Everything seems bigger in the rainforest. In the rainforest, grow huge trees and plants with large leaves. Brightly colored birds and tree frogs live there. The rain forests have more species of plants and animals than anywhere else on earth. For example, in 2 ½ acres of the Appalachian Mountains, you might find 30 species of trees.
In a rainforest, you might find as many as 300 types of trees. One small area of a rain forest contains more frog species than all the frogs in North America.
Why is there so much life in the rain forest? The rain forests are all located near the equator in Africa, Asia, Australia and Central and South America. These places are warm and rainy. It never snows and the temperature never drops much below 70 degrees. Some places get 1 inch of rain or more every day. All this rain and warmth helps plants grow. When plants grow in abundance, animals have plenty to eat.
Fun Facts about Rain Forests for Kids
- About 30 million species of plants and animals live in the rain forest.
- The rain forests hold more than two-thirds of the world’s plant species.
- Many of the foods we love come from the rain forest. Chocolate, pineapple and cinnamon all come from rain forests. Rubber and medicines also come from rain forests.
- Rain forests have a canopy of dense branches and leaves. Most of the rain forest animals and plants live in the canopy.
- Not much light reaches the rain forest floor. In fact, the ground is often bare. The soil here is often hard and lacking in nutrients.
Rain Forest Vocabulary
- Abundance: plentiful
- Canopy: roof or shelter
- Nutrient: compounds plants need to grow and thrive
Learn More All About Rain Forests
Explore the rain forest in this video:
A video about the layers of the rain forest.
Rain Forest Q&A
Question 1: Are the rain forests in danger?
Answer 1: People in many areas are cutting down rain forests to make room for farming. Logging companies cut down trees, too. The rain forests are also destroyed during wars in regions.
Question 2: Do people live in the rain forests?
Answer 2: Over 50,000,000 people live in the rain forests. These people live in tribes and depend on the rain forests for shelter and food. Many of them die when the rain forests are destroyed.
Question 3: Why are rainforests important to us?
Answer 3: We need oxygen to survive and a vast amount of our oxygen comes from the the rainforests plants and trees.
Question 4: What are the names of the different types of rainforests?
Answer 4: We have two different types of rainforests, they are call Temperate and Tropical rainforests.
Question 5: Why are rainforests called rainforests?
Answer 5: Did you ever wonder why we say rainforest? Well its not complicated, so much rain falls in these regions throughout the year. These areas are hot and very muggy (humid).
Question 6: What are the different layers of a rainforest called?
Answer 6: The different layers of a rainforest are called: Emergent Layer – Canopy Layer – Understory Layer – Forest Floor.
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