There is a massive road construction program that integrates the Northern region with the rest of Brazil, providing an alternative escape route from the crowded and drought-stricken Northeast. This rare species is found in the freshwater rivers of the Amazon near Iquitos, Peru. Ocean vessels can ascend the river 1,500 km to the city of Manaus in Brazil while passenger and smaller freight vessels can reach Iquitos in Peru, 3,600 km from the Amazon's mouth.īrazil has been at the forefront of pushing for the development of the Amazon basin by refocusing on the construction of a new inland capital Brasilia. Most of the time, the crossing is usually done by a ferry or boat. Despite its length and width, there are no bridges across the entire width of the river since there are no roads in its course. These roads have made it possible for the exploration of oil, river fish, tropical hardwoods timber resources, and illegal cocaine production. Thousands of peasant farmers have moved from the populous highlands to the lowlands of the Amazon basin. Roads have been constructed through the Amazon rainforest in particular in the highlands of Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. The sun-loving trees soar through the canopy to a height of 60 m above the ground.Īfter the Second World War, developing the Amazon basin became an important debate for the countries it spans. As many as 100 arboreal species have been counted on a single acre of the forest. Tropical rainforests with a variety of tree and plant species are one of the dominant features of the Amazon. It has an extremely distinctive shape with a long, plump body, paddle-shaped fins and a ridge along the back rather than a dorsal fin. The anaconda, which is one of the largest snake species in the world, inhabits the shallow waters of the Amazon. The Amazon river dolphin is a freshwater animal that lives in the Amazon and Orinoco rivers and in waterways located in Bolivia, Columbia, and Peru. The Amazon river dolphin, otherwise known as the boto, or pink river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), the only New World river dolphin, is probably the best known of the five river dolphins. Also present in the Amazon waters are piranhas, carnivorous fish that congregate in large schools and attack animals and sometimes even humans. Amazon Biodiversity And Ecosystem An Amazon river dolphin. On average, over 110,000 km 2 of land are covered in water during the dry season, while in the wet season the basin rises to over 350,000 km 2. Along with the Orinoco, the Amazon is the main habitat of the boto, also known as the Amazon river dolphin, the largest river dolphin measuring up to 2.6 m in length. The area covered by the Amazon River and its tributaries triples during the wet season over the course of one year. The waters support a diverse range of wildlife. It is home to 2.5 million different insect species, 2,200 fish species, tens of thousands of plant species, and 2,800 species of birds and animals. The Amazon river forms one of the largest biodiversity areas in the world as it is the location of the tropical rainforest, the Amazon. The Amazon River Dolphin Inia geoffrensis.