Amazonian redirects here, for other uses see Amazonian (disambiguation) The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries.

Geography

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The South American rainforest of Amazonia (60% located in Brazil), the largest in the world, was originally covered by more than 7,000,000 km² (2 million square miles) of dense tropical forest. For centuries, this has protected the area and the animals residing in it. But over the past 30 years the Brazilian government has transformed Amazonia into factory sites and settlements by sponsoring road projects, colonization schemes, and industrial developments.

Settlements

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Amazonia is not heavily populated. There are a few cities along the Amazon's banks and scattered settlements inland, but most of the population lives in cities. The forest has been cleared in areas for plantations and ranching (the most extensive non-forest use of the land) and some of the inhabitants harvest wild latex and Brazil nuts. Though a substantial area of the Amazon basin has been cleared, most of the rain forest remains relatively undisturbed by humans.

Flora and fauna

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Not all of the plant and animal life of Amazonia are known because of its hugely unexplored areas. No one knows how many species of fish there are in the river either. Some have estimated

External links

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• Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law See Amazon River. Peace Palace Libray
• Amazônia (www.colegiosaofrancisco.com.br)
• Amazon rainforest information and photos
• Save the Amazon rainforest
• Information and a map of the Amazon's watershed

Geography of Bolivia | Geography of Brazil | Geography of Ecuador | Geography of Peru | Rivers of South America

Amazonasbecken | Amazonio | Bacía do río Amazonas | Bacino dell'Amazzonia | אמזוניה | Amazonebekken | Bacia do rio Amazonas