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Rainforests are forests where there is a lot of precipitation (rain, snow, hail stones, sleet, freezing rain). Any forest that receives more than 2,500 millimetres (2.5 metres) of rainfall per year is considered a rainforest.
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Most rainforests are found near to the Equator, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. These are called tropical rainforests. It might be surprising, but in the tropics different types of rainforests exist at different altitudes! Since lowland areas are warmer than mountain peaks (just think of snow-capped mountains), you find different types of rainforests at different heights above sea level in the tropics. |
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The two main tropical rainforests are lowland rainforests, and cloud forests. The tropical lowland forests are hot, humid, and bug-infested. These are the rainforests that are usually shown on television. The cloud forests are found higher up mountains (roughly between 1,000 and 2,000 metres above sea level). They are covered in fog (clouds) most of the time. These cold, misty forests look as if they belong in a fairy tale. Because of the range in temperature, different species of plants and animals live in the two different rainforests. Some like to live in the hot tropical forests, and others prefer the cold tropical forests. |
Some rainforests are also found in climates far away from the equator, for example, in the north-western corner of the USA, or in northern Australia. These are called temperate rainforests. Just like tropical rainforests, the temperate rainforests receive more than 2,500 millimetres (2.5 metres) of precipitation. The difference between these rainforests and tropical rainforests, is that in temperate rainforests some of the precipitation is in the form of snow instead of rain.
This website focuses mainly on tropical lowland (hot, humid, bug-infested) rainforests, especially those in Central and South America.
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