Nathanael H. b1 Amazon Rainforest

Introduction Have you ever wondered what the Amazon Rainforest is and what it is good for? If so, this is the book for you. A rainforest is like a huge forest near or at the equator. Since it is hot there, water evaporates fast so it rains a lot, which is probable why it is called a rainforest. The rainforest in this book is the Amazon which is in South America. The countries are Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana, and Guiana. The Hemispheres are North, South, and West.

Physical Features

The climate of the Amazon is tropical and the latitude and longitude range is 0 degrees, 15 degrees south, 45 degrees west, and 75 degrees west. There are 4 main layers of the Amazon, forest floor, understory, canopy, and emergent. Most animals live in the understory or the forest floor. The average rainfall is 20-40 inches. The average temperature is 79 degrees Fahrenheit.

Indigenous Plants One type of indigenous plant is a Venus Fly Trap. It can be a producer or a consumer. Its prey is mostly small bugs, like flies and maggots. It has lots of tiny leaf jaws to trap its prey. Another plant is the corkscrew plant. It has 2 different forms one is like a big five leaf clover the other is like a leafy corkscrew, which is most likely how it got its name. Like the Venus Fly Trap, the corkscrew plant can use photosynthesis.

Indigenous Animals

One type of indigenous animal is the piranha. The piranha has few predators which are the anaconda and crocodiles. The Piranha is a carnivore, like the anaconda. Some of its adaptations is it is fast, it travels in packs, and it can smell blood from far away. Most piranhas are grey at the top, red at the bottom.

The next animal is the anaconda. It is one of the heaviest and largest snakes in the world. Its habitat is flooded grasslands and swamps. Its only predator is humans, its prey is anything that can fit in its mouth, most of the time it eats herbivores, rarely omnivores and carnivores. The anaconda uses camouflage to sneak up to its prey. An anaconda and a piranha are two organisms in the Amazon rainforest.

Indigenous Tribes

One type of indigenous tribe is the Yanomami. They live by mostly eating fish. The fishermen are called the river people. The hunters are called the forest people. Their belief says the natural and spiritual world is unified as one. They have many sub tribes because their tribe is so big.

The other Amazon tribe is the Huaorani. They mostly ate fruit and vegetables. Unlike some tribes, they dont have discrimination against women. Their culture says they use all of the animals they killed. They have a living quarters and sub settlements.

Movement/ Human Environment Interaction

The way people get around is by boat and by roads. The main water way is the Amazon River, most of the time the roads are in the middle of the forest. Building too many roads may cause deforestation.

Today some people who are going the rainforest are ecotourist. Most of the trees are conserving. 50% of the plant and animal species are in the rainforest. We have lost 8% of it so far. What do you think should happen to the Amazon Rainforest?

Resources

www.Amazon-rainforest.orgwww.mbarron.net/Amazon/www.wildlife.htmwww.crystallinks.comwww.blueplanetbiomes.org/amazon.htmwww.blueplanetbiomes.org/climate.htmwww.raintree.com/facts.htm