Facts about the Amazon Rainforest
- 10
Between 1970 and 2020, cattle ranching caused approximately 80 percent of all deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest as pastureland expanded across the basin.
- 09
Rainfall in the Amazon Rainforest averages 2,300 millimeters annually, with some regions receiving over 3,000 millimeters per year, creating the world's most powerful hydrological cycle.
- 08
Jaguars, the Amazon Rainforest's largest cat species, require territories spanning up to 25 square kilometers to hunt sufficient prey in the dense ecosystem.
- 07
Medicinal compounds derived from Amazon Rainforest plants have been used in approximately 25 percent of all modern pharmaceutical drugs.
- 06
Approximately 390 billion tons of carbon are stored in the biomass and soil of the Amazon Rainforest, making it one of Earth's largest carbon reservoirs.
- 05
Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest released approximately 16.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere between 2000 and 2015.
- 04
Indigenous peoples have inhabited the Amazon Rainforest for at least 11,000 years, with approximately 400 to 500 tribes currently residing there.
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Over 430 rivers flow through the Amazon Rainforest, with the Amazon River discharging approximately 209,000 cubic meters of water into the Atlantic Ocean every second.
- 02
Spanning 5.5 million square kilometers across nine countries, the Amazon Rainforest contains approximately 10 percent of all species on Earth.
- 01
The Amazon Rainforest produces approximately 20 percent of the world's oxygen through photosynthesis by its 390 billion individual trees.