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Amazon basin
*** Shopping-Tip: Amazon basin
Image:Amazon river basin.png right|Amazon River basin
The '''Amazon Basin''' is the part of
South America drained by the
Amazon River and its tributaries.
Geography
The South American
rainforest of Amazonia (60% located in
Brazil), the largest in the world, was originally covered by more than 7,000,000 km² (2 million square miles) of dense tropical forest. For centuries, this has protected the area and the animals residing in it. But over the past 30 years the Brazilian government has transformed Amazonia into factory sites and settlements by sponsoring road projects, colonization schemes, and industrial developments.
Settlements
Amazonia is not heavily populated. There are a few
city cities along the Amazon's banks and scattered settlements inland, but most of the population lives in cities. The forest has been cleared in areas for
plantations and
ranching (the most extensive non-forest use of the land) and some of the inhabitants harvest wild
latex and
Brazil nuts. Though a substantial area of the Amazon basin has been cleared, most of the rain forest remains relatively undisturbed by humans.
Flora and fauna
Not all of the plant and animal life of Amazonia are known because of its hugely unexplored areas. No one knows how many species of fish there are in the river either. Some have estimated close to 2,000 though. Some of the famous Amazon animals that reside here are the
electric eel, the
piranha, and the
anaconda. A small percentage of plants and animals is known to science to have produced valuable foods, medicine, and commercial products.
The
Amazon Rainforest rain forest in the Amazon Basin is under threat from logging, mining and oil extraction, the clearing of land for farms and ranches, water pollution and climate change.
External links
-
Amazônia (www.colegiosaofrancisco.com.br)
-
Amazon rainforest information and photos
-
Save the Amazon rainforest
-
Information and a map of the Amazon's watershed
Category:Rivers of South America
de:Amazonasbecken
eo:Amazonio
gl:BacÃa do rÃo Amazonas
he:×?×ž×–×•× ×™×”
nl:Amazonebekken
pt:Bacia do rio Amazonas
see
Amazon_Basin
