The Amazon rainforest is thought to have existed for about 55 million years, gradually evolving, shrinking and expanding during that period in line with global climatic conditions. At one stage, the basin was divided by a ridge known as the Purus Arch and much of the Amazon river actually flowed westward, until the Andes mountains gradually rose up to provide an impenetrable barrier and the river eventually reversed its course. Archaeologists believe that humans have inhabited the Amazon for around 11,000 years. Over hundreds of generations, these "indigenous" peoples, whose languages are as diverse as those of the European continent, developed systems and technologies of survival that were often perfectly adapted to life in the rainforest, including sustainably using its natural resources for food, clothing, shelter, implements and medicines.
Even after the arrival of Europeans in South America in the 16th century, the Amazon remained largely unaffected, thanks to the difficulty of the terrain which prevented the conquistadores significantly penetrating the rainforest, despite their desperate searches for El Dorado, the fabled city of gold. However, a series of commodity booms (and, in some cases, busts) over the last 150 years, starting with the rubber boom of the 19th century, and including timber, oil, beef, soya and biofuels, have increasingly led to deforestation of the Amazon, with approximately 35% of the original Amazonian rainforest now either destroyed or degraded. Arguably, climate change itself is now the single largest threat to the Amazon as temperatures and rainfall patterns begin to change. In 2005 and 2006, parts of the Amazon experienced unusually severe droughts, causing dieback and forest fires.
Red and Green Macaw (close-up) 5
Red-brocket Deer 2009-04-09
