3.1 Amazon Home

The Amazon River

-The Amazon covers 2.5 million miles, about the size of the USA west of the Mississippi

-If Amazonas were a country, it would be the 9th largest on earth

-Each minute the Amazon River discharges 3.4 million gallons of water into the Atlantic, 14 times the discharge of the Mississippi

-The Amazon runs 4007 miles from its origin in the Andes to the Atlantic, making it the second longest river on earth

-During its journey the river travels through 8 countries

-There are 200 major tributaries of which 17 are more than 1000 miles long and 10 of which discharge more water than the Mississippi

-Its vegetation represents about 1/3 of the remaining forest on earth and provides about 15% of the world's new oxygen

Scientists have discovered:

• 2500 species of fish
• 1500 species of birds
• 1800 species of butterflys
• 4 types of big cats
• 200 species of mosquitos
• 50,000 species of higher plants