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The
biodiversity in these wet tropical forests is mind-blowing.
It is home to the largest collection of living plant and
animal species in the world. One in ten known species on this
planet lives in the Amazon Rainforest. Amazonia is home to
around 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of
plants, and more than 2,000 birds and mammals. So far, at
least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fishes, 1,294 birds, 427
mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been
scientifically classified within this region. One in five of
all bird and fish species live here. The Scarlet Macaws above
are indigenous to the American tropics. The photographer
wrote, “Red-and-Green Macaws DO grow on trees in the Amazon.”
Photo #1 by Billtacular
The
San Rafael Falls and Quijos River are located at the foot of
the highly active Reventador Volcano which rises out of the
Amazon jungle east of the Andes . Based on archaeological
evidence, it is believed that humans first inhabited this
Amazon paradise at least 11,200 years ago. Photo #2 by
Imagesunion
Streams
of light in the Amazonian mist. Inside this rainforest, you
never quite know what you might see . . . Photo #3 by Jon
Rawlinson
You
might see a Tupi ‘red bird,’ also known as the scarlet ibis,
one of the most beautiful Brazilian birds, because of the
color of their plumage. Photo #4 by J.Gil Photography
Or
you might see an Amazonian ‘Godzilla.’ Photo #5 by Laurent
In
Amazonia , you might even stumble upon an Emerald Boa. Eek!
Photo #6 by Free Pet Wallpapers
Amazon
rainforest jaguar. Bet you won’t bump into one of these
beautiful beasties in an urban jungle? Photo #7 by By Land
Rover Our Planet
Star
of the water – In the rivers of the Amazon. The photographer
noted, “The water lily (Victoria regia), an aquatic plant is
typical of the Amazon region. Its leaves are large and
circular, with folded edges, forming a sort of basin. They
can reach 2 meters in diameter. The leaves of the lily pad
can withstand the weight of a small child in the water
without sinking.” According to an Indian legend about the
lilypad, “As its flowers open at night, the Indians liken to
the moon and stars. They say that once in the Amazon, there
lived an Indian girl that he wanted to become a star. At
night, she liked to look at the sky to admire the stars. She
thought that the moon could come pick her up on Earth and
take it to heaven. One night, a beautiful Indian girl leaned
over the side of the river, where the moon was reflected. She
was mesmerized by the image of the moon, fell into the river
and disappeared into the water. The moon then turned into a
lilypad. So the flower of the lily pad is called ‘star of the
waters’.” Photo #8 by Miriam C de Souza
A
typical house in the Amazon. Photo #9 by Francisco Chaves
from Buenos Aires, Argentina
Looking
down at the ‘lungs of the planet.’ Photo #10 by Wallpapers
Diq
Looking up in Amazon rainforest – Árvore
Mogno. Photo #11 by Signey
Monkeys
hanging out in the tropical jungle. Photo #12 by Worldwide
Happy Media
Brown
Woolly Monkey in the Amazon. Photo #13 by Evgenia Kononova
Amazon
rainforest – ‘inside of kills’. Photo #14 by Hudson Alves
The
photographer wrote of the ‘Wild Boy’, “His eyes reflects the
nostalgia of an almost extinct World. Wearing an Amazon
Toucan, traditionally used only for the sacred dances and
very special moments, this boy is learning from the Shamans
the traditional dances of the Kotococha culture, a knowledge
which is only transmitted from the shaman to the few chosen
by word of mouth. Origin: Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest,
Kotococha tribe.” Photo #15 by Gustavo Morejón
Community Nova Esperança,
Baré
people. Cuieiras river, tributary of the Rio Negro, Amazonia
, Brazil . Photo #16 by Daniel Zanini H.
Folklore
of Amazonas is nourished from legends and stories in which
mystery and inexplicable things are always present. One
example on Wikipedia includes “if you ask people about the
lagoon of Cochaconga, they will say that it is enchanted.
They say it has the ‘form of a neck’ and that with the
smallest noise provoked by an animal or the scream of a
person, there will be a tremendous thunderstorm in which an
enormous monster will appear in the shape of cow. This
monster will become mad with the strangers. That’s why,
whoever passes by this remote place, does it with maximum
precautions for not altering the local silence.” Photo #17
by NewWorldReview
Aerial
roots of Red Mangrove on an Amazonian river. Photo #18 by
Cesar Paes Barreto
Amazon
Poison Dartfrog, also known as the Reticulated Poison Frog,
can be found at the inflows of the Amazon River in Peru live
high up in the rainforest. The photographer also noted that
these very little beauties are only about 15 -20 mm in size.
Photo #19 by Dominik Hofer
Iracema
Waterfalls. Photo #20 by Hudson Alves
A great of deal of travel along Amazônia
is by water. That may be due to the abundance of waterways.
Photo #21 by Daniel Zanini H.
Or
perhaps travel by river may simply be easier than the
adventure of trying to travel muddy Amazonia roads? Here you
don’t get stuck in traffic, you just get stuck.Photo #22
by J.Gil Photography
Amazon
Rainforest, seen from the Alto Madre de Dios river, in Peru .
Before 1960, access to the forest’s interior was restricted
and the Amazon jungle remained mostly intact. During the
1960s, farms were established based on crop cultivation and
the slash and burn method. Deforestation was so considerable
that the areas which were cleared of forest were visible to
the naked eye from outer space. Photo #23 by Martin
St-Amant
Strong
drought in the Amazon rainforest. In 2005, parts of the
Amazon basin experienced the worst drought in one hundred
years. In 2010 the Amazon rainforest experienced another
horrific drought, in some ways more extreme than in 2005. In
a typical year the Amazon absorbs 1.5 gigatons of carbon
dioxide; during 2005 instead 5 gigatons were released and in
2010 8 gigatons were released. Photo #24 by Hudson Alves
Just
as there can be droughts, the rivers of Amazon suffer
flooding for 4 or 5 months of the year. The photographer said
that on a hot day, they went ‘rock jumping.’ Photo #25 by
J.Gil Photography
Amazonas
floating village, Iquitos in the Amazon Basin . It’s the part
of South America drained by the Amazon River; its tributaries
drains an area of about 2,670,000 square miles (6,915,000 sq
km), or roughly 40% of South America . Photo #26 by Sascha
Grabow
An
Amazon Chestnut Sunrise . Photo #27 by Vicente Pinheiro
via Ana_Cotta
Amazon
rainforest, near Manaus , Brazil . Image taken from top of a
50 m tower for meteorological observations, and the top of
vegetation canopy is typically 35 m . The image was taken
within 30 minutes of a rain event, and a few white ‘clouds’
above the canopy are indicative of rapid evaporation from wet
leaves after the rain. Much of the Amazon is still
unexplored, many of its indigenous plants and animals are
unknown . . . perhaps even plants yet to be discovered that
could cure diseases that plague the people on our planet. The
leaves and branches of the rainforest are so dense that it
creates a “roof” that does not allow the sunlight to reach
the ground. The ground remains dark, damp and waiting for
discovery. Photo #28 by Phil P Harris
A Yagua (Yahua) tribeman demonstrating the
use of blowgun (blow dart), at one of the Amazonian
‘islands’.MailScanner has detected
a possible fraud attempt from "upload.wikimedia.org"
claiming to be Photo #29 by JialiangGao http://www.peace-on-earth.org/
Another
folklore of Amazona from Peru are attributed to certain
animals. For example: The mochuelo that “freezes the soul”,
or the “quien-quien” that makes fun of the travelers in the
roads. When the singing crickets sounds like bells, it is
supposedly foretelling of a “big evil.” Photo #30 by
Roosevelt Garcia
Amazonian
Forest and Renato River . Photo #31 by Leonardo F. Freitas
Monkey
Island, Peru , is a part of Amazonia . Photo #32 by Alex
Guerrero from New Haven, United States
Amazonian
rainforest, upper Amazon basin, Loreto region, Peru .
Photo #33 by Pahpaha
Balbina
Dam in Amazon , Brazil . Photo #34 by Seabirds
Stormy
clouds cover the Amazonian jungle. Photo #35 by lapidim
The
photographer explained, “On the Tambopata River in the
Peruivan Amazon Rainforest, a group of kids play football on
a tiny sand island in the middle of the river.”Photo #36
by Mike Cooper
Bamboo
and ferns in the rainforest. Photo #37 by Tadd and Debbie
Ottman
Native
village of Chipitiere , in the Cultural Zone of Manu National
Park , Peru . Photo #38 by Martin St-Amant
Toucan,
the earl of Amazonia . Photo #39 by Tambako the Jaguar
Waterfall
flowing from the Andes down in the Amazon Basin . Photo
#40 by Worldwide Happy Media
Three-Toed
Sloth in the Amazon. The photographer noted a local
superstition: ‘don’t look at him if you’re pregnant…or your
baby may look like him!’ Photo #41 by Pierre Pouliquin
Walking
through paths in the Amazonian rainforest. Photo #42 by CREES-MANU
San
Rafael Falls in the Amazon jungle. Photo #44 by Drriss
The
photographer wrote, “Yacumana and Chullachaqui are two demons
of the local legends. Yacumana is a demon of the water (boa
man); Chullachaqui can transform itself to mimic any
person…is it your mum coming to you? No, look at his feet,
that’s how you recognize him, he always has a big one!”
Photo #44 by Pierre Pouliquin
Brazilian
Amazon. Photo #45 by Горящий тур
Amazonian Sunset. Photo #46 by New7Wonders
of Nature
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