The largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon rainforest lies in the tropical region of northern South America. It is named after the Amazon River which runs through the region and drains the massive Amazon Basin. It is the largest river basin in the world, extending over 2,700,000 square miles. The whole Amazon Basin area is sometimes called Amazonia. About half of Amazonia is found in Brazil; the other half crosses into eight other countries - Guyana, Venezuela, Surinam and French Guiana to the north and east, Colombia to the northwest, Peru and Ecuador to the west, and Bolivia to the south.
