by eduars | Sep 29, 2013 | Amazon Basin
The Amazon watershed lies in the tropics, the band around the equator from 30 degrees north latitude to 30 degrees south, which receives more solar radiation than any other place on the planet. The lushness of the forest is due partly to sunlight and partly to wind...
by eduars | Sep 29, 2013 | Amazon Basin
The Amazon basin is the largest watershed on Earth. It provides about 20 percent of all fresh water flowing from continents into the oceans, and discharges more water per second than the Mississippi, the Nile and the Yangtze combined. During peak flood season, between...
by eduars | Sep 29, 2013 | Coastal Desert
The cold Pacific or Humboldt Current is the reason why Peru’s coast is so dry. Moisture evaporating from the ocean is absorbed by the warmer air over land, keeping clouds from forming. In winter, however, when the air temperature drops slightly, heavy fog,...
by eduars | Sep 29, 2013 | Andes Mountains, Featured
The Andes are topped by the largest concentration of ice anywhere in the Earth’s tropics (the belt around the middle of the planet, between 30 degrees North and 30 degrees South latitude). In 1991, tropical Andean glaciers covered an estimated 1,065 square miles...
by eduars | Sep 29, 2013 | Coastal Desert, Featured
Along the Peruvian coast is a string of rocky islands and peninsulas that are home to guanay cormorants, boobies, and pelicans. The birds leave the islands every morning to feed on the fish, especially anchovies, that are plentiful in theHumboldt Current. They return...
