The Amazon River is the largest river system in the world spanning over 4,080 miles through the Amazon Rainforest. The rainforest also receives about 9 feet of rain yearly making it very wet and humid. However, most of the water comes from snowmelt from the Andes. The rainforest’s drainage basin covers 2,722,000 square miles and is drained from roughly 1,100 tributaries where it is distributed to a delta.
The Amazon Rainforest’s landscape is extremely permeable due to the large amounts of precipitation the rainforest receives. Because of the permeable landscape, the rainforest’s transport-limited slopes changes incredibly slow. Since the Amazon River rushes through the forest with a huge volume of water, the forest floor acts as a sponge and absorbs an enormous amount of water.
Within the Amazon Rainforest, montmorillonite or “clay lick” plays a huge role for the animals. Montmorillonite is a special clay deposit that is found along riverbanks or even the interior of the Amazon Rainforest. Montmorillonite is expandable when it absorbs water and nutrients. The animals and plants need all the necessary vitamins, minerals, and elements to flourish within the rainforest.
The Amazon Rainforest is very dense, warm, and humid. This is a result of the clay-like soil and low nutrients, also known as Lateralization. In fact, 99% of all the nutrients come from only the top two inches of the soil. Trees here learn to adapt by growing roots out of the ground and forming a mat for an equal amount of nutrition.
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