Amazon basin Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia. With a area of dense tropical forest, this is the largest rainforest in the world. The Amazon River rises in the Andes Mountains at the west of the basin with its main
Amazon insects Amazon insects The Amazon Rainforest and surrounding region is the most biodiverse on earth and no life form is more diverse than the insects of the Amazon. No one can put any accurate figure on how many species there are but it has been estimated to be around 2.5 million species of insect with 700 species of beetle discovered on just one tree. There are 7,000 species of butterfly compared to 20,000 worldwide. One acre may have 70,000 species of insects alone. The rate of new species being discovered annually is around 10,000 with a majority in the Amazon River