Geography
What is a rainforest?
Quick answer
A rainforest is a dense forest that gets lots of rain all year round. Tropical rainforests are warm, wet and packed with more kinds of plants and animals than almost anywhere else.
In one sentence
A rainforest is a thick, tall forest that receives a great deal of rain, and tropical rainforests are home to more kinds of living things than any other land habitat.
Explained
Tropical rainforests grow close to the equator, where it is warm all year, usually between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius, and where more than 2,000 millimetres of rain falls each year. In these conditions, plants grow quickly and never stop. The biggest rainforests are the Amazon in South America, the Congo basin in Africa and the forests of South-East Asia, including Borneo and Sumatra. There are also cooler temperate rainforests, such as those on the northwest coast of North America and in Tasmania.
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A rainforest has four main layers:
- Emergent layer: a few giant trees stand above the rest, in full sun and wind.
- Canopy: a thick green roof of leaves. Most of the animals live here, from monkeys to toucans.
- Understorey: a shady middle zone with small trees and young plants.
- Forest floor: dark and damp, covered in fallen leaves that rot quickly.
Rainforests cover only about 6 percent of Earth's land, yet they hold a huge share of its plant and animal species. Jaguars, sloths, orangutans, gorillas and poison dart frogs are all rainforest animals. Many medicines were first found in rainforest plants. Rainforest trees also store carbon and release water vapour that forms clouds, so these forests help control the climate.
The soil is surprisingly poor. Most nutrients are stored in the living plants, not the ground. When forests are cut down for farms or timber, the land can quickly lose its fertility and wildlife. Many people and organisations work to protect rainforests and the Indigenous communities who live in them. Read about one of the greatest in South America.
Examples
| Rainforest | Continent | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | South America | the largest, with the Amazon River |
| Congo | Africa | gorillas and forest elephants |
| Borneo | Asia | orangutans |
| Daintree | Australia | one of the oldest rainforests |
Common mistakes
- "Rainforests are all jungle full of vines." The forest floor is often fairly open and dark.
- "They are the Earth's lungs." They release oxygen, but they also use much of it; their main value is in storing carbon and sheltering life.
- "Rainforests only exist in the tropics." Temperate rainforests exist too.
Quick quiz
Rainforests
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Question 1 of 4
Where are tropical rainforests found?
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Related topics
Biomes
A biome is a large region of the world with a similar climate, plants and animals. Examples are desert, rainforest, grassland, tundra and the ocean.
Habitats
A habitat is the natural home of a living thing, where it finds the food, water, shelter and space it needs to survive.
South America
South America is the fourth-largest continent. It has 12 countries, the Amazon rainforest and river, the Andes mountains and the Atacama Desert.
The Amazon River
The Amazon is a huge river in South America that carries more water than any other river on Earth. It flows about 6,400 km from the Andes across Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean.
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest continent, with 54 countries, the Sahara Desert, the River Nile, the Congo rainforest and savannas full of wildlife.
Antarctica
Antarctica is the frozen continent around the South Pole. It is the coldest, windiest and driest continent, covered by ice, and has no permanent residents.