WEBVTT

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Welcome to Read Listen Draw!

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Pack your imaginary binoculars for Twenty-
Five Amazon Rainforest Facts.

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1.

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The Amazon is the largest tropical
rainforest on Earth, covering about 6.7
million square kilometres.

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2.

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It stretches across eight South American
countries and the overseas territory of
French Guiana.

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3.

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Nearly sixty percent of the Amazon
rainforest lies inside Brazil.

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4.

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The Amazon River carries more water than
any other river on Earth.

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5.

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From its mountain headwaters to the
Atlantic Ocean, the river system winds for
about 6,500 kilometres.

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6.

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Thousands of smaller rivers and streams
join it, creating the largest river basin
in the world.

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7.

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A tropical rainforest has layers.

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They include the forest floor, understory,
canopy and the tallest emergent trees.

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8.

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The thick canopy acts like a leafy roof,
so only a little direct sunlight reaches
the forest floor.

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9.

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Some plants called epiphytes grow on tree
branches, helping them reach light without
putting roots into the ground.

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10.

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The Amazon is thought to hold about one in
every ten known species on Earth.

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11.

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More than one thousand kinds of birds live
there, including toucans, hummingbirds and
macaws.

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12.

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Its rivers contain thousands of freshwater
fish species, while the forest shelters
countless insects, frogs and mammals.

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13.

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A jaguar’s rosette-shaped spots help break
up its outline among patches of forest
light and shade.

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14.

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Three-toed sloths move slowly through the
trees, using long curved claws to hang
from branches.

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15.

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Scarlet macaws are intelligent, social
parrots that often travel and call
together in pairs or flocks.

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16.

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The Amazon river dolphin, also called the
boto, lives entirely in freshwater.

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Adults can appear pink, especially the
males.

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17.

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During the wet season, rising rivers
spread between the trees and create huge
flooded forests.

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18.

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Fish can then swim among submerged trunks
and roots, reaching food and habitats that
were dry months earlier.

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19.

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More than forty million people live across
the Amazon region.

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20.

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They include hundreds of Indigenous
peoples and ethnic groups with deep
knowledge of the forest.

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21.

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Around three hundred Indigenous languages
are spoken across the Amazon, making it a
place of remarkable human as well as
natural diversity.

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22.

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Amazon trees release enormous amounts of
water vapour through their leaves in a
process called transpiration.

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23.

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The forest stores vast quantities of
carbon in its living trees and other
plants.

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24.

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Forest clearing, damaging fires, mining,
roads and climate change can harm Amazon
habitats and communities.

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25.

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Protecting intact forest, supporting
Indigenous stewardship and restoring
damaged land all help the Amazon keep
thriving.

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Which fact will you draw?