South American Rivers

1. South American Rivers Constructed by Matthew Burtless (PowerPoint & cultural research), Marissa Robinson & Daniella Durant(History & Geography),Dani Cimo (Enviromental research), John George Leasau (Economic research), Elijah Howlett(Social Politics)

2. Economy • The most important thing to the northern south American economy is the Amazon river • the river provides high demand exports, the most demanded is rubber. • The economy is threatened by deforestation. Due to the export of soy and beef. • The economy is a victim to the fight between local government and south American drug cartels

3. Geography and History of the Parana • A river rising in southwest Brazil and flowing about 2,574 km southward to the Parana river in southwest Paraguay. • The fifth largest river in South America. A major river in south central South America, running through Brazil and Paraguay and running close to the border between Brazil and Bolivia

4. THE PARANA RIVER

5. Geography and History of the Amazon River • The Amazon River is among the largest rivers in the world, • comparable to the Nile in Egypt. Some scientists believe that • at one time, the Amazon River flowed westward and emptied • into the Pacific Ocean. Today, many rivers drain into the • Amazon River as it flows eastward into the Atlantic. The • Amazon River is so large that it is estimated that one-fifth of all • freshwater carried into the ocean is supplied by it. Attimes • during the wet season, the Amazon River can be over 30 miles • wide. Many species of animals depend on the river, and some • live in it, including Manatees and Pirahnas

7. THE PARANA RIVER

8. Geography of the Orinoco • Orinoco Geography: Located in Venezuela. It is the second largest river in South America and is among the world's largest river systems. The length of the river is 1,500-1,700 miles. • Orinoco Information: The Orinoco River region is home to over one thousand species of birds, including the beautiful scarlet ibis, the bellbird, the umbrella bird, flamingos and colorful parrots. The great variety of fish includes electric eels, catfish often weighing over two hundred pounds, and the carnivorous piranha. The Amazon River Dolphin that can grow up to nine feet in length, boa constrictors, and caimans also inhabit the Orinoco River system. The Orinoco crocodile, reaching more than 20 feet, is one of the rarest reptiles in the world, with fewer than 250 known to exist.

9. Culture • Rivers are an important to native art and culture because rivers affect all aspects of south American life. • Clothes, linens, ceramics, cloths, paintings, stories and song are all related to the great rivers of south America

10. Enviroment of the Amazon river • THE FOREST • • extends over five million square kilometres - that is 10 times the size of France. • • makes up one third of the world's remaining tropical rainforest. • • has 30 per cent of all known plant and animal species. • • contains 80,000 known, and at least 10,000 unknown species of tree. • THE ANIMALS • In the Amazon there are: • • 3,000 known species of land vertebrates. • • 2,000 known species of fresh water fish, or ten times as many as in the whole of Europe. • THE ENVIRONMENT 3 • The Amazon Basin (the area drained by the river) • • covers some 7.5 million square kilometres • is the wettest region on earth, with an average rainfall of 2.54 metres per year. • • contains the largest flood-plain forest in the world, covering two per cent of the forest area. • • is surrounded by one of the youngest rock formations on earth, the Andes Mountains to the west and two of the oldest, theGuyana and Brazilian Shields to the north and south.

11. Citations • http://www.amazon-rainforest.org/amazon-river.html • http://www.riantours.com/puerto_maldonado/amazon_river.jpg • http://www.dembsky.net/amazon/ • http://www.photoatlas.com/photo/paraguay_river_sunset.jpg http://www.onlybelieve.com/images/vz4.jpg