On the South American continent,This record holder in the world of inanimate nature. The length of the Amazonian lowland is 3200 km. It covers an area of more than 5 million square meters. km. This region is officially recognized as the largest lowland in the world. It is located along the largest of all the rivers of the planet - the Amazon. By and large, we can say that it is largely determines the climate, vegetation and animal life in this region. Coordinates of the Amazonian lowland: between 49 ° and 78 ° W. etc., and 5 ° sec. w. and 19 ° S. w.
This lowland rests on the Brazilian and Guiana Highlands from the southeast. And the Amazon River itself originates in the Andes and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Brazilian Highlands occupy almost allterritory of Brazil. Virtually the entire population of this country (95%) lives on the highlands or in the narrow coastal zone. This region is divided into the Atlantic, Central and Southern Plateaus. The total area is about 4 million square kilometers.
The Guiana Plateau reaches a length of almost 2thousand km, and the altitude varies from 300 m to one kilometer. It is here that you can admire the highest waterfall in the world - Angel, whose height is 979 m. In this area is Mount Pakaraima. The highest peak is Roraima (2810 m).
The Amazon River (the largest water flow of the planet) andits tributaries originate in the longest mountain chain - the Andes. They frame the entire western coast of South America, stretching for 9,000 kilometers. These mountains play an important climatic role, separating the territories from the influence of the Pacific Ocean from the west and the Atlantic from the east.
The lowland of the Amazon is divided into Western andEast. The western part extends for a width of about 1600 kilometers. In these places a very humid equatorial climate prevails. The rivers flowing in the western part carry their waters very slowly. The water is usually cloudy, the channel is meandering.
High and low floodplains divide the river valleys.High are sometimes flooded, but not every year. And low can be under water annually for more than one month. In the high floodplains, palm trees and cocoa trees grow, while the number of plants in the low reaches is much lower. Due to constant flooding, the Western Plain (Amazonian lowland) is mostly populated by those species of animals that are adapted to life on trees. From land representatives can be found battleship, tapir. Also in Western Amazonia, there are many birds, insects and, of course, fish.
Eastern Amazonia is very different in terms ofcharacteristics from the western part. This is affected by the absolute height of the Amazonian lowland, which is no more than 200 m, and the highest point is about 350 m. Here, because of the relatively recent depressions of the relief, rivers are more severely impacted to the ground, and their channels are more straightforward. In water streams many thresholds are formed. Water here, unlike the western part, is transparent, but has a dark color due to the fact that it decomposes plants.
The subequatorial climate prevails.All summer and early autumn brings the drought trade wind from the Brazilian plateau. Because of this, trees emerged from the forest, dropping foliage. Battleships and anteaters are found in the eastern forests, and, most interestingly, even small deer-mazam appear here.
The lowlands of the Amazon are uniquethe animal world. In many respects, the species diversity of representatives determines the location of the Amazon River in this area. Thanks to this, you can meet here unique animals, fish, birds and insects. Among the tropical thickets there is an elegant predator of the cat family - the jaguar. This huge cat has perfectly adapted to life in such a damp climate. Is able not only to swim in the waters of the river, but even to dive.
On the coast there is a 50-kilogram rodentcapybar. He and other animals, coming to the water by the water, are waiting for a huge anaconda. This snake is a subfamily of boas capable of attacking and killing even caiman.
The underwater world is also interesting here.various. In the river live guppies and scalars, which an ordinary person is accustomed to see only in aquariums. Inhabits here and araban fish, able to emerge from the water to grab a beetle from an overhanging branch. There are so-called singing fish in these muddy waters. Som-flathead and haraqi are capable of producing such loud noises that they are heard over the surface of the water. These representatives live here because of muddy water.
The lowland of the Amazon, or rather the river, has become"Home" for the river Amazonian dolphins. This species of mammals is considered the largest. In Amazonian dolphins, males are much larger than females, which is not found in other freshwater species.
Самые знаменитые обитатели вод Амазонки – это, of course, piranhas. About them filmed a lot of movies and told no less terrible stories and legends. In part, they are truthful. These fish are not very large, reaching a length of 10 to 40 centimeters. But they are predators and amazingly voracious. Large flocks can attack even a large animal. They pose a danger to man. Piranhas, like sharks, attract the smell of blood. Having smelled it, they attack the victim and gnaw to the bone.
Lowland Amazon is not considered enoughdeveloped region. The main mode of transportation here is along the river. Along it there are several small settlements. There are two large cities: Manaus and Belen. From the city of Brasilia in Belen, an asphalt road has been laid. In 1945, deposits of manganese, iron ore and oil were discovered in these regions, which are being developed to this day.
Even despite the fact that in the AmazonLowlands live very few people, there are ongoing deforestation. Over the past 50 years, the huge massifs of the Amazon have been destroyed and reduced by 70%. In addition to the risk of turning centuries-old forests into arid savannah, decomposition and burning of trees leads to the fact that the greenhouse effect is intensified due to the increased release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Due to the destruction of a large number of trees affected flora and fauna of the Amazon. Previously it was believed that in these places one third of all living things on Earth lived, while now one can not say so.
The description of the Amazonian lowland will be incomplete,if you do not talk about a unique discovery. In 2011, the largest underground river in the world was discovered near the Amazon river bed. Its length was 6 thousand km. It originates this unique stream from the foothills of the Andes and flows to the Atlantic Ocean itself. The underground river moves at a speed of 3.5 meters per hour. The depth of this watercourse is about 4 thousand meters, and the width reaches 400 km.
