Taking up a 2,700,000 square miles of the northern part of South America is none other than the stunning Amazon Basin, within which is 2,100,000 square miles of the Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia. This whopping expanse of jungle and the wildlife that is encompassed within it constitutes over 50% of the remaining forest land on the planet. The Amazon Jungle is also the most biodiverse rainforest on Earth, with 16,000 different species of trees and 390 billion individual trees.
This forest is so large, it is made up of territories belonging to 9 different nation-states, with the majority being held by Peru, Brazil, and Colombia, and the rest by Ecuador, Venezuela, French Guiana, and many others. The Amazon Rainforest is one of the most beautiful natural sights in this world and is home to over 2000 species of animals and birds.
The chances of getting to experience this beautiful sight in person are steadily decreasing due to over-exploitation of the resources within the forest as well as natural and man-made disasters like storms and forest fires. Fear not, because we’ve collected these 15 pictures so you can experience the Amazon Jungle and all of its stunning inhabitants right from the comfort of your own home.
1. Welcome to the Amazon Rainforest
(View of Amazon basin forest north of Manaus, Brazil, By Phil P Harris, Wikimedia Commons)
2. The Amazon Rainforest near Manaus, as seen from above
(By Neil Palmer, Wikimedia Commons)
3. Aerial view of the Amazon Rainforest
(By Jorge.kike.medina, Wikimedia Commons)
4. An uncontacted tribe encountered in the Brazilian state of Acre
(By Gleilson Miranda, Wikimedia Commons)
5. Geoglyphs on deforested land in the Amazon rainforest, Acre
(By Sanna Saunaluoma, Wikimedia Commons)
6. Scarlet macaw
(By Matthew Romack, Wikimedia Commons)
7. Giant leaf frog
(By Cburnett, Wikimedia Commons)
8. A giant, bundled liana in the Amazon Rainforest in western Brazil
(By Dick Culbert, Wikimedia Commons)
(By Cláudio Dias Timm, Wikimedia Commons)
10. Avicularia geroldi, Brazilian Blue & Green Pinktoe Tarantula
(By Micha L. Rieser, Wikimedia Commons)
11. Howler monkey
(By D. Gordon E. Robertson, Wikimedia Commons)
12. Heliconia aemygdiana, Native to the western Amazon Basin and adjacent uplands
(By Dick Culbert, Wikimedia Commons)
13. Brown-throated sloth
(By Petra Becvar, Wikimedia Commons)
14. Emperor tamarin
(By Steve Wilson, Wikimedia Commons)
15. Blue poison dart frog
(By Michael Gäbler, Wikimedia Commons)
16. South American jaguar
(By Charles J Sharp, Wikimedia Commons)
17. Bald uakari
(By Ipaat, Wikimedia Commons)
18. Bullet ants
(By Geoff Gallice, Wikimedia Commons)
19. Parrots at clay lick in Yasuni National Park, Ecuador
(By Geoff Gallice, Wikimedia Commons)
20. Aerial roots of red mangrove on an Amazonian river.
(By Cesar Paes Barreto, Wikimedia Commons)
21. Amazonian rainforest — upper Amazon Basin, in the Loreto Region of northeastern Perú
(By Shao, Wikimedia Commons)
22. Jau National Park (New Airao)
(By Artur Warchavchik, Wikimedia Commons)
23. A Jungle, near Brazil/Venezuela border
(By kevincure, Wikimedia Commons)
24. Manaus Environmental Preservation Area
(By Chris Parker, Wikimedia Commons)
25. Floresta Amazônica, Amazonas, Brasil. (Amazon Rainforest - Amazonas - Brazil)
(By Antonio Campoy, Wikimedia Commons)