For World Rainforest Day we take you below these clouds to the Amazon River Basin and the largest rainforest in the world. Numbers help the story of this extraordinary place: At more than 2.1 million square miles, the Amazon accounts for half of Earth’s remaining tropical rainforests. And a fifth of the world’s fresh water flows through this river basin. Perhaps a tenth of the planet’s known species call it home, many of which have yet to be identified—that’s trees, plants, fish, mammals, and a third of Earth’s bird species. Now take a deep breath. The ‘Lungs of the World’ produces 20 percent of Earth’s oxygen, while storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide, earning it an all-star ‘carbon sink’ status.
Reflections on the mighty Amazon
Today in History
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Independence Day
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Carnival of Venice
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Svolvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway
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’Chess on ice’
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Star Wars Day
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Cinco de Mayo
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A Welsh wonder turns 70
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At ease, it’s Armed Forces Day
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Honoring those who served
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A tree amid the Tetons
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Ardez, Graubunden, Switzerland
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Did it see its shadow?
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Watson Lake in Granite Dells, Arizona
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Marshland, Gloucester, MA
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On the lookout for Sheep-Cote Clod
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First day of autumn
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Rainbow River, Rainbow Springs State Park, Florida
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Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
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A learning garden
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Big wheels on a big mountain
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Museum Night in Berlin