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10 amazing Amazon facts
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By Fred Roast 8 9 6 7 10

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Running through the north of the rainforest is the Amazon river. Flowing a length of around 6,400km, it is the second longest river in the world. The longest is the river Nile, stretching an even longer 6,650km!

3. The Amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest. Covering over 5
The Amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest. Covering over 5.5 million square kilometres, it's so big that the UK and Ireland would fit into it 17 times!
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4. The Amazon is found in South America, spanning across eight countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
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5. In 2007, a man named Martin Strel swam the entire length of the Amazon river! To complete his splashing jungle journey, Martin powered through the water up to ten hours a day for 66 days!
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6. Around indigenous Amerindian tribes call the Amazon rainforest home. It's believed that about fifty of these tribes have never had contact with the outside world!
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7. 6. The Amazon has an incredibily rich ecosystem - there are around 40,000 plant species, 1,300 bird species, 3,000 types of fish, 430 mammals and a whopping 2.5 million different insects.
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8. The Amazon is home to a whole host of fascinating - and deadly
The Amazon is home to a whole host of fascinating - and deadly! - creatures, including electric eels, flesh eating piranhas, poison dart frogs, jaguars and some seriously venemous snakes.
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9. 8. One fascinating fish found in the Amazon is the Pirarucu (also known as the arapaima or paiche). A menacing meat-eater, the pirarucu guzzles up other fish and can grow to nearly 3m long! And what makes it super deadly? It has teeth on the roof of its mouth and on its tongue!
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10. This area of immense natural beauty is sometimes referred to as ‘the lungs of the earth’. This is because the rich vegetation takes carbon dioxide out of the air, and releases oxygen back in. In fact, more than 20% of the the world’s oxygen is produced by the Amazon.
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11. Due to the thickness of the canopy (the top branches and leaves of the tees), the Amazon floor is in permanent darkness. In fact, it’s so thick that when it rains, it takes around ten minutes for the water to reach the ground!
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