May 11, 2012

Jungle Fever

The Amazon Canopy stretches in parts over 200 feet in the air. You can see over it for miles. The photo below was taken at 135 feet. It seems truly endless. In the canopy we saw birds that never go down to the forest floor, insects and monkeys. The light hits it directly and so all sorts of plants grow that cannot survive in the shadows of the forest floor below.
The Amazon Jungle is so dense that while hiking we lost someone. He was found 15 minutes later and he was smart and just stayed where he was. What light there is is dappled except in places where a tree fell down clearing out a space where light can hit the forest floor promoting new growth.
Vines, palms and huge old mahoganies all like different levels of light, soil and water. Despite the 30 degree heat it was cool in the undergrowth that we hiked through. Humid though as it is very moist. We hiked through swamps and lagoons and up some mountains over a few days and got a nice cross section of all the different sub-systems that make up the ecosystem that is the Amazon Rainforest.

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