The Amazon rainforest is big. Almost unimaginably big. To begin to grasp its immensity, consider these numbers: The Amazon rainforest covers about 2% of the world"s surface area, nearly 2.1 million square miles across South America, mostly (nearly 60%) in the country you see here, Brazil. It"s an area that accounts for over half the Earth"s remaining rainforests. The breadth of biodiversity is incomparable—nearly 16,000 different tree species, 40,000 species of other plants, 2.5 million insect species, and over 2,000 different types of birds and mammals. Incredibly, perhaps a tenth of the planet"s known species call the Amazon home, many of which have not even been identified.
A misty morning in Brazil
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Guild houses of Grand-Place, Brussels, Belgium
-
Who s there? The largest owl in the world
-
‘Ciao’ from Varenna
-
The Zugspitze: Germany s highest point
-
The Old City of Bern
-
Jöriseen lakes in the Silvretta Alps, Switzerland
-
Flag Day
-
Common raven
-
Sharp-dressed bug
-
Hawai i Volcanoes National Park at 106
-
Light show in the forest
-
Sailing across the ice
-
Quilts as high art
-
How do ladybugs winter?
-
Florentine garden brings generations together
-
World Book Day
-
Marine Day in Japan
-
International Sloth Day
-
Pumpkin patch
-
New Year’s Day in the land of the rising sun
-
Freeloaders of the avian world
-
Cousins Day
-
Polar bear capital of the world
-
When an ideal microclimate gives you lemons…
-
Mount Pico, Portugal
-
Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve, Estonia
-
Surströmming Day
-
Cinco de Mayo
-
Paper lanterns on the longest night
-
Mardi Gras