Amazon Rainforest

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Images & Videos

A narrow stream winds through dense, lush green vegetation in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, with moss-covered rocks and overhanging trees.

Physical map of northern and central South America highlighting the Andes Mountains along the continent's western edge and the Amazon River basin and drainage network spanning Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and surrounding countries. The map uses color shading to show elevation, marks major rivers, cities, international and political boundaries, and features a small locator map of South America in the corner.

Why are rainforests so important?

Glimpse the Amazon Rainforest's diverse wildlife, from anacondas and sloths to macaws and capybaras

Learn how the Brazilian government incentivized forest clearing in the Amazon for beef production and ranching

Behold the multitude of Amazonian arthropods including spiders, scorpions, beetles, and mantids

World map using color codes to show the distribution of tropical rainforests, dry or deciduous forests, and deforested areas in the early 21st century. Dense green highlights rainforests in regions like the Amazon Basin, Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and parts of Central America, while yellow and orange indicate dry forests and areas affected by deforestation.

canoe on the Negro River

Charred tree trunks and smoldering ash cover a deforested area of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, with smoke rising among sparse remaining trees.

Investigate how segments of Brazil's Amazon Rainforest are cleared for lumber, agriculture, and grazing

Amazon Rainforest: Media

region, South America

Videos

Why are rainforests so important?

Why are rainforests so important?

Rainforests are where the ancestors of humans first evolved—and where our closest...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Glimpse the Amazon Rainforest's diverse wildlife, from anacondas and sloths to macaws and capybaras

Glimpse the Amazon Rainforest's diverse wildlife, from anacondas and sloths to macaws and capybaras

Learn about wildlife of the Amazon Rainforest, including macaws, toucans, tyrant...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Learn how the Brazilian government incentivized forest clearing in the Amazon for beef production and ranching

Learn how the Brazilian government incentivized forest clearing in the Amazon for beef production and ranching

Deforestation of the Amazon River basin has followed a pattern of cutting, burning,...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Behold the multitude of Amazonian arthropods including spiders, scorpions, beetles, and mantids

Behold the multitude of Amazonian arthropods including spiders, scorpions, beetles, and mantids

Among the arthropods of the Amazon Rainforest are spiders (including orb weavers...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Investigate how segments of Brazil's Amazon Rainforest are cleared for lumber, agriculture, and grazing

Investigate how segments of Brazil's Amazon Rainforest are cleared for lumber, agriculture, and grazing

Damage to the Amazon rainforest caused by burning and cutting.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Glimpse Amazonian wildlife, including birds, mammals, and reptiles

Glimpse Amazonian wildlife, including birds, mammals, and reptiles

Learn about the Amazon Rainforest's bewildering array of wildlife, including macaws,...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Glimpse Amazonian wildlife such as anacondas, tarantulas, leafcutter ants, scarlet ibis, and black skimmers

Glimpse Amazonian wildlife such as anacondas, tarantulas, leafcutter ants, scarlet ibis, and black skimmers

Anacondas, tarantulas, leaf-cutter ants, scarlet ibis, and black skimmers are all...

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

A narrow stream winds through dense, lush green vegetation in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, with moss-covered rocks and overhanging trees.

the Amazon Rainforest

A stream in the Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador.

© Dr. Morley Read/Shutterstock.com

Physical map of northern and central South America highlighting the Andes Mountains along the continent's western edge and the Amazon River basin and drainage network spanning Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and surrounding countries. The map uses color shading to show elevation, marks major rivers, cities, international and political boundaries, and features a small locator map of South America in the corner.

Central and Northern Andes and the Amazon River basin and drainage network

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

World map using color codes to show the distribution of tropical rainforests, dry or deciduous forests, and deforested areas in the early 21st century. Dense green highlights rainforests in regions like the Amazon Basin, Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and parts of Central America, while yellow and orange indicate dry forests and areas affected by deforestation.

Deforestation of tropical forests

Map of tropical forests and deforestation in the early 21st century.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

canoe on the Negro River

canoe on the Negro River

Canoe on the Negro River in the Amazon Rainforest, Amazonas state, northern Brazil.

Union Press/Bruce Coleman, Inc., New York

Charred tree trunks and smoldering ash cover a deforested area of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, with smoke rising among sparse remaining trees.

deforestation

Smoldering remains of a plot of deforested land in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil.

© Brasil2/iStock.com

cauliflory

cauliflory

Many trees of the Amazon Rainforest exhibit cauliflory, an adaptation in which flowers...

© Alan Watson/Forest Light

Wide view of the Purus River winding through dense green rainforest in the Amazon region of Brazil, with trees and vegetation lining both banks.

Purus River

The Purus River in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil.

© Barbarico/Dreamstime.com

Smoke rises among scattered trees during slash and burn forest clearance in the Amazon rainforest, with charred ground and partially burned vegetation visible.

Amazon deforestation: slash-and-burn

Slash-and-burn forest clearing in the Amazon.

© Stockbyte/Getty Images

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