food diet
originated in the tropical rainforest.
• Fruits like avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges,
lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples,
mangos and tomatoes;
• Vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, winter
squash and yams;
• Spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate,
cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric,
coffee and vanilla
• Nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews.