Amazon basin

Amazon River Basin (the southern Guianas, not marked on this map, are part of the basin) The mouth of the Amazon River

The Amazon basin  is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 6,300,000 km2 (2,400,000 sq mi), or about 35.5 percent that of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil , Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.[1]

Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia. With a 5.5 million km2 (2.1 million sq mi) area of dense tropical forest, this is the largest rainforest in the world.

## Contents

* 1 Geography
* 2 Plant life
* 3 Wildlife
* 3.1 Mammals
* 3.2 Birds
* 3.3 Reptiles
* 3.4 Amphibians
* 3.5 Fish
* 3.6 Insects
* 4 Climate and seasons
* 5 Human lifestyle
* 6 Languages
* 7 Indigenous Peoples
* 8 River commerce
* 9 Agriculture
* 10 Global Ecological Role, Function for Climate Change
* 11 See also
* 12 References
* 13 Further reading
* 14 External links

## Geography

The Amazon River begins in the Andes Mountains at the west of the basin with its main tributary the Marañón River in Peru. The highest point in the watershed of the Amazon is the peak of Yerupajá at 6,635 metres (21,768 ft).

With a length of about 6,400 km (4,000 mi) before it drains into the Atlantic Ocean, it is one of the two longest rivers in the world. A team of Brazilian scientists has claimed that the Amazon is longer than the Nile,[2] but debate about its exact length continues.[3]

The Amazon system transports the largest volume of water of any river system, accounting for about 20% of the total water carried to the oceans by rivers.

Some of the Amazon rainforests are deforested because of an increase in cattle ranches and soybean fields for livestock.

The Amazon basin formerly flowed west to the Pacific Ocean until the Andes formed, causing the basin to flow eastward towards the Atlantic Ocean.[4]

Politically the basin is divided into the Brazilian Amazônia Legal, the Peruvian Amazon, the Amazon region of Colombia and parts of Bolivia, Ecuador and the Venezuelan state of Amazonas.

## Plant life

Aerial view of part of the Amazon rainforest.

Plant growth is dense and its variety of animal inhabitants is comparatively high due to the heavy rainfall and the dense and extensive evergreen and coniferous forests. Little sunlight reaches the ground due to the dense roof canopy by plants. The ground remains dark and damp and only shade-tolerant vegetation will grow here. Orchids and bromeliads exploit trees and other plants to get closer to the sunlight. They grow hanging onto the branches or tree trunks with aerial roots, not as parasites but as epiphytes. Species of tropical trees native to the Amazon include Brazil nut, rubber tree and Assai palm.[5][6]

## Wildlife

South American jaguar in the area of Miranda near Amazon basin

### Mammals

More than 1,400 species of mammals are found in the Amazon, the majority of which are species of bats and rodents. Its larger mammals include the jaguar, ocelot, capybara, puma and South American tapir.

### Birds

Main article: Biology:Birds of the Amazon

About 1500 bird species inhabit the Amazon Basin.[7] The biodiversity of the Amazon and the sheer number of diverse bird species is given by the number of different bird families that reside in these humid forests. An example of such would be the cotinga family, to which the Guianan cock-of-the-rock belong. Birds such as toucans, and hummingbirds are also found here. Macaws are famous for duck gathering by the hundreds along the clay cliffs of the Amazon River. In the western Amazon hundreds of macaws and other parrots descend to exposed river banks to consume clay on an almost daily basis,[8] the exception being rainy days.[9]

### Reptiles

The green anaconda inhabits the shallow waters of the Amazon and the emerald tree boa and boa constrictor live in the Amazonian tree tops.

Many reptiles species are illegally collected and exported for the international pet trade. Live animals are the fourth largest commodity in the smuggling industry after drugs, diamonds, and weapons.[10]

### Amphibians

More than 1,500 species of amphibians swim and are found in the Amazon. Unlike temperate frogs which are mostly limited to habitats near the water, tropical frogs are most abundant in the trees and relatively few are found near bodies of water on the forest floor. The reason for this occurrence is quite simple: frogs must always keep their skin moist since almost half of their respiration is carried out through their skin. The high humidity of the rainforest and frequent rainstorms gives tropical frogs infinitely more freedom to move into the trees and escape the many predators of rainforest waters. The differences between temperate and tropical frogs extend beyond their habitat.

Red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is a species of piranha. This species lives in the Amazon River basin, coastal rivers of northeastern Brazil, and the basins of the Paraguay, Paraná and Essequibo Rivers.

### Fish

About 2,500 fish species are known from the Amazon basin and it is estimated that more than 1,000 additional undescribed species exist.[11] This is more than any other river basin on Earth, and Amazonia is the center of diversity for Neotropical fishes.[12] About 45% (more than 1,000 species) of the known Amazonian fish species are endemic to the basin.[13] The remarkable species richness can in part be explained by the large differences between the various parts of the Amazon basin, resulting in many fish species that are endemic to small regions. For example, fauna in clearwater rivers differs from fauna in white and blackwater rivers, fauna in slow moving sections show distinct differences compared to that in rapids, fauna in small streams differ from that in major rivers, and fauna in shallow sections show distinct differences compared to that in deep parts.[14][15][16] By far the most diverse orders in the Amazon are Characiformes (43% of total fish species in the Amazon) and Siluriformes (39%), but other groups with many species include Cichlidae (6%) and Gymnotiformes (3%).[11]

In addition to major differences in behavior and ecology, Amazonian fish vary extensively in form and size. The largest, the arapaima and piraiba can reach 3 m (9.8 ft) or more in length and up to 200 kg (440 lb) in weight, making them some of the largest strict freshwater fish in the world.[17][18] The bull shark and common sawfish, which have been recorded far up the Amazon, may reach even greater sizes, but they are euryhaline and often seen in marine waters.[19][20] In contrast to the giants, there are Amazonian fish from several families that are less than 2 cm (0.8 in) long. The smallest are likely the Leptophilypnion sleeper gobies, which do not surpass 1 cm (0.4 in) and are among the smallest fish in the world.[21]

The Amazon supports very large fisheries, including well-known species of large catfish (such as Brachyplatystoma, which perform long breeding migrations up the Amazon), arapaima and tambaqui, and is also home to many species that are important in the aquarium trade, such as the oscar, discus, angelfish, Corydoras catfish and neon tetra.[11] Although the true danger they represent often is greatly exaggerated, the Amazon basin is home to several feared fish species such as piranhas (including the famous red-bellied), electric eel, river stingrays and candiru. Several cavefish species in the genus Phreatobius are found in the Amazon, as is the cave-dwelling Astroblepus pholeter in the far western part of the basin (Andean region).[22] The Tocantins basin, arguably not part of the Amazon basin, has several other cavefish species.[22] The deeper part of the major Amazonian rivers are always dark and a few species have adaptions similar to cavefish (reduced pigment and eyes). Among these are the knifefish Compsaraia and Orthosternarchus, some Cetopsis whale catfish (especially C. oliveirai), some Xyliphius and Micromyzon banjo catfish,[23] and the loricariid catfish Loricaria spinulifera, L. pumila, Peckoltia pankimpuju, Panaque bathyphilus and Panaqolus nix (these five also occur in "normal" forms of shallower waters).[24][25][26] The perhaps most unusual habitat used by Amazonian fish is land. The splash tetra is famous for laying its eggs on plants above water, keeping them moist by continuously splashing on them,[27] the South American lungfish can survive underground in a mucous cocoon during the dry season,[28] some small rivulid killifish can jump over land between water sources (sometimes moving relatively long distances, even uphill) and may deliberately jump onto land to escape aquatic predators,[29][30] and an undescribed species of worm-like Phreatobius catfish lives in waterlogged leaf litter near (not in) streams.[31][32]

Some of the major fish groups of the Amazon basin include:

* Order Gymnotiformes: Neotropical electric fishes
* Order Characiformes: characins, tetras and relatives
* Family Potamotrygonidae: river stingrays
* Family Arapaimidae: bonytongues
* Family Loricariidae: suckermouth catfishes
* Family Callichthyidae: armored catfishes
* Family Pimelodidae: pimelodid catfishes
* Family Trichomycteridae: pencil catfishes
* Family Auchenipteridae: driftwood catfishes
* Subfamily Cichlinae: pike cichlids, peacock cichlids and relatives
* Subfamily Geophaginae: Eartheaters and Neotropical dwarf cichlid
* Subfamily Poeciliinae: guppies and relatives

### Insects

More than 90% of the animal species in the Amazon are insects,[33] of which about 40% are beetles (Coleoptera constituting almost 25% of all known types of animal life-forms.)[34][35][36]

Whereas all of Europe has some 321 butterfly species, the Manú National Park in Peru (4000 hectare-survey) has 1300 species, while Tambopata National Reserve (5500 hectare-survey) has at least 1231 species.

## Climate and seasons

The Amazon River basin has a low-water season, and a wet season during which, the rivers flood the adjacent, low-lying forests. The climate of the basin is generally hot and humid. In some areas, however, the winter months (June–September) can bring cold snaps, fueled by Antarctic winds traveling along the adjacent mountain range. The average annual temperature is around 25 degree and 28 degree Celsius with no distinction between summer and winter seasons.

## Human lifestyle

A floating village in Iquitos, Peru

Amazonia is sparsely populated. There are scattered settlements inland, but most of the population lives in a few larger cities on the banks of the Amazon and other major rivers, such as in Iquitos, Peru, Manaus, and Belém. In many regions, the forest has been cleared for soya bean plantations and ranching (the most extensive non-forest use of the land); some of the inhabitants harvest wild rubber latex, and Brazil nuts. This is a form of extractive farms, where the trees are not cut down. These are relatively sustainable operations in contrast to lumbering or agriculture dependent on clearing the rainforest. The people live in thatched houses shaped liked beehives. They also build apartment-like houses called "Maloca", with a steeply slanting roof.

## Languages

The most widely spoken language in the Amazon is Portuguese, followed closely by Spanish. On the Brazil ian side, Portuguese is spoken by at least 98% of the population, whilst in the Spanish-speaking countries, a large number of speakers of indigenous languages are present, though Spanish is predominant.

There are hundreds of native languages still spoken in the Amazon, most of which are spoken by only a handful of people, and thus are critically endangered. One of the more widely spoken indigenous languages in the Amazon is Nheengatu, which descends from the ancient Tupi language, originally spoken in the coastal and central regions of Brazil. It was brought to its present location along the Rio Negro by Brazilian colonizers who, until the mid-17th century, primarily used Tupi rather than the official Portuguese to communicate. Besides modern Nheengatu, other languages of the Tupi family are spoken there, along with other language families like Jê, Arawak, Karib, Arawá, Yanomamo, Matsés and others.

## Indigenous Peoples

For a list of the great number of indigenous peoples and cultures, still alive or already extinct, see Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas and Indigenous peoples in Brazil.

The largest organization fighting for the indigenous peoples in this area is COICA. It is a supra organization encompassing all indigenous rights organizations working in the Amazon basin area, and covers the people living in several countries.

## River commerce

The river is the principal path of transportation for people and produce in the regions, with transport ranging from balsa rafts and dugout canoes to hand built wooden river craft and modern steel hulled craft.

## Agriculture

Seasonal floods excavate and redistribute nutrient-rich silt onto beaches and islands, enabling dry-season riverside agriculture of rice, beans, and corn on the river's shoreline without the addition of fertilizer, with additional slash and burn agriculture on higher floodplains. Fishing provides additional food year-round, and free-range chickens need little or no food beyond what they can forage locally. Charcoal made largely from forest and shoreline deadfall is produced for use in urban areas. Exploitation of bush meat, particularly deer and turtles is common.

Deforestation [citation needed]and increased road-building bring human encroachment upon wild areas, increased resource extraction and threats to biodiversity.

Extensive deforestation, particularly in Brazil , is leading to the extinction of known and unknown species, reducing biological diversity and adversely impacting soil, water, and air quality. A final part of the deforestation process is the large-scale production of charcoal for industrial processes such as steel manufacturing. Soils within the region are generally shallow and cannot be used for more than a few seasons without the addition of imported fertilizers and chemicals.

## Global Ecological Role, Function for Climate Change

"The Amazon is a critical absorber of carbon of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas produced by burning fossil fuels, like oil and coal. ... the Amazon's role is as a sink, draining heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Currently, the world is emitting around 40 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. The Amazon absorbs 2 billion tons of CO2 per year (or 5% of annual emissions), making it a vital part of preventing climate change."[37]

"Amazon biodiversity also plays a critical role as part of global systems, influencing the global carbon cycle and thus climate change, as well as hemispheric hydrological systems, serving as an important anchor for South American climate and rainfall."[38]

## See also

* Amazon biome
* Amazon Conservation Association
* Amazon Conservation Team
* Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest
* Jaguars south of the Amazon River
* Llanos de Moxos
* Llanos de Moxos (archaeology)
* Panthera onca onca
* Peruvian jaguar
* Ucayali Peneplain
* Sustainable Bolivia

## References

1. ↑ Goulding, M., Barthem, R. B. and Duenas, R. (2003). The Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon, Smithsonian Books ISBN 1-58834-135-6
2. ↑ Roach, John (18 June 2007). "Amazon Longer Than Nile River, Scientists Say". National Geographic. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070619-amazon-river.html.
3. ↑ "Amazon River". Encyclopædia Britannica. 16 March 2018. https://www.britannica.com/place/Amazon-River. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
4. ↑ "Amazon river flowed into the Pacific millions of years ago". Mongabay. 24 October 2006. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. https://archive.is/20130103204147/http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1024-amazon.html. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
5. ↑ Amazon, Plants. "Amazon plants and trees" (in en). http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amazon/about_the_amazon/wildlife_amazon/plants/.
6. ↑ "The Coolest Plants in the Amazon Rainforest". https://www.rainforestcruises.com/jungle-blog/coolest-plants-in-the-amazon.
7. ↑ Butler, Rhett (31 July 2012). "Diversities of Image". http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0305.htm. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
8. ↑ Munn, C. A. 1994. Macaws: winged rainbows. National Geographic, 185, 118–140.
9. ↑ Brightsmith D. J. (2004). "Effects of weather on parrot geophagy in Tambopata, Peru". Wilson Bulletin 116 (2): 134–145. doi:10.1676/03-087b.
10. ↑ "Amazon Reptiles". https://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/reptiles.html.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Junk, W.J.; M.G.M. Soares; P.B. Bayley (2007), "Freshwater fishes of the Amazon River Basin: their biodiversity, fisheries, and habitats", Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 10 (2): 153–173, doi:10.1080/14634980701351023
12. ↑ James S. Albert; Roberto E. Reis (8 March 2011). Historical Biogeography of Neotropical Freshwater Fishes. p. 308. ISBN 978-0-520-26868-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=_Suu7a-ERdMC&pg=PA308. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
13. ↑ Reis R.E., Albert J.S., Di Dario F., Mincarone M.M., Petry P., Rocha L.A. (2016). "Fish biodiversity and conservation in South America". Journal of Fish Biology 89 (1): 12–47. doi:10.1111/jfb.13016. PMID 27312713. https://zenodo.org/record/896303.
14. ↑ Stewart D. J., Ibarra M. (2002). "Comparison of Deep-River and Adjacent Sandy-Beach Fish Assemblages in the Napo River basin, Eastern Ecuador". Copeia 2002 (2): 333–343. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2002)002[0333:codraa2.0.co;2].
15. ↑ Mendonça, F. P., W. E. Magnusson, J. Zuanon and C. M. Taylor. (2005) Relationships between habitat characteristics and fish assemblages in small streams of Central Amazonia. Copeia 2005(4): 751–764
16. ↑ Duncan, W.P.; and Fernandes, M.N. (2010). Physicochemical characterization of the white, black, and clearwater rivers of the Amazon Basin and its implications on the distribution of freshwater stingrays (Chondrichthyes, Potamotrygonidae). PanamJAS 5(3): 454–464.
17. ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). "Arapaima gigas" in FishBase. September 2017 version.
18. ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). "Brachyplatystoma filamentosum" in FishBase. September 2017 version.
19. ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). "Carcharhinus leucas" in FishBase. September 2017 version.
20. ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). "Pristis pristis" in FishBase. September 2017 version.
21. ↑ Roberts, T.R. (2013). "Leptophilypnion, a new genus with two new species of tiny central Amazonian gobioid fishes (Teleostei, Eleotridae)". Aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology 19 (2): 85–98.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Romero, Aldemaro, ed (2001). The Biology of Hypogean Fishes. Developments in environmental biology of fishes. 21. ISBN 978-1402000768.
23. ↑ Fenolio, Danté (2016). Life in the Dark: Illuminating Biodiversity in the Shadowy Haunts of Planet Earth. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-1421418636.
24. ↑ Lujan, Nathan. K.; Chamon, Carine. C. (2008). "Two new species of Loricariidae (Teleostei: Silurifomes) from main channels of the upper and middle Amazon Basin, with discussion of deep water specialization in loricariids". Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 19: 271–282.
25. ↑ Thomas, M.R.; L.H.R. Py-Daniel (2008). "Three new species of the armored catfish genus Loricaria (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from river channels of the Amazon basin". Neotrop. Ichthyol. 6 (3): 379–394. doi:10.1590/S1679-62252008000300011.
26. ↑ Cramer, C.A.; L.H.R. Py-Daniel (2015). "A new species of Panaqolus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the rio Madeira basin with remarkable intraspecific color variation". Neotrop. Ichthyol. 13 (3): 461–470. doi:10.1590/1982-0224-20140099.
27. ↑ Howard, B.C. (27 September 2013). Fish That Lay Eggs Out of the Water: Freshwater Species of the Week. National Geographic. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
28. ↑ SeriouslyFish. "Lepidosiren paradoxa". http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/lepidosiren-paradoxa/. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
29. ↑ Vermeulen, F.. "The genus Rivulus". itrainsfishes.net. http://www.itrainsfishes.net/content/rivulus_introduction_001.php646. Retrieved 6 May 2017. [yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
30. ↑ Turko, A.J.; P.A. Wright (2015). "Evolution, ecology and physiology of amphibious killifishes (Cyprinodontiformes)". Journal of Fish Biology 87 (4): 815–835. doi:10.1111/jfb.12758. PMID 26299792.
31. ↑ Planet Catfish. "Cat-eLog: Heptapteridae: Phreatobius: Phreatobius sp. (1)". Planet Catfish. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=646. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
32. ↑ Henderson, P.A.; I. Walker (1990). "Spatial organization and population density of the fish community of the litter banks within a central Amazonian blackwater stream". Journal of Fish Biology 37 (3): 401–411. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1990.tb05871.x.
33. ↑ "Amazon Insects". https://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/insects.html.
34. ↑ Powell (2009)
35. ↑ Rosenzweig, Michael L. (1995). Species Diversity in Space and Time. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-49952-1.
36. ↑ Hunt, T. et al. (2007). "A Comprehensive Phylogeny of Beetles Reveals the Evolutionary Origins of a Superradiation". Science 318 (5858): 1913–1916. doi:10.1126/science.1146954. PMID 18096805. Bibcode: 2007Sci...318.1913H.
37. ↑ https://phys.org/news/2019-08-role-amazon-global-climate.amp ; 2020 Jan. 12th
38. ↑ https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/05/22/why-the-amazons-biodiversity-is-critical-for-the-globe ; 2020 Jan. 12th

## Further reading

* Dematteis, Lou; Szymczak, Kayana (June 2008). Crude Reflections/Cruda Realidad: Oil, Ruin and Resistance in the Amazon Rainforest. City Lights Publishers. ISBN 978-0-87286-472-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=YW0oAQAAIAAJ.
* Acker, Antoine. "Amazon" (2015). University Bielefeld – Center for InterAmerican Studies.
* ncert.com

## External links

* Herndon and Gibbon Lieutenants United States Navy The First North American Explorers of the Amazon Valley, by Historian Normand E. Klare. Actual Reports from the explorers are compared with present Amazon basin conditions.
* Scientists find Evidence Discrediting Theory Amazon was Virtually Unlivable by The Washington Post
* "The Course of the River of the Amazons, Based on the Account of Christopher d’Acugna" from 1680

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* Babylonia
* Canaan
* Aram
* Aram-Naharaim
* Eber-Nari
* Suhum
* Eastern Mediterranean
* Mashriq
* Kurdistan
* Levant
* Southern Levant
* Transjordan
* Jordan Rift Valley
* Levantine Sea
* Holy Land
* Palestine
* Land of Israel
* Golan Heights
* Hula Valley
* Galilee
* Gilead
* Judea
* Samaria
* Arabah
* Anti-Lebanon Mountains
* Sinai Peninsula
* Arabian Desert
* Syrian Desert
* Fertile Crescent
* Azerbaijan
* Syria
* Hauran
* Iranian Plateau
* Dasht-e Kavir
* Armenian Highlands
* Caucasus
* Caucasus Mountains
* Greater Caucasus
* Lesser Caucasus
* North Caucasus
* South Caucasus
* Shirvan
* Kur-Araz Lowland
* Lankaran Lowland
* Alborz
* Absheron Peninsula
* Kartli
* Anatolia
* Taurus Mountains
* Aeolis
* Paphlagonia
* Phasiane
* Isauria
* Ionia
* Bithynia
* Cilicia
* Cappadocia
* Caria
* Corduene
* Chaldia
* Doris
* Lycaonia
* Lycia
* Lydia
* Galatia
* Pisidia
* Pontus
* Mysia
* Arzawa
* Speri
* Sophene
* Biga Peninsula
* Troad
* Tuwana
* Alpide belt

South|

* Orient
* Greater India
* Indian subcontinent
* Himalayas
* Hindu Kush
* Bactria
* Carnatic region
* Tamilakam
* Western Ghats
* Eastern Ghats
* Ganges Basin
* Ganges Delta
* Guzgan
* Pashtunistan
* Punjab
* Balochistan
* Gedrosia
* Makran
* Marathwada
* Kashmir
* Kashmir Valley
* Pir Panjal Range
* Thar Desert
* Indus Valley
* Indus River Delta
* Indus Valley Desert
* Indo-Gangetic Plain
* Eastern Coastal Plains
* Kalinga
* Western Coastal Plains
* Meghalaya subtropical forests
* MENASA
* Lower Gangetic plains moist deciduous forests
* Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
* Doab
* Bagar tract
* Great Rann of Kutch
* Little Rann of Kutch
* Deccan Plateau
* Coromandel Coast
* Konkan
* False Divi Point
* Hindi Belt
* Ladakh
* Aksai Chin
* Gilgit-Baltistan
* Baltistan
* Shigar Valley
* High-mountain Asia
* Karakoram
* Saltoro Mountains
* Siachen Glacier
* Bengal
* Bay of Bengal
* Gulf of Khambhat
* Gulf of Kutch
* Halar
* Gulf of Mannar
* Trans-Karakoram Tract
* Wakhan Corridor
* Wakhjir Pass
* Lakshadweep
* Laccadive Islands
* Amindivi Islands
* Paropamisadae
* Andaman and Nicobar Islands
* Andaman Islands
* Nicobar Islands
* Maldive Islands
* Alpide belt
* Asia-Pacific
* Tropical Asia

Southeast|

* Orient
* Sundaland
* Mainland
* Indochina
* Malay Peninsula
* Northern Triangle temperate forests
* Maritime
* Peninsular Malaysia
* Sunda Islands
* Greater Sunda Islands
* Lesser Sunda Islands
* Indonesian Archipelago
* Wallacea
* Timor
* Philippine Archipelago
* Luzon
* Visayas
* Mindanao
* Leyte Gulf
* Gulf of Thailand
* East Indies
* Nanyang
* Alpide belt
* Far East
* Ring of Fire
* Asia-Pacific
* Tropical Asia

* v
* t
* e

Regions of Europe

North|

* Arctic
* Arctic Circle
* Nordic
* Northwestern
* Scandinavia
* Scandinavian Peninsula
* Fennoscandia
* Baltoscandia
* Jutland
* Gotland
* Sápmi
* Ingria
* West Nordic
* Baltic
* Baltic Sea
* Gulf of Bothnia
* Gulf of Finland
* Iceland
* Faroe Islands
* British Isles

East|

* Danubian countries
* Prussia
* Galicia
* Volhynia
* Wallachia
* Transylvania
* Moldavia
* Bukovina
* Bessarabia
* Livonia
* Ruthenia
* Carpathian Ruthenia
* Donbass
* Sloboda Ukraine
* Sambia Peninsula
* Amber Coast
* Curonian Spit
* Izyum Trail
* Lithuania Minor
* Nemunas Delta
* Baltic
* Baltic Sea
* Vyborg Bay
* Karelia
* East Karelia
* Karelian Isthmus
* Lokhaniemi
* Southeastern
* Crimea
* Epirus
* Rumelia
* Balkans
* Aegean Sea
* Aegean Islands
* Attica
* Boeotia
* Opuntian Locris
* Phocis
* Megaris
* Peloponnese
* Chalkidiki
* Aetolia
* Gulf of Chania
* North Caucasus
* Greater Caucasus
* Kabardia
* Istria
* European Russia
* Arctic
* Arctic Circle
* Taman Peninsula
* Southern Russia
* Kola Peninsula

Central|

* North European Plain
* Baltic
* Baltic Sea
* Alpine states
* Alpide belt
* Visegrád Group
* Rhineland
* Eastphalia
* Westphalia
* Prussia
* Lusatia
* Bohemia
* Moravia
* Silesia
* Czech Silesia
* Pomerania
* Pomerelia
* Kashubia
* Bukovina
* Istria
* Transdanubia
* Polesia
* Germania
* Germania Slavica

West|

* Benelux
* Low Countries
* Northwest
* British Isles
* English Channel
* Channel Islands
* Cotentin Peninsula
* Doggerland
* Upper Rhine Plain
* Upper Rhine
* Gaul
* Gascony
* Normandy
* Brittany
* Septimania
* Batavia
* Gulf of Lion
* Iberia
* Al-Andalus
* Baetic System
* Pyrenees
* Alpide belt

South|

* Po Valley (Padania)
* Italian Peninsula
* Tuscan Archipelago
* Insular Italy
* Aegadian Islands
* Occitania
* Iberia
* Al-Andalus
* Baetic System
* Gibraltar Arc
* Southeastern
* Mediterranean
* Alpide belt

* Germanic
* Romance
* Celtic
* Slavic countries
* European Plain
* Eurasian Steppe
* Pontic–Caspian steppe
* Wild Fields
* Pannonian Basin
* Great Hungarian Plain
* Little Hungarian Plain
* Eastern Slovak Lowland

* v
* t
* e

Regions of North America

North
(Canada)|

| Eastern|

* Central Canada
* Atlantic Canada
* Atlantic Northeast
* The Maritimes
* Great Lakes region

|

Western|

* Pacific Northwest
* Prairie Pothole Region

Northern|

* Arctic
* Arctic Circle
* Canadian Arctic Archipelago
* Greenland

* Canadian Prairies
* The Maritimes
* French Canada
* English Canada
* Acadia
* Acadian Peninsula
* Quebec City–Windsor Corridor
* Peace River Country
* Cypress Hills
* Palliser's Triangle
* Canadian Shield
* Interior Alaska-Yukon lowland taiga
* Kodiak Island
* Newfoundland (island)
* Vancouver Island
* Gulf Islands
* Strait of Georgia
* Labrador Peninsula
* Gaspé Peninsula
* Avalon Peninsula
* Bay de Verde Peninsula
* Brodeur Peninsula
* Melville Peninsula
* Bruce Peninsula
* Banks Peninsula (Nunavut)
* Cook Peninsula
* Gulf of Boothia
* Georgian Bay
* Hudson Bay
* James Bay

North
(United States)|

| Arctic|

* Aleutian Arc
* Aleutian Range
* Alaska Peninsula
* Aleutian Islands
* Arctic
* Arctic Circle
* Bering Strait
* Gulf of Alaska

|

Eastern|

* East Coast
* Northeast
* Atlantic Northeast
* The Maritimes
* New England
* Mid-Atlantic
* Commonwealth
* Southeast

Western|

* West Coast
* Mountain states
* Intermountain West
* Great Basin
* Basin and Range Province
* Northwestern United States
* Inland Northwest
* Pacific Northwest
* Southwest
* Old Southwest
* Four Corners

Central|

* Great Lakes
* Tallgrass prairie
* Midwest
* Upper Midwest
* South Central
* Gulf Coast

Southern|

* Deep South
* Old South
* Upland South
* Santa Fe de Nuevo México

* Pacific Coast Ranges
* Oregon Trail
* Mormon Corridor
* Calumet Region
* Llano Estacado
* Third Coast
* Backcountry
* Trans-Mississippi
* Great North Woods
* Great Plains
* Interior Plains
* Great Basin
* Great Basin Desert
* Acadia
* Ozarks
* Ark-La-Tex
* Waxhaws
* Siouxland
* Twin Tiers
* Driftless Area
* Palouse
* Piedmont
* Atlantic coastal plain
* Outer Lands
* Black Dirt Region
* Blackstone Valley
* Piney Woods
* Rocky Mountains
* Mojave Desert
* The Dakotas
* The Carolinas
* Shawnee Hills
* San Fernando Valley
* Tornado Alley
* North Coast
* Lost Coast
* Emerald Triangle
* San Francisco Bay Area
* San Francisco Bay
* North Bay
* East Bay
* Silicon Valley
* Interior Alaska-Yukon lowland taiga
* Gulf of Mexico
* Lower Colorado River Valley
* Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta
* Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta
* Colville Delta
* Arkansas Delta
* Mobile–Tensaw River Delta
* Mississippi Delta
* Mississippi River Delta
* Columbia River Estuary
* Great Basin
* High Desert
* Monterey Peninsula
* Upper Peninsula of Michigan
* Lower Peninsula of Michigan
* Virginia Peninsula
* Keweenaw Peninsula
* Middle Peninsula
* Delmarva Peninsula
* Alaska Peninsula
* Kenai Peninsula
* Niagara Peninsula
* "Belt" regions
* Bible Belt
* Black Belt
* Corn Belt
* Cotton Belt
* Frost Belt
* Rice Belt
* Rust Belt
* Sun Belt
* Snow Belt

Middle|

| Northern|

* Basin and Range Province
* Baja California Peninsula
* Gulf of California
* Colorado River Delta
* Gulf of Mexico

|

Southern|

* Soconusco
* Tierra Caliente
* La Mixteca
* La Huasteca
* Bajío
* Valley of Mexico
* Mezquital Valley
* Sierra Madre de Oaxaca
* Yucatán Peninsula
* Gulf of Mexico

Central|

* Northern Triangle of Central America
* Western Caribbean Zone
* Isthmus of Panama
* Gulf of Panama
* Pearl Islands
* Azuero Peninsula
* Mosquito Coast

Caribbean|

* Antilles
* Greater Antilles
* Lesser Antilles
* Leeward
* Leeward Antilles
* Windward
* Lucayan Archipelago
* Southern Caribbean
* West Indies

* Aridoamerica
* Mesoamerica
* Oasisamerica
* Anglo
* Latin
* French
* Hispanic
* American Cordillera
* Ring of Fire
* LAC

* v
* t
* e

Regions of Oceania

Australia|

| Australian Capital Territory|

* Australian Capital Territory

|

New South Wales|

* Central Coast
* Central Tablelands
* Central Western Slopes
* Greater Western Sydney
* Hunter
* Mid North Coast
* Northern Rivers
* North West Slopes
* Northern Tablelands
* Riverina
* South Coast
* South West Slopes
* Southern Tablelands
* Western Plains

Northern Territory|

* Arnhem Land
* Barkly Tableland
* Central Australia
* Darwin
* Katherine

Queensland|

* Central West
* Central
* Darling Downs
* Far North
* Gulf Country
* North
* South East
* South West
* Wide Bay–Burnett

South Australia|

* Adelaide Hills
* Barossa Light and Lower North
* Eastern Adelaide
* Eyre Western
* Far North
* Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island
* Limestone Coast
* Murray and Mallee
* Northern Adelaide
* Southern Adelaide
* Western Adelaide
* Yorke and Mid North

Tasmania|

* Central Highlands
* East Coast
* Midlands
* North East
* North West
* Northern
* South West
* Southern
* West Coast

Victoria|

* Barwon South West
* Gippsland
* Grampians
* Greater Melbourne
* Hume
* Loddon Mallee

Western Australia|

* Gascoyne
* Goldfields-Esperance
* Great Southern
* Kimberley
* Mid West
* Peel
* Pilbara
* South West
* Wheatbelt

Melanesia|

* Islands Region
* Bismarck Archipelago
* Solomon Islands
* North Solomon Islands
* Solomon Islands
* Fiji
* New Caledonia
* New Guinea
* Bonis Peninsula
* Papuan Peninsula
* Huon Peninsula
* Huon Gulf
* Bird's Head Peninsula
* Gazelle Peninsula
* Vanuatu

Micronesia|

* Caroline Islands
* Federated States of Micronesia
* Palau
* Kiribati
* Mariana Islands
* Guam
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Marshall Islands
* Nauru
* Wake Island

Polynesia|

* Easter Island
* Hawaiian Islands
* Cook Islands
* French Polynesia
* Austral Islands
* Gambier Islands
* Mangareva Islands
* Marquesas Islands
* Society Islands
* Tuamotus
* Kermadec Islands
* New Zealand
* South Island
* North Island
* Niue
* Pitcairn Islands
* Samoan Islands
* American Samoa
* Independent State of Samoa
* Tokelau
* Tonga
* Tuvalu

* Asia-Pacific
* Ring of Fire

* v
* t
* e

Regions of South America

East|

* Amazon basin
* Atlantic Forest
* Caatinga
* Cerrado

North|

* Caribbean South America
* West Indies
* Los Llanos
* The Guianas
* Amazon basin
* Amazon rainforest
* Gulf of Paria
* Paria Peninsula
* Paraguaná Peninsula
* Orinoco Delta

South|

* Tierra del Fuego
* Patagonia
* Pampas
* Pantanal
* Gran Chaco
* Chiquitano dry forests
* Valdes Peninsula
* Triple Frontier
* Río de la Plata
* Río de la Plata Basin

West|

* Andes
* Tropical Andes
* Wet Andes
* Dry Andes
* Pariacaca mountain range
* Altiplano
* Atacama Desert

* Latin
* Hispanic
* Bolivarian
* American Cordillera
* Ring of Fire
* LAC

* v
* t
* e

Earth's Polar regions of Earth

Antarctic|

* Antarctic Peninsula
* East Antarctica
* West Antarctica
* Eklund Islands
* Ecozone
* Extreme points
* Islands

Arctic|

* Arctic Alaska
* British Arctic Territories
* Canadian Arctic Archipelago
* Finnmark
* Greenland
* Northern Canada
* Northwest Territories
* Nunavik
* Nunavut
* Russian Arctic
* Sakha
* Sápmi
* Yukon
* North American Arctic

* v
* t
* e

Earth's Borders of the oceans

Arctic Ocean|

* Amundsen Gulf
* Barents Sea
* Beaufort Sea
* Chukchi Sea
* East Siberian Sea
* Greenland Sea
* Gulf of Boothia
* Kara Sea
* Laptev Sea
* Lincoln Sea
* Prince Gustav Adolf Sea
* Pechora Sea
* Queen Victoria Sea
* Wandel Sea
* White Sea

Atlantic Ocean|

* Adriatic Sea
* Aegean Sea
* Alboran Sea
* Archipelago Sea
* Argentine Sea
* Baffin Bay
* Balearic Sea
* Baltic Sea
* Bay of Biscay
* Bay of Bothnia
* Bay of Campeche
* Bay of Fundy
* Black Sea
* Bothnian Sea
* Caribbean Sea
* Celtic Sea
* English Channel
* Foxe Basin
* Greenland Sea
* Gulf of Bothnia
* Gulf of Finland
* Gulf of Lion
* Gulf of Guinea
* Gulf of Maine
* Gulf of Mexico
* Gulf of Saint Lawrence
* Gulf of Sidra
* Gulf of Venezuela
* Hudson Bay
* Ionian Sea
* Irish Sea
* Irminger Sea
* James Bay
* Labrador Sea
* Levantine Sea
* Libyan Sea
* Ligurian Sea
* Marmara Sea
* Mediterranean Sea
* Myrtoan Sea
* North Sea
* Norwegian Sea
* Sargasso Sea
* Sea of Åland
* Sea of Azov
* Sea of Crete
* Sea of the Hebrides
* Thracian Sea
* Tyrrhenian Sea
* Wadden Sea

Indian Ocean|

* Andaman Sea
* Arabian Sea
* Bali Sea
* Bay of Bengal
* Flores Sea
* Great Australian Bight
* Gulf of Aden
* Gulf of Aqaba
* Gulf of Khambhat
* Gulf of Kutch
* Gulf of Oman
* Gulf of Suez
* Java Sea
* Laccadive Sea
* Mozambique Channel
* Persian Gulf
* Red Sea
* Timor Sea

Pacific Ocean|

* Arafura Sea
* Banda Sea
* Bering Sea
* Bismarck Sea
* Bohai Sea
* Bohol Sea
* Camotes Sea
* Celebes Sea
* Chilean Sea
* Coral Sea
* East China Sea
* Gulf of Alaska
* Gulf of Anadyr
* Gulf of California
* Gulf of Carpentaria
* Gulf of Fonseca
* Gulf of Panama
* Gulf of Thailand
* Gulf of Tonkin
* Halmahera Sea
* Koro Sea
* Mar de Grau
* Molucca Sea
* Moro Gulf
* Philippine Sea
* Salish Sea
* Savu Sea
* Sea of Japan
* Sea of Okhotsk
* Seram Sea
* Seto Inland Sea
* Shantar Sea
* Sibuyan Sea
* Solomon Sea
* South China Sea
* Sulu Sea
* Tasman Sea
* Visayan Sea
* Yellow Sea

Southern Ocean|

* Amundsen Sea
* Bellingshausen Sea
* Cooperation Sea
* Cosmonauts Sea
* Davis Sea
* D'Urville Sea
* King Haakon VII Sea
* Lazarev Sea
* Mawson Sea
* Riiser-Larsen Sea
* Ross Sea
* Scotia Sea
* Somov Sea
* Weddell Sea

Endorheic basins|

* Aral Sea
* Caspian Sea
* Dead Sea
* Salton Sea

* Book
* Category

[ ⚑ ]  2°18′35″S 54°53′17″W﻿ / ﻿2.3096°S 54.8881°W﻿ / -2.3096; -54.8881

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