Amazon - Quick Facts

• The Amazon is the largest and densest rainforest on earth
• 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 it touches and-or 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 catalogued:
• 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
• Courtesy: www.ladatco.com