The Amazon basin covers about one-third of South America and spans eight countries

Background

The Amazon basin spans at least 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles), which is nearly twice the size of India. It covers about one-third of South America and spans eight countries. It is home to the largest rainforest on Earth, and to the largest river for the volume of the flow and the size of the drainage basin. Surrounded by mountainous plateaus on most sides, much of the basin is remote and difficult to access. The skies above the Amazon are almost always churning with clouds and storms, which makes the basin one of the most difficult places for scientists to map and monitor. Research groups define the region differently, using the Amazon basin, the wider Amazonia biome, or the Brazilian Legal Amazon, which includes Cerrado areas in addition to rainforest.