Biome / Ecosystem

Sometimes referred to as Amazônia, the Amazon Rainforest is a natural region and biome in northern South America that occupies the Amazon Basin, a drainage basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries. Nine countries have some parts of the Amazon region within their borders.

The Andean Patagonian Forest spreads over steep elevations along a thin strip on both sides of the Andes Mountains in southern South America. These temperate forests, located in both southern Chile and Argentina, are the southernmost forests on earth.

The Atacama Desert is located in northern Chile between Argentina on the west and the Pacific Ocean on the east. Sparsely populated and containing considerable mineral resources, the Atacama Desert is one of the driest places in the world.

The Atlantic Forest, or Mata Atlântica, runs along the coast of eastern and southeastern Brazil, stretching inland into Argentina and Paraguay. Although only a small part of the original forests remain, it is still one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet.

The Caatinga of Brazil is the largest dry forest region in South America and one of the world's richest dry forests, providing a habitat for an array of flora and fauna species. It is home to 26 million people and over 2,000 species of plants and animals.

The Cerrado is the largest savanna region in South America and the largest ecoregion in the Americas. It encompasses central Brazil as well as small portions of Paraguay and Bolivia. Biologically the richest savanna in the world, it contains extraordinary biodiversity.

The Chihuahuan Desert stretches deep into the Central Mexican Plateau from the southwestern United States. Bounded by the Sierra Madre range, this sheltered desert ecoregion is unique, encompassing one of Earth's most biologically diverse arid regions.

The Dry Chaco ecoregion, or Gran Chaco, is a sparsely populated, hot, semi-arid lowland alluvial plain of the Río de la Plata basin. It is divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of Brazil. The Chaco contains South America's second-largest forest after the Amazon.

The Llanos (Los Llanos) is a vast tropical grassland plain situated east of the Andes Mountains in northwestern South America, within Colombia and Venezuela. It is an ecoregion of the flooded grasslands and savannas terrestrial biome.

The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System is a marine region, underwater ecosystem and geological structure that stretches from the Yucatán Peninsula down to Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. This underwater wilderness of coral provides homes and food to hundreds of species.