• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Email

The Amazon rainforest is the largest forest on the planet. Most famously associated with Brazil, it also extends across parts of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname. The river of the same name that winds through it is the second-longest on earth — equivalent to the distance between New York and Rome. Most of us are at least vaguely familiar with this true natural wonder, but here are eight things you probably didn’t know about the Amazon rainforest.

While It’s the World’s Largest Rainforest, It’s Not the Oldest

The stats are impressive: Covering an area of approximately 2.1 million square miles, the Amazon rainforest is twice as big as Mexico. However, it falls short of the land area of the contiguous United States, which is nearly 3 million square miles by comparison. The Amazon also contains, by far, the world’s largest area of primary forest — dense areas of native tree species that are untouched by human activity —  accounting for nearly 85% of its total size. The next largest primary forest is that of the Congo in Africa (about 650,000 square miles).

Although the Amazon is unquestionably the biggest forest on the planet, it’s nowhere near the oldest. Scientists estimate that the Amazon is approximately 55 million years old; the much smaller Daintree rainforest in Australia dates back 180 million years and is Earth’s oldest forest.

The Amazon’s Trees Aren’t Quite the Lungs of the Planet

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted it and CNN reported it, but contrary to popular belief, the Amazon rainforest doesn’t actually produce 20% of the world’s oxygen. The late Wallace Broecker, an American geochemist and professor of earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University, debunked the popular myth as early as 1996. Since then, several other scientists have also disproved the statistic, including climate and environmental scientist Jonathan Foley.

It’s true that, each day, trees use the sun to photosynthesize large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, converting it into oxygen. However, ants, termites, bacteria, and fungi soon consume it. After the sun goes down, the trees also use some of that oxygen to enable them to continue to create energy. Considering all parts of the ecosystem, the end result is that trees produce, at best, a few percent, and certainly nowhere near 20% of the world’s oxygen.

The Amazon Rainforest Contains Unrivaled Biodiversity

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most biodiverse environments on the planet; according to Greenpeace, more than 3 million species live in it. (Unfortunately, due to deforestation, it’s estimated that one-third of them are threatened with extinction.)

In the Amazon, you’ll find the jaguar, which is South America’s largest cat. This strong swimmer is happy munching on much of what hangs out in the same neighborhood, including deer, armadillos, monkeys, and lizards. A jaguar would be ill-advised to pick a fight with a black caiman, however: At over 16 feet long, this mighty crocodile is the Amazon’s biggest predator. Sharing the water is the green anaconda, the world’s heaviest and most powerful snake. Other notable creatures in the forest include the capybara, which looks much like an oversized guinea pig; the reclusive Amazonian tapir, with its squat trunk; and the three-toed sloth, one of the slowest-moving creatures in the world.

The Rate of Deforestation Is Alarming

It’s difficult to determine the exact size of the area covered by the world’s rainforests, partly because much of it is inaccessible and because the rapid rate of deforestation makes it hard to maintain up-to-date figures. What scientists do know is that many millions of acres are burned every year. According to Conservation International, the Amazon lost about 3,600 square miles of rainforest in 2015, which equates to an area the size of Cyprus or the state of Maine.

Since then, the rate of deforestation in the Amazon has been on an upward trend. Land is being cleared for ranching, logging, and unsustainable agriculture. (Forest soils are poor because most of the nutrients are stored in the biomass. Once what’s in the soil has been used up, the leaf litter which once replenished the soil’s fertility is gone.) Companies also mine for gold and drill for oil in the area, and as communities demand new housing, infrastructure projects such as road building also contribute to the problem.

Its Plants Provide a Host of Health Benefits

Indigenous groups treat the rainforest as one big medicine cabinet. Approximately 80,000 plant species can be found in the forest, many of which have health-enhancing properties. Guaraná, for instance, contains four times as much caffeine as coffee. It was used in the Amazon as a tonic long before manufacturers of sports and energy drinks got wind of it. Equally well-known is the use of quinine, which is extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree and was traditionally used in the treatment of malaria. (These days, the World Health Organization recommends the use of other substances, which cause fewer side effects.)

Indigenous peoples also use matico leaves as a treatment for coughs, easing nausea, and as an antiseptic. The herbal supplement uña de gato, known in English as cat’s claw, is believed to help ease symptoms of rheumatism, toothache, and bruising. The bark and stems of the vine-like Chondrodendron tomentosum are a source of curare, which Indigenous hunters typically used as an arrow poison. Its muscle relaxant and paralysis-inducing properties have been studied to enhance our understanding of treatments for tetanus, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

More Than 400 Indigenous Tribes Call the Rainforest Home

Survival International suggests that around 1 million Indigenous peoples inhabit the Amazon rainforest. They form about 400 different tribes, each with their own language, culture, and identity. A few are nomadic, but most live in permanent settlements close to the river, which enables them to hunt, farm, fish, and access services such as health care and education. Some Indigenous groups — perhaps around 15 in Peru and at least twice that number in Brazil — are recognized as “uncontacted” and live an isolated life deep in the forest. However, recent reports indicate that some are choosing to make contact with the outside world.

It’s Home to the World’s Largest City Without a Road Connection

The Jesuits founded the Peruvian port of Iquitos in 1757, and the city’s population burgeoned as the rubber trade kicked in at the end of the 19th century. Today, the Iquitos’ urban area has almost half a million inhabitants. It is widely believed to be the largest city in the world without a road connection to the outside world. To reach it, most visitors catch a flight from Lima, though planes also touch down at two other regional hubs, Tarapoto and Pucallpa.

Essential supplies arrive by air, though most of what the city needs is brought in by cargo ship along the Amazon River. Small vessels shuttle between Iquitos and outlying settlements, while larger cruise ships carry tourists keen to experience the nature and wildlife that’s found in the remote rainforest.

There’s an Opera House in the Jungle

Across the border in Brazil, another city’s fortunes waxed and waned with the rubber industry. Manaus was already a thriving port city by the 19th century, thanks to its location at the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Solimões, which join to form the Amazon River. But as the increasing popularity of the bicycle, then the motor car, soon created an unprecedented demand for rubber, the city flourished. Its population grew rapidly as migrants flocked to the city to find work.

Those who had made their fortunes competed to build houses that would outshine those of their neighbors. The construction of the Manaus Opera House, which opened in 1897, was an example of the one-upmanship common at the end of the century — and a message to the rest of the world that this Amazonian city had arrived. Its success would be short-lived, however. As the industry collapsed, unable to compete with its Asian competitors, the theater was a casualty and closed in 1924. Fortunately, it reopened in the 1990s and now stages concerts and performances.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Email

Most of the planet’s surface is either at or below sea level, which isn’t surprising, given that 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. In fact, many of the lowest places on Earth are on the surface of lakes. Just how low can you go? Below, explore the planet’s eight lowest points.

Salton Sea, California (-236 Feet Below Sea Level)

Once a thriving resort community in the mid-20th century, the ever-shrinking Salton Sea has been called “the biggest environmental disaster in California history.” For decades, local farmers using water from the nearby Colorado River for agricultural purposes allowed the fertilizer-contaminated runoff to flow back into the lake basin. Since the lake basin has no drainage flow, this caused a huge rise in the water’s salinity and massive subsequent die-offs of fish and birds, among other wildlife. As a result, the lake began to emit a nasty odor, which drove tourists away. Today, many of the beach towns remain abandoned, although a community of artists linger in the area, and tourism is slowly rebounding.

Akjagaýa Depression, Turkmenistan (-266 Feet)

The Akjagaýa Depression is located in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan, one of the driest areas in the country. The depression is actually contained within Sarykamyska Lake, the waters of which fluctuate in elevation — so much that the lake itself has disappeared and then reappeared several times. The desert is also where you’ll find the Darvaza Gas Crater, also called the “Door to Hell,” a natural gas field that has been perpetually burning since 1971.

Badwater Basin, Death Valley, California (-282 Feet)

Death Valley holds the dual distinction of being the hottest place on the planet and one of the lowest. On July 10, 1913, a reading of 134.1 degrees Fahrenheit was taken at the desert’s Furnace Creek Ranch, which is the hottest air temperature ever recorded on Earth.

Extremely hot temperatures aren’t unusual in the world’s very low places, because air warms as it gets lower (and cools as it rises). And very low places are common in this part of California, thanks to the San Andreas Fault running beneath it and periodic water breakthroughs from nearby rivers causing erosion. The lowest point in Badwater Basin is actually within an area of salt flats, but the flats can be treacherous to traverse since they are composed of mud covered by a thin crust of salt. Technically, the sign that marks the lowest point is located a few miles east.

Laguna del Carbón, Argentina (-344 Feet)

Located within the Great San Julián Depression (Gran Bajo de San Julián), this salt lake is part of Argentina’s southernmost Patagonia region. The depression ends in high cliffs before it drops off into the Atlantic Ocean, which lies just to the east. The lake’s name translates to “Coal Lake,” and dinosaur fossils have been found in the endorheic basin.

Unlike some other low points in the world, there’s not much tourism centered around the site, which sits on private property and isn’t accessible by public road (although the depression can be viewed from afar from the highway). Mountains loom in the distance, and the small port city of Puerto San Julián is about 30 miles east, but until then, there’s nothing but salt, scrub, and howling winds to be seen in the lake basin and its surroundings.

Danakil Depression, Ethiopia (-410 Feet)

In northeast Ethiopia is another one of the hottest places on Earth — and it’s home to the planet's sixth-lowest point, located in the Danakil Depression, which sits inside the larger Afar Depression (also called the Afar Triangle). Created by the convergence of three tectonic plates and characterized by active volcanoes, sulfur springs, lava lakes, and toxic gasses in the air, the Danakil Depression contains one of Earth’s most otherworldly landscapes, often compared to the surface of Venus.

Temperatures average in the mid-90s but regularly soar to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Visitors can take tours on camelback to view the colorful neon-toned landscape of oranges, greens, and yellows, which are caused by oxidized iron and sulfur deposits. (However, Ethiopia is still entangled in a civil war as of 2022, and travel from overseas is not currently advised.) The Danakil Depression is also the site where the famous Australopithecus fossil known as Lucy was discovered in 1974.

Vpadina Kaundy, Kazakhstan (-433 Feet)

Vpadina Kaundy is located inside a 25-mile-long karst trench called Karagiye, on the Mangyshlak peninsula near the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea. Translating to “Black Mouth” or “Black Jaw” in Turkic, Karagiye was formed when a series of limestone, dolomite, and gypsum caves collapsed. (Vpadina Kaundy is the name for the lowest point within the trench, not the trench itself.)

A seasonal lake lies at the bottom of the trench, as well as a stream originating from a human-drilled well that flows back into a hole in the ground. Karagiye is known for creating its own unusual long rain clouds, which rise above it. Snakes, hares, wild mouflon sheep, and yellow corsac foxes live along the verdant floor inside the trench, while the air above it is home to a population of vultures. Locals also visit the trench to gather mushrooms, the only ones that grow on the Mangyshlak peninsula.

Qattara Depression, Egypt (-435 Feet)

At an elevation only two feet lower than Vpadina Kaundy, this 7,500-square-mile sinkhole in northwestern Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, is famous for its high cliffs and spectacular black sand dunes. First measured by English geologist Dr. John Ball in 1917, the Qattara Depression is about the size of Lake Ontario, and comprises wild palm and acacia groves, salt marshes, and dry but occasionally flooded lake beds — the latter are characterized by swaths of sticky mud covered by a salt crust. The sinkhole was formed over millennia as salts in the soil slowly eroded the bedrock into sand, which was then blown away by the wind, exposing the water table beneath the bedrock.

Qattara means "dripping" in Arabic, a reference not to the mud or flooded lake beds but a natural spring, Ain El Qattara, one of a handful of natural oases found here. The Qattara Depression is home to fauna such as gazelles, jackals, cheetahs, and wild sheep, as well as cattle, which are bred by nomadic Bedouin ranchers. The depression was also the scene of a crucial defeat against the Axis powers in the First and Second Battles of Al Alamein in 1942. Tanks couldn’t pass through the swamp, so the British Empire’s forces were protected.

The Dead Sea, Jordan, Israel, and The West Bank (-1,412 Feet)

In the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea is situated on the mostly north-south geopolitical border that separates Jordan and Israel, and the West Bank’s southeastern corner also falls within the lake. With shores located at 1,412 feet below sea level, the world’s lowest point blows all other contenders out of the water, so to speak.

A hypersaline lake, the Dead Sea is 9.6 times saltier than the ocean. Anyone can easily float in the water as a result of its high salt content. As such, it’s one of the world’s oldest health resorts, patronized even by the biblical Herod the Great, and tourists still flock to its shorelines on all sides. The name “The Dead Sea” never actually appears in the Bible, however. In Hebrew, it was called Yām ha-Melaḥ (the Sea of Salt), and in other texts it was referred to as ha-Yām ha-kadmoni (The Eastern Sea) or Yām ha-‘Ărāvâ (The Sea of the Arabah).

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Email

It’s not difficult to see why Petra, Jordan, was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World — along with the likes of the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, the Taj Mahal, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, and Rome’s Colosseum. This sprawling archaeological site contains as many as 800 tombs and temples (and its famous treasury) carved directly into the vibrant sandstone cliffs and mountains of the rugged southern Jordan desert. Once a thriving cultural and economic hub in prehistoric times, Petra was later abandoned and left to ruin. The city remained “lost” to the Western World until it was rediscovered in the early 19th century. Today, this fascinating UNESCO World Heritage Site attracts visitors from all over the globe. If a visit is on your bucket list, start by uncovering these eight amazing facts about Petra, Jordan’s “Lost City.”

For Centuries, Petra Was Home to the Ancient Nabataeans

From the fourth century BCE, Petra was the capital of the Nabataeans, and its strategic location helped their civilization flourish, putting them at the center of trade throughout the Middle Eastern region. Its narrow canyon entrance also served as a natural fortification that protected it from attacks. The city’s population grew rapidly — it’s thought that up to 30,000 people may have once lived there. Everything went swimmingly until the Romans muscled in on Petra in 106 CE and swallowed it up into their own empire. Trade continued, but not at the same level as before, and an earthquake in 551 was perhaps the final nail in the coffin for this city in decline.

The Nabataeans Had an Ingenious Water System

It’s hard to imagine how the desert site we see today could ever have supported such a large settlement. But the Nabataeans knew that for their city to have any chance at success, they had to solve the thorny issue of water. Carefully conserving precious water in this desert environment was a given, but they were also masters of irrigation, creating a clever system of channels and dams to reroute water from the surrounding mountains. The cisterns they used to store water also helped keep it from being lost in the flash floods that were — and still are — a relatively common occurrence in the area.

We Know of Petra Thanks to a Swiss Explorer

For centuries, all except the local Bedouin people forgot Petra — its tombs were abandoned and buildings fell into ruin, hidden by the surrounding canyons. Then, in the early 19th century, a Swiss explorer named Johann Ludwig Burckhardt set off on an expedition in search of the source of the River Niger. In preparation, he’d studied Arabic at Cambridge University and then honed his vocabulary on the streets of Aleppo in Syria. In 1812, on his way to Cairo, he heard rumors from locals of secret ruins of a grand city in the desert, so he hired guides and disguised himself as an Arab to gain access to what was considered a sacred place, forbidden to Westerners. They brought him to Petra. However, wary of pushing his luck too far, he didn’t stop to excavate. Five years later, Burckhardt died of dysentery in the Egyptian capital, but his “discovery” paved the way for future exploration of the site.

Petra Is Also Nicknamed the “Rose City”

Petra’s abandonment led to its nickname of the “Lost City,” but you’re also likely to hear it referred to as the “Rose City.” The nickname refers to the reddish-pink sandstone cliffs, but it originates from a poem written by an English cleric named John William Burgon. The poem won the prestigious Newdigate Prize for Poetry in 1845, awarded by Oxford University. Although Burgon had never set eyes on Petra, he wrote: “Match me such marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time.”

The nickname stuck, and we’ve referred to Petra as the “Rose City” ever since. The color of the rock changes as the sun goes around the horizon, with the reddish hue most noticeable at sunset.

A Large Part of Petra Has Yet to Be Uncovered

Some reports suggest that archaeologists have excavated as little as 15% of Petra thus far. Visitors enter through a narrow slot canyon known as the Siq, view the 130-foot-tall rock facade of the treasury head-on, and then amble along a street lined with tombs. The path leads to a temple called Al-Deir, or the monastery, reached by climbing more than 800 steps. Impressive as the site is, however, that hardly scratches the surface. As recently as 2016, archaeologists discovered a previously unknown monument at Petra thanks to the magic of satellite imagery. It’s thought the huge platform, measuring 184 feet by 161 feet and flanked on one side with columns, could be more than 2,150 years old, based on fragments of pottery found nearby.

There Are Bullet Holes at the Treasury

Not all of what’s been uncovered remains in pristine condition. Most famously, a giant urn carved into the sandstone above the treasury is riddled with bullet holes. They offer a clue as to what was hidden inside this imposing facade. According to sources such as Burckhardt’s diary entry of his first encounter with Petra, it was a long-held belief among Arabs (and theTurkish, when Petra was part of the Ottoman Empire) that the urn contained hidden gold; in fact, it is made of solid stone. The urn is badly damaged as a result of those gunshots but a breathtaking sight, nonetheless.

Petra Was a Filming Location for an Indiana Jones Movie

The approach to the treasury along the Siq is a dramatic one, so it’s no surprise that location scouts have recognized its potential for filming movies. Perhaps most famously, scenes for the 1989 blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were shot here. In the film, Harrison Ford and Sean Connery make their way through the narrow passageway to search for the Holy Grail. Other famous films shot in Petra include 2001’s The Mummy Returns and 2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

There’s Also a Little Petra

Even ancient cities had suburbs, and Petra’s was called Little Petra. While most of the action took place over in the Nabataean capital, visiting traders would have probably found accommodation in Little Petra, perhaps close to some of the city merchants’ own homes. Abandoned after the Nabataean decline, it remained largely hidden until archaeologists started to uncover its rock-hewn dwellings, water channels, and wall paintings in the 1950s. These days, few tourists visit the narrow space where Little Petra sits, as it receives little direct sunlight — a fact that is perhaps hinted at in its name, Siq al-Barid (Cold Canyon). Nevertheless, the treasures its sandstone reveals, such as the Painted House, are well worth the trek.