Incredible facts about Amazon rainforest

The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world and provides 20% of Earth’s oxygen. From housing the largest biodiversity on the planet to the largest river. Here are 15 incredible facts about the Amazon rainforest.

Here are a few incredible facts about the Amazon rainforest or the Lungs of the Planet’:

The extremely rich ecosystem of the forest houses around 40,000 plant species, 1,300 bird species, 2,200 types of fish, 427 types of mammals, 430 amphibian species, 380 reptile species and a staggering 2.5 million different types of insects. It shelters 10% of the world’s known biodiversity. One in five of all species of bird and fish live in the Amazon.

Around 400-500 indigenous Amerindian tribes live in the Amazon rainforest. Around 50 of them have their own language and culture and have never had contact with the outer world. They are nomadic hunters and gatherers and constantly need to move around.

Some of the animals living in the rainforest are bizarre and deadly. From pink dolphins and green anacondas to poison dart frogs, bullet ants, electric eels and flesh-eating piranhas, some of these creatures can shock you with their abilities.

Around 137 species of plants, animals and insects become extinct every single day in the Amazon because of deforestation and cattle ranching that have killed vast sections of the forest.

The Amazon River which runs through the rainforest is the world’s second longest river after the Nile. It is also the world’s largest by water volume. The River comprises hundreds of waterways which stretch across 6,840 km, and has 17 tributaries which drain 55 million gallons of water every second into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Sahara Desert impacts the Amazon rainforest to a great extent by supplying phosphorus which is essential for fertilization. Dust containing phosphorus blows in from the Sahara via wind over the Atlantic Ocean and helps the rainforest flourish.