| The Amazon Foodweb & Animal Data Base | |
 "Scarlet Macaw" Ara macao Photo courtesy/copyright J. M. Caskey, Enchanted Emerald Forest Macaws |
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| Presented by: Dean D., Ben B., and Justin G. | |
| South America: | |
| South America is a continent of
extremes. The Andes mountians stretch 4,500 miles
(7,242 kilometers) from north to south. They form
the longest mountian chain in the world.Lake
Titicaca, Peru-Bolivia border, is the highest
lake in the world used for trasportation. Arica,
chile, experienced the longest dry period ever
recorded. It did not rain there for 14 years! The Amazon river is the greatest volume of water of any river in the world. The Amazon discharges so much water into the Atlantic that it changes the color of the ocean for more then 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the shore. Most of South Americans live in large portcities. Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Buenos Aires. argentina, are among the worlds largest cities. About 314,000,000 people live in South America. |
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| The Amazon Rain Forest: | |
| A rain forest is a dense forest
that receives at least 100 inches (254
cemtimeters) of rain a year. The Amazon rain
forest is rich in plants and animals life, and
new species are discovered almost daily.
Scientists have learned that many of the plants
can be used to produce life saving drugs. But the rain forest is disappearing. It once covered more then 2.7 million square miles. (7 million square kilometers) Through a process called "deforestation" more than 12% of the rain forest has been cleared for farming, mining, and grazing. |