WHERE ARE THE RAINFORESTS

The map below shows the location of the world's tropical rainforests.   Rainforests
cover only a small part of the earth's surface - about 6%, yet they are home to
over half the species of plants and animals in the world. 

Click on the dark green areas to read about the its unique rainforests.

CENTRAL AMERICA

This region was once entirely

covered with rainforest, but large
areas have been cleared for cattle
ranching and for sugar cane
plantations. 

Like other major rainforests, the

jungles and mangrove swamps of
Central America contain many plants
and animals found nowhere else. 
Central America is famous for its
large number of tropical birds,
including many kinds of parrots.

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 THE AMAZON

The Amazon jungle is the world's

largest tropical rainforest.  The forest
covers the basin of the Amazon, the
world's second longest river. 

The Amazon is home to the greatest

variety of plants and animals on
Earth.  A 1/5 of all the world's
plants and birds and about 1/10 of
all mammal species are found there.

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AFRICA

Central Africa holds Africa contains areas

the world's second of high cloud forest,
largest rainforest.  To mangrove swamps
the south east, the and flooded forests. 
large island of The island of
Madagascar was once Madagascar is home
intensively forested, to many unique
but now much of it is plants and animals
gone.  not found anywhere
else.

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SOUTHERN ASIA
The rainforests of Asia stretch from
India and Burma in the west to
Malaysia and the islands of Java and
Borneo in the east.  Bangladesh has
the largest area of mangrove forests
in the world.

In Southeast Asia the climate is hot

and humid all year round. In the
mainland Asia it has a subtropical
climate with torrential monsoon rains
followed by a drier period.

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AUSTRALASIA

Millions of years ago, Australia,

New Zealand and the island of New
Guinea formed part of a great
forested southern continent,
isolated from the rest of the world.
Today these countries contain
many different species of animal
that occur nowhere else.

Undergrowth in Australia's tropical

forests is dense and lush.  The
forests lie in the path of wet winds
blowing in from the Pacific.

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