Amazon Rainforest Facts for Kids
The Amazon Rainforest is a beautiful place that is full of unique animals, millions of miles of trees, and rare species of plants and bugs – some that haven’t even been discovered yet!
This stunning rainforest gives us so much more than interesting plants and animals to learn about, it also gives the Earth a lot of its oxygen!
Read on to find out more about this amazing place.
Where is the Amazon Rainforest Located?
The Amazon Rainforest is found in South America, and it goes across many countries such as Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia.
This amazing Amazon forest is over 2.2 million square miles large and it is the largest tropical rainforest in the world.
If you were to lay the Amazon out over the United States, it would cover over half of it!
What Kinds of Plants Grow in the Amazon Rainforest?
There are many types of rare plants that live in the Amazon Rainforest- around 40,000 different kinds to be exact!
Some of the most common types of trees that can be found in the rainforest are the Brazil-nut tree, palm trees, and even trees that only grow on other trees, called epiphytes.
It is also home to vines, moss, and ferns. Because the rainforest is already such a harsh environment for plants, they cannot afford to be attacked or eaten by animals, too.
Many types of plants have adapted to give off poisonous toxins if an animal should come to close, using it to protect themselves from danger.
The Amazon Rainforest is often called “The Lungs of the Earth” because it produces over 20% of the world’s oxygen supply thanks to all of its trees.
In fact, the trees in the rainforest are so thick, the floor of the Amazon is always in complete darkness.
Also, when it rains, it takes 10 minutes for the water to go through the leaves and hit the ground. Talk about an umbrella!
What Animals Live in the Amazon Rainforest?
One of the things that the Amazon Rainforest is most known for is its huge variety of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, and insects.
It is home to 3,000 different kinds of fish and close to 3 million types of insects!
We hope you brought your bug net!
Some common animals that live in the rainforest are jaguars, howler monkeys, sloths, anacondas, alligators, and apes.
With the large amount of animals that live in the same area, they have each adapted to living in different levels of the forest floor and trees in order to protect themselves and hide from predators.
Not all of the animals that live in the Amazon Rainforest are friendly, however. In fact, a lot of them are extremely dangerous or poisonous.
Some of these types of animals include electric eels, flesh-eating piranhas, poisonous dart frogs, and even venomous snakes.
One of the deadliest animals that lives in the rainforest is the Pirarucu. This is a type of meat-eating fish that devours other fish and can grow up to 10 feet long.
Not only is this fish about as long as a car, it also has razor-sharp teeth on the roof of its mouth and its tongue! That is one set of teeth I’m sure the dentist doesn’t want to see!
Do People Live in the Amazon Rainforest?
While the Amazon Rainforest is mainly made up of plants and animals, there are some people that call this beautiful place home.
It is thought that between 400 or 500 different groups of native tribes live in the forest, with over 50 groups of them never having met people outside of their tribe!
Quick Facts About the Amazon Rainforest
Located in South America
World’s largest tropical rainforest.
Contains over 40,000 different kinds of plants.
Has many dangerous animals, like poison dart frogs, venomous snakes, and meat-eating fish.
Produces 20% of the world’s oxygen.
The Amazon Rainforest is an amazing place that is full of millions of trees, unique plants, beautiful animals, and poisonous predators.
This stunning forest gives the Earth a ton of its oxygen, and we want to protect it the best that we can.
How did you enjoy these cool facts about this wonderful place on our amazing Earth?
More Geography and Earth Science.
