The term rain forest is used to describe the great tropical forests that lie along the earth’s equator. These forests can be found in many places, including Western Africa, the islands of Southeast Asia, and in Central and South America. Although they once occupied over 9 million square miles of the earth’s surface, today rain forests only occupy 3 million square miles or roughly 6% of the earth’s surface. The largest rain forest today is the rain forest that thrives along the vast Amazon river system in South America.
Rain forests receive heavy rain fall; they average about 100 inches (254 cm) of rain a year. Also, because they are located near the earth’s equator, rain forests have a fairly constant temperature range, averaging about 80°F (27°C) all year round.
The high humidity and constant temperature facilitates the diversity and growth of plant life found in the rain forest. Trees reach heights of several hundred feet and support several layers of life. In fact, scientists believe that over half of all the world’s organisms live in the rain forests and many species have yet to be discovered.
Sadly, these undiscovered species may never be known as the rain forests are continually exploited and destroyed by humans. International loggers cut down the great trees of the rain forest for profit. As they do this, they also contribute to the rain forest’s destruction in other ways. As loggers build roads to clear away trees, they create access to the forests for farmers who cut and burn trees to create areas for planting crops. Unfortunately, these planting grounds can only sustain crops for a few years before they have to be abandoned for other areas. The rain forest cannot regain its original condition in these devastated areas. As a result, many species of plant and animal life are wiped out forever. Cattle production is also another cause of deforestation as cattle ranchers torch huge areas of the rain forest to create grazing areas. Many of these cattle are exported to large fast-food chains in the United States.
