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View of Manú National Park in the Amazon Rainforest. This is a timeline of Amazon history, which dates back at least 11,000 years ago, when humans left indications of their presence in Caverna da Pedra Pintada. [1] [2] Here is a brief timeline of historical events in the Amazon River valley.
In a typical year, the Amazon absorbs 1.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide; during 2005 instead 5 gigatons were released and in 2010 8 gigatons were released. [134] [135] Additional severe droughts occurred in 2010, 2015, and 2016. [136] In 2019 Brazil's protections of the Amazon rainforest were slashed, resulting in a severe loss of trees. [137]
In 2001, the Amazon was approximately 5,400,000 square kilometres (2,100,000 sq mi), which is only 87% of the Amazon's original size. [2] According to official data, about 729,000 km² have already been deforested in the Amazon biome, which corresponds to 17% of the total. 300,000 km² have been deforested in the last 20 years. [3]
The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) in Brazil estimated that at least 7,747 km 2 (2,991 sq mi) of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest were cleared during the first half of 2019. [67] INPE subsequently reported that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon reached a 12-year high between August 2019 and July 2020. [68]
At the beginning of the 20th century, around 420,000 km 2 (160,000 sq mi) or 35% of Ethiopia's land was covered with forests. Recent reports indicate that forests now cover less than 14.2% [25] or even only 11.9% as of 2005. [27] Between 1990 and 2005, the country lost 14% of its forests or 21,000 km 2 (8,100 sq mi).
Most of the interior of the Amazon basin is covered by rainforest. [6] The dense tropical Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world. [2] It covers between 5,500,000 and 6,200,000 square kilometres (2,100,000 and 2,400,000 sq mi) of the 6,700,000 to 6,900,000 square kilometres (2,600,000 to 2,700,000 sq mi) Amazon biome.
The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 7,000,000 km 2 (2,700,000 sq mi), [1] or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia , Brazil , Colombia , Ecuador , Guyana , Peru , Suriname , and Venezuela , as well as the territory of French Guiana .
Manaus is located in the center of the Amazon rainforest, and home to the National Institute of Amazonian Research, being the most important center for scientific studies in the Amazon region and for international sustainability issues. [5] It was known at the beginning of the century as Heart of the Amazon and City of the Forest. [6]