Rainforests are defined and created by rainfall: more than eighty inches per year. Tropical rainforests are located near the equator, a majority of them in Latin America. Temperate rainforests are found in coastal areas, such as the 1,200 miles of temperate rainforest that stretches along the Pacific coast from Oregon to Alaska. Because they are so ecologically rich, many are concerned with their current rate of destruction. Are rainforests worth saving? Learn more, and decide for yourself.
"Rainforests are living emeralds which adorn our world with rare beauty and natural wonders. They are a product of planetary processes and are, in turn, contributors to the water and carbon cycles on which all life depends." You'll find an introduction to rainforests under GeoSystems, a guide to animal and plant life under EcoSystems, and games to play listed under Interact. My favorite game is "Who am I? Where do I live?" Can you guess the rainforest animal, based on the clues?
"Tropical rainforests are mainly the product of climatic interactions, particularly temperature and rainfall. In general, tropical rain forests occur where a mean monthly temperature of between 20 and 28 degrees C is combined with an annual rainfall of between 1.5 and 10 meters, evenly distributed throughout the year." Written for high school students and adults, On the Line focuses on African rainforests as part of its study of the various countries that fall on the Greenwich meridian: Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Spain France and the United Kingdom.
"Tropical rainforests are home to many of the strangest looking and most beautiful, largest and smallest, most dangerous and least frightening, loudest and quietest animals on earth. You've probably heard of some of them: jaguars, toucans, parrots, gorillas, and tarantulas all make their homes in tropical rainforests. But have you ever heard of the aye-aye? Or the okapi?" This site for elementary-age students is jam packed with information, conservation ideas and calls to action such as "Seven Steps Kids Can Take."
Dr. Steven Blythe, of Melbourne, Florida, is a family physician who has made many trips to the rainforest to provide medical help. This educational site ("for my children, and the child in all of us who is awestruck by the wonders of nature!") is a marriage of his two passions: Web design and the rainforest. Highlights include Medicines from the Rainforest, Legacy of the Maya, Threats to Rainforests, Butterfly Gardening and Fun & Games.
"Tropical and temperate rainforests share certain characteristics. For example, most trees flare at the base. Vegetation is dense, tall and very green. Many species exist in both rainforests, although the diversity is greater in the tropical rainforest. Both tropical and temperate rainforests are very lush and wet." In addition to these introductory rainforest pages, five other biomes (communities of plants and animals grouped by climate) are covered: desert, tundra, taiga, temperate and grasslands. Visit them by clicking the small icons at the top of each page.
The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!
Cloud Forest AliveRainforest Live | Welcome to the Jungle |
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