What are the most surprising facts about the Amazon river, watershed, and rainforest?
Here are the 9 craziest ones I found:
Here are the 9 craziest ones I found:
1. The Amazon river carries 20% of all the water that rivers deliver into oceans worldwide!
2. It’s so huge that its mouth is >250 km wide (~150 miles).
3. It’s so big that it continues flowing for up to 100 miles into the Atlantic before mixing with saltwater, allowing sailors to drink freshwater out of the ocean before sighting the South American continent!
4. The Amazon river basin is so big that it’s about the same size as the US’ 48 contiguous states (7.5M km2 vs 8M)
5. It carries so much water because it’s an Earth-sized funnel:
• Equator➡️heat and humidity
• Right side to get the trade winds
• At the end of the trip, water stopped by the Andes
• Mountains on both sides to funnel the water
• Equator➡️heat and humidity
• Right side to get the trade winds
• At the end of the trip, water stopped by the Andes
• Mountains on both sides to funnel the water
6. Its jungle is so dense, hot, and humid, that 50% of its rainfall comes not from Atlantic water, but from the trees' own transpiration
7. There’s so much forest that you can see its boundaries from satellite images.
8. With so much heat, humidity, rain, vegetation, and isolation, it has the world's highest concentration of biodiversity
9. Dust blowing from the Sahara desert brings over half of the Amazon Rainforest's fertilizer.
It's so much that it replaces the phosphorus washed away yearly in Amazon soil from rains and floods.
It's so much that it replaces the phosphorus washed away yearly in Amazon soil from rains and floods.
What other crazy facts do you know about the Amazon river, its watershed, or the rainforest?
OK another one I just confirmed: The Amazon river does not have a single bridge!
In some places it could—it might be 3 miles wide in the dry season. But then the Amazon can swell 30ft higher and 30 miles wide. Impossible to have bridges!
In some places it could—it might be 3 miles wide in the dry season. But then the Amazon can swell 30ft higher and 30 miles wide. Impossible to have bridges!
I’m going to be writing about Brazil on the coming days in my newsletter. Subscribe for free!
unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com
unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com
Another crazy thread on Brazil, in case you missed it
The jungle transpires so much water into the atmosphere (8x more than the ocean per unit of surface!) that there's literally a flying rive flowing in the opposite direction of the Amazon
youtube.com
youtube.com
And there's another river beneath!
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