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";s:4:"text";s:11851:"The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. (2017). It includes the Pacific archipelago of the Galapagos Islands (Archipiélago de Colón). The Negro River,…, …reclamation and settlement of the Amazon region, with provisions for credit and tenancy protection. 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. More than 1,500 species of amphibians swim and are found in the Amazon. "[38], Drainage basin in South America drained via the Amazon River into the Atlantic Ocean, This article is about the drainage basin. 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. In Amazon River The vast Amazon basin (Amazonia), the largest lowland in Latin America, has an area of about 2.7 million square miles (7 million square km) and is nearly twice as large as that of the Congo River, the Earth’s other great equatorial drainage system. Smaller areas of tropical rainforest occur elsewhere in the tropics wherever climate is suitable. ; and Fernandes, M.N. Little sunlight reaches the ground due to the dense roof canopy by plants. [11], In addition to major differences in behavior and ecology, Amazonian fish vary extensively in form and size. While there is some debate about its length, the river is generally believed to be at least 4,000 miles (6,400 km) long, which makes it the second longest river in the world after the Nile River in Africa. Is Amazon actually giving you the best price? https://phys.org/news/2019-08-role-amazon-global-climate.amp, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/05/22/why-the-amazons-biodiversity-is-critical-for-the-globe, Herndon and Gibbon Lieutenants United States Navy, Scientists find Evidence Discrediting Theory Amazon was Virtually Unlivable, "The Course of the River of the Amazons, Based on the Account of Christopher d’Acugna", List of countries where Arabic is an official language, Lower Gangetic plains moist deciduous forests, Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows, Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine–oak forests, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amazon_basin&oldid=982814926, Articles with dead external links from May 2019, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 10 October 2020, at 14:34. Aerial view of the Amazon River in Brazil. "[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. 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. 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. 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]. It was brought to its present location along the Rio Negro by Brazilian colonizers who, until the mid-17th century, primarily used Tupi rather than the official Portuguese to communicate. A tropical rainforest climate is one in which all months of the year have average precipitation of at least 2.36 inches (60 mm). Source: 4th World Water Forum Synthesis Report http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/fileadmin/wwc/World_Water_Forum/WWF4/synthesis_sept06.pdf, The WWF describes Integrated River Basin Management as the process of coordinating conservation, management and development of water, land and related resources across sectors within a given river basin, in order to maximize the economic and social benefits derived from water resources in an equitable manner while preserving and, where necessary, restoring freshwater ecosystems. Before roads and airstrips started appearing in the basin, these waterways were the major access routes to the interior areas of Brazil and the northern half of South America. "The Amazon is a critical absorber of carbon of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas produced by burning fossil fuels, like oil and coal. Author of. The Amazon River basin has a low-water season, and a wet season during which, the rivers flood the adjacent, low-lying forests. Live animals are the fourth largest commodity in the smuggling industry after drugs, diamonds and weapons.[10]. 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. Some of the Amazon rainforests are deforested because of an increase in cattle ranches and soybean fields. The flood-stage discharge at the river’s mouth is four times that of the Congo and more than 10 times the amount carried by the Mississippi River. The Amazon River is widely considered the second-longest river in the world, though some claim that it might actually be the longest. 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). A final part of the deforestation process is the large-scale production of charcoal for industrial processes such as steel manufacturing. Duncan, W.P. Species of tropical trees native to the Amazon include Brazil nut, rubber tree and Assai palm.[5][6]. Nearly half of the Amazon Basin is located in Brazil, but parts of it stretch into other South American countries as well. The extensive lowland areas bordering the main river and its tributaries, called várzeas (“floodplains”), are subject to annual flooding, with consequent soil enrichment; however, most of the vast basin consists of upland, well above the inundations and known as terra firme. The results have been modest, however, largely because of the physical and biological hardships faced by settlers in the tropical Amazon environment. 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. Stretching some 1,725 miles… Taken as a whole, the relief of the continent shows a great imbalance: the major drainage divide is far to the west along the crest of the Andes. And, it carries the largest volume of water to the se… 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. © Adriano Gambarini / WWF Living Amazon Initiative. Indeed, surface transpiration and evaporation supply about half the rainfall for the entire region, and in basins of dense forest far from the ocean such local processes can account…, The Amazon lowlands are widest along the eastern base of the Andes. Many products that contain components found in rainforests are certified to be “rainforest friendly,” meaning they only use products from companies that do not destroy any part of the Amazon Basin or any other rainforest. Macaws: winged rainbows. Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon rainforest, also known as Amazonia. The climate of the basin is generally hot and humid. An example of such would be the cotinga family, to which the Guianan cock-of-the-rock belong. The Amazon basin formerly flowed west to the Pacific Ocean until the Andes formed, causing the basin to flow eastward towards the Atlantic Ocean.[4]. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Macaws are famous for duck https://www.britannica.com/place/Amazon-River, LiveScience - Amazon River Dated to 11 Million Years Old, World Wide Fund For Nature - Amazon River, Amazon River - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Amazon River - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Sidebar: Status of the World’s Tropical Forests. Munn, C. A. Amazon River and tributaries, forming the Amazon Basin [click to enlarge]. Scientists have typically selected one of the northern outlets, since the Pará is an estuary of the Tocantins River, which is technically separate from the Amazon. It also has the largest drainage area of any river system. The Amazon River basin is the area that drains into the Amazon, including all its tributaries. Amazonia is sparsely populated. Its larger mammals include the jaguar, ocelot, capybara, puma and South American tapir. The concept has been slow in coming to the Amazon because of the major focus on upland rainforest, lack of basic ecological data on the aquatic ecosystems and the political complexity of the Basin. We use cookies to analyse how visitors use our website and to help us provide the best possible experience for users. However, more recent measurements have claimed that the Amazon’s source is farther into the Andes, suggesting…, The vast Amazon basin (Amazonia), the largest lowland in Latin America, has an area of about 2.7 million square miles (7 million square km) and is nearly twice as large as that of the Congo River, the Earth’s other great equatorial drainage system. The Amazon Basin is a huge tropical rainforest area in South America that contains the Amazon river, the second longest river in the world, and its tributaries. [11] This is more than any other river basin on Earth, and Amazonia is the center of diversity for Neotropical fishes. Amazon basin is the result of the many tributaries that flow into the Amazon river. The vast Amazon Basin is the largest lowland in Latin America and … © WWF, U.S. Geological Survey, ICTA, TNC, University of Kassel, Continental Scale Models of Water Balance and Fluvial Transport: An Application to South America, © 1986 Panda Symbol WWF – World Wide Fund For Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund), Bolivia monitors impacts of dams in the Amazon, Peruvian, Bolivian and Brazilian organizations will work together in the Acre River Basin land-use planning, International event discusses climate change impacts on the Acre River basin, Bolivia Takes a Step Towards Sustainable Hydropower, WWF workshop on hydropower and freshwater, Publication: State of the Amazon: Freshwater Connectivity and Ecosystem Health. (See below The length of the Amazon.). All agree that basins provide the spatial context for large-scale environmental planning and management of freshwater aquatic ecosystems linked to rivers, streams and other wetlands. The RAMSAR Convention mentions defining major challenges as a first step to IRBM, of which the Amazon Waters Initiative began with an explicitly defined river basin and wetlands classification and recognition of the need to scale-up conservation approaches of what … There are scattered settlements inland, but most of the population lives in a few larger cities on the banks of the Amazon and other major rivers, such as in Iquitos, Peru, Manaus, and Belém. Among these are the knifefish Compsaraia and Orthosternarchus, some Cetopsis whale catfish (especially C. oliveirai), some Xyliphius and Micromyzon banjo catfish,[23] and the loricariid catfish Loricaria spinulifera, L. pumila, Peckoltia pankimpuju, Panaque bathyphilus and Panaqolus nix (these five also occur in "normal" forms of shallower waters). 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