Millions of years ago, the Amazon River flowed from east to west, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. Then something incredible happened about 20 million years ago—the Andes Mountains started rising because of shifts in the Earth’s plates. As the mountains grew, they blocked the Amazon River, causing lakes to form. Eventually, the river’s direction reversed, and around 10 million years ago, it flowed into the Atlantic Ocean near Belem, Brazil!
Today, the Amazon River is fed by melted snow from the Andes Mountains. It’s massive—the river is 350 miles wide at its mouth! During the wet season, it floods an area the size of Australia, covering about 80% of the Amazon basin. Depending on the season, the water level can rise or fall by 30 meters. The Amazon Rainforest is incredibly important, producing 20% of the world’s oxygen!
Gavin from Hamilton Elementary asked a great question: Do the plants here make more oxygen because they’re better at it, or are there just more plants? The answer is both! It’s always hot and humid in the rainforest.
The Amazon is also home to 10% of the world’s biodiversity. Today, we saw so much wildlife, including pink river dolphins! Salem Elementary—there are lots of theories about why they’re pink.
