The Amazon - Culture

For many years the source of the Amazon river remained a mystery. It was not until 1971 that the true source of the Amazon was confirmed by American Explorer, Loren McIntyre, who led a small National Geographic expedition to a pond on the Andean peak of Choquecorao, just 150 km east of the Pacific Ocean, out of which an icy stream, the Rio Apurimac, trickles. It is over 6000 kilometres from this distant source to the Atlantic Ocean. Before it reaches the sea, the Amazon will have changed names many times, collected the water of 15,000 tributaries and drained a basin of 7,045,000 sq. km stretching into seven countries. It is 150 miles wide at its mouth, bearing 170 billion gallons of water to the sea every hour at a rate of over 6 million cubic feet per second A fifth of all the world's fresh water flows through the Amazon basin, justifying its title "The World's Greatest River".
Around the "belt line" of the earth lies a warm, tropical zone where over 400 inches of rain fall every year. That averages out to more than an inch of rain, everyday! A lot of water falls onto the land surrounding the river, what is called the "Amazon River drainage basin". A good way to understand what a drainage basin is to think of the whole northern half of the continent of South America as a shallow dish, or saucer. Whenever rain falls and lands anywhere in the river basin it all runs into the lowest place in the pan, which happens to be the Amazon River. The sheer volume of rain in the Amazon jungle, as well as the slope of the surrounding land, combine to create the enormous river known as the Amazon.

The Amazon is a tropical region where rain and humidity are the prominent weather conditions for the area. The seasons are relatively static with an average temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. At night, though, the temperature will fall dramatically to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Heavy rainfall occurs at short durations of time and accumulates to about 300 cm a year. January through April is the wettest season. June through November is the dry season.

Much of the animal population found in the Amazon’s forest canopy is made up of birds, monkeys, and cats, as well as a variety of invertebrates such as insects. Land roaming creatures like wild pigs and deer populate the Amazon floor. Also found in the Amazon, due to the wet seasons, are waterfowl, such as the Wood Ibis and White Faced Duck, which thrive upon the rivers and slues as they swell. Finally, a large variety of fish are located in these same areas and expand habitation areas as the rains flood the forest .