5 Questions
What makes commercial lumbering very difficult in the thick forests described in the text?
Presence of shade-loving plants and creepers
Which type of cultivation is mentioned as being practiced by some settled tribes in the Amazon forests?
Slash-and-burn
What threatens the existence of the Amazon Basin forests according to the text?
Modernization and industrial growth
Which animal native to the Amazon River is known for being flesh-eating?
Piranha
What type of housing do most of the tribes in the Amazon forests live in, as described in the text?
Thatched huts with steep roofs
Study Notes
Tropical and Subtropical Regions
- The tropical region lies between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, roughly between 20°N and 20°S of the equator.
- The subtropical region lies between 20° and 30° latitudes in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Amazon Basin
- Located in the tropical belt.
- The Amazon River is the world's second longest river and drains the largest volume of water into the ocean.
- The river originates in the Andes of Peru and flows eastwards through Brazil into the Atlantic Ocean.
- It has a large catchment area with numerous tributaries, including Negro, Madeira, and Xingu.
- The mouth of the Amazon is an estuary about 360 km wide.
- The equator passes through this region.
Climate of Amazon Basin
- The basin has high temperatures throughout the year (about 40°C).
- Receives heavy rainfall (over 200 cm).
- Climate is uncomfortably hot and humid.
- Convectional rain occurs daily (4 o'clock showers) due to moist winds from both sides of the equator converging in the region.
Flora and Fauna of Amazon Basin
- The thick rainforest is known as selva.
- Hardwood trees like ebony, mahogany, rosewood, and cinchona are found here.
- Cinchona is used to make quinine, an anti-malaria medicine, from its bark.
Learn about the tropical and sub-tropical regions, focusing on the Amazon Basin in the tropical belt and the Ganga Brahmaputra Basin in the subtropical belt. Understand the geographical features and characteristics of these regions.
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