Rainforest Facts - Did You Know????

Fact #1:  Rainforests only cover about 2 percent the total surface area of the Earth, but really about 50 percent of the plants and animals on the earth live in the rainforest.

Fact #2:  Rainforests are the forests which receive high amount of rainfall.

Fact #3: Rainforests can be found in many countries, not just in Central & South America.

Fact #4:  Rainforests are found on all of the different continents, except for Antarctica because it is far too cold there for the environment to be conducive.

Fact #5:  Rainforests can be separated into two different types of rainforests (temperate & tropical). Tropical rainforests are the ones that are most commonly found around the world.

Fact #6:  Rainforests help to regulate the temperatures & weather patterns around the world. 

Fact #7:  Rainforests help to provide us with fresh water.  About a fifth of our fresh water can be found in the Amazon Rainforest Basin to be exact.

Fact #8:  Rainforests help to maintain our supply of drinking water and fresh water, so they are critical in the sustainability of the earth.

Fact #9:  Rainforests provide about 1/4 of the natural medicines we as humans use.

Fact #10: Rainforests provide a diversity of plant and animal life.  In fact, within just four square miles of tropical rainforest, you will find 1,500 flowering plant species, 750 types of trees, and many of these plants can be helpful in combating cancer.

Fact #11:  Rainforests provide about 70% of the plants used for treating cancer.  Plants that can only be found in rainforests.

Fact #12:  Rainforests provide over 2,000 types of plants, used to help aide in cancer treatment because they have anti cancer properties.

Fact #13: The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world.

Fact #14:  Less than one percent of the species of plants in the tropical rainforests have actually been analyzed to determine their value in the world of medicine.

Fact #15: Rainforests are threatened each and every day, by practices agriculture, ranching, logging and mining.

Fact #16:  Rainforests make up about 6 million square miles on earth's surface, now due to deforestation, there is less than of this still found in the world.

Fact #17:  If the rainforests continue to decline in the way that they have been, then about 5-10 percent of the species living inside them, will go extinct every ten years.

Fact #18:  Rainforests are found in about 90% of the worlds underdeveloped countries around the world.

Fact #19:  Rainforests are cut down somewhere in the world every second. In fact, we will probably lose over 80,000 football fields worth of rainforest each and every day.

Fact #20: Rainforests are home to many different types of animals.  Most of them cannot live anywhere else, because they depend on the environment of the rainforest in order to survive.

Fact #21: Rainforests help about 90% (or 1.2 billion) people living in poverty worldwide, to meet their basic daily needs.

Fact #22:  Most of the oxygen supplied in the world, comes from rainforests, even though they are miles away.

Fact #23: Rainforest average temperatures, range between 70 and 85° F.

Fact #24: Rainforests provide us with timber, coffee, cocoa and many medicinal products, to name a few.

Fact #25: Rainforests are constantly being destroyed by multinational logging companies, land owners and developers to make way for more real estate investments.

Fact #26:  Rainforests are so dense with trees, that it takes about 10 minutes for the rainfall to reach the ground from the canopy.

Fact #27:  Rainforests found in Australian, provide 80% of the flowers not found anywhere else in the world.

Fact #28:  Rainforests are lost at a rate of 56,000 square miles each year.

Fact #29:  Rainforest Insects make up the majority of living creatures found within a rainforest. 

Fact #30: Rainforests remaining on the earth, are estimated at about 2.6 million square miles.

Fact #31: Rainforests that are destroyed each day, are equivalent to 86,400 football fields per day, which is equal to 31 million football fields of rainforest each year.

Fact #32: Rainforests provide habitats for a variety of animals, to include:  snakes, frogs, birds, insects, cougars, chameleons, turtles, jaguars and many more.

Fact #33:  Rainforest species are being depletion, at the current rate of 5–10% ever decade.

Fact #34: About 57% of rainforests are in developing countries.

Fact #35:  Rainforests provide about 70% of the plants identified by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (used in the treatment of cancer), can only be found in rainforests.

You can see why it's so important to preserve our world's rainforests.  You can see how much these rainforests impact the lives of everyone (on this planet), even if you don't live near a rainforest. 

There are hundreds of other interesting facts about rainforests, though not mentioned above.  If you haven't taken the time to educate yourself on rainforests, why not do so now.  All it takes, is everyone doing their part, and the world can change.  By doing your part, you are setting an excellent example for others to follow.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE BELIZEAN RAINFOREST

Here are some interesting facts specifically about the Belize Rainforest:

FACT #1 - The Belizean Rainforest is huge! More than half of mainland Belize is covered in rainforest.

FACT #2 - The Belize National Flower.  There are hundreds of different kinds of trees in the rainforest but also fragile, beautiful flowers like orchids. Did you know that the Black Orchid is the national flower of Belize, and it grows in the Belizean rainforest?

FACT #3 - Thousands of Caves.  The Belize rainforest is also where you’ll find thousands of caves.  Today you can rappel into some of these caves, explore them, see ancient pottery, ceremonial sites, and the remains of skeletons. 

FACT #4 - Biggest Waterfalls in Central America. The Belize rainforest is also where you will find some of the biggest waterfalls in all of Central America.  Thousand Foot Falls, being one of them in the Mayan Mountains.

FACT #5 - Mayan Ruins & Lost Cities. The Belize rainforest is also where you'll find many (yet to be discovered), lost cities of the Mayan people.  Belize has numerous Mayan sites, where you can see buildings of past civilizations.  The ancient Maya people built enormous pyramids, vast palaces, and strange carved stones called stelae right in the middle of the Belize rainforest. There are still many lost cities yet to be found in the Belizean rainforest.  Satellite images have revealed many of their locations, lost cities just waiting to be discovered. 

FACT #6 - Tours & Excursions.  Most of the tours & excursions offered in Belize, can be found in the Belizean rainforest.  These rainforest adventures, are what attract thousands upon thousands of visitors each year - to this tiny little country in Central America (that I call home).