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Human Activity in the Amazon Answer Key

The Amazon rain forest is rich in resources that are in high demand around the world. These
resources often lie deep in the forest. This makes it difficult to transport these resources to other
places where they can be easily exported to the countries that want them. A transcontinental railroad
could transport resources more efficiently, but it also means developing areas of the forest that had
previously been untouched. This level of development will affect the land cover that surrounds the
railroad, which will alter the ecosystem and impact the livelihood of indigenous people. Using the
map, Amazonia: The Human Impact, complete this worksheet to predict the effects the railroad
may have on the surrounding ecosystem and neighboring indigenous territories.

Part 1. Land Cover in the Amazon

1. What countries and territories are located in Amazonia?

Brazil
________________________________ Peru
________________________________
Colombia
________________________________ Venezuela
________________________________
Ecuador
________________________________ Bolivia
________________________________
Guyana
________________________________ Suriname
________________________________
French Guiana (territory)
________________________________

2. Which country holds most of the rain forest? How much? _____________________________
Brazil (60%)

3. Look at the lower right of the map for the land cover key. Use the large map and the
land cover key to answer the questions below.

a. Where are high-density evergreen forests located? _______________________________________

With the exception of the southeastern
part of the Amazon Basin in Brazil and some patches around cities and along the border of
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Venezuela and Guyana, most of the Amazon Basin is high-density evergreen forest.
_____________________________________________________________________________________ © 2015 National Geographic Society

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

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 Human Activity in the Amazon Answer Key,
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b. Where Mostly in the areas noted
do you see a lot of cropland, grassland, and savannah? ______________________________
above that did not have heavy evergreen forest. There is also a pattern of this type of land
______________________________________________________________________________________
cover around roads (paved roads seem to be surrounded by this type of land cover).
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

c. Identify In general, where there is a
patterns of land cover throughout the Amazon rain forest. ___________________________
lot of human activity (as indicated by cities and roads), there is less evergreen forest and more
______________________________________________________________________________________
cropland, grassland, and savannah.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________

Part 2. Habitat Loss in the Amazon

In the bottom left of the map Amazonia: The Human Impact, you will see a smaller map titled
Altered Landscape. Use this map and keys to answer the questions below.

1. What parts of the Amazon rain forest are experiencing the most habitat loss due to fires?
Most habitat loss due to fires is occurring in the south/southeastern region of the Amazon Basin
________________________________________________________________________________________
in Brazil. There is also a patch in Colombia and another one in northern Brazil that have a high
________________________________________________________________________________________
number of fires per square mile.
________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What parts of the Amazon rain forest are experiencing the most habitat loss due to deforestation? _
A similar trend to the habitat loss due to fires can be observed with deforestation. The south/
© 2015 National Geographic Society
________________________________________________________________________________________
southeastern region of the Amazon Basin in Brazil has a high density of deforestation along
________________________________________________________________________________________
with patches at the northwestern tip of Colombia and the northern part of Brazil. Peru also has
________________________________________________________________________________________
some patches of deforestation. Heavy deforestation also seems to be occurring around the
________________________________________________________________________________________
eastern part of the Amazon River in Brazil.
________________________________________________________________________________________

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 Human Activity in the Amazon Answer Key,
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3. Why do you think habitat loss due to fires and deforestation is occurring in these areas?
Answers will vary, but students should see a pattern between human activity and habitat loss.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Where cities are located and roads are constructed, there is a lot of habitat loss. Rivers also
________________________________________________________________________________________
provide access to deeper parts of the forest. Where people can access resources, habitat loss is
________________________________________________________________________________________
occurring.
________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What are the implications of habitat loss in these areas and what might this mean for the future of
the
forest? ______________________________________________________________________________
Answers will vary, but students should notice that habitat loss is currently
________________________________________________________________________________________
occurring where people have access to the forest (by water, roads, or the edges near
________________________________________________________________________________________
cities). As the routes of access get deeper into the forest, so will the habitat destruction.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Eventually, habitat loss could reach all parts of the forest.

Part 3. Indigenous Territories in the Amazon

In the top right of the map Amazonia: The Human Impact there is a smaller map of Managed Areas.
Identify the key for indigenous territories and use the map to answer the questions below.

1. How many indigenous territories are in Amazonia? ___________________________________________

There are 2,467 indigenous territories in
Amazonia.
________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What parts of the Amazon Basin have a lot of indigenous territories? __________________________
There are many indigenous
territories in northern, central, and western Brazil and the border of Brazil and Colombia. The
________________________________________________________________________________________
border of Brazil and Peru has a high density of isolated groups.
________________________________________________________________________________________
© 2015 National Geographic Society

3. Where are there few indigenous territories in the Amazon Basin?______________________________

There are few indigenous
territories in the south/southestern region of the Amazon Basin in Brazil.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

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 Human Activity in the Amazon Answer Key,
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4. Why do you think indigenous territories are located in the places they are in the
Amazon
Basin? __________________________________________________________________________
They seem to be located close to tributaries of the Amazon River and within
high-density evergreen forests, which suggests they depend on the water in addition to the
________________________________________________________________________________________
forest to survive. They are not close to urban centers or areas of high habitat loss.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What might the implications of habitat loss be for indigenous territories? _______________________
If indigenous people
depend on the forest for survival, then they will have to relocate deeper into the forest to
________________________________________________________________________________________
maintain that lifestyle.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

Part 4. Human Activity in the Amazon

Use all the map keys and maps from the previous sections to answer the questions below.

1._ Study the roads throughout the Amazon rain forest. Where are most of the roads located on the
___________________________________________________________________________________
map? The roads are located around the perimeter of the Basin, with a high density of roads in
the southern and eastern parts of the Basin in Brazil and in cities throughout the Basin.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

2. How There are 164,000 miles of paved
many miles of roads are in the Brazilian Amazon alone? __________________________________
and unpaved roads (3/4 of which are illegal).
________________________________________________________________________________________ © 2015 National Geographic Society

________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Is there a relationship between habitat loss and roads? If so, what is the relationship?
A map caption indicates that 95% of all deforestation has occurred within 3.4 miles of a road.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

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 Human Activity in the Amazon Answer Key,
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4. Is there a relationship between land cover and roads? If so, what is the relationship?
Yes. The map shows an obvious relationship of less high density evergreen forest in areas
________________________________________________________________________________________
where road density is high.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What does the following statement mean? The first road through a natural habitat can mark the

beginning This suggests that once a road is created, it provides access to places
of the end. _____________________________________________________________________
that had previously been untouched by human activity. The road allows people to collect
________________________________________________________________________________________
resources that had been unavailable to them. As soon as a road is laid, trees will come
________________________________________________________________________________________
down, resources will be excavated, and the ecosystem changes.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________

Part 5. Considering the Impact of a Railroad in the Amazon

Look at the area around the proposed transcontinental railroad. Brainstorm potential effects if the
railroad is to be constructed. Complete the chart to consider various implications.

What does this look What might this look like

like now? if the railroad is built?
Land Cover
Answers will vary. Answers will vary.

Habitat Loss
(due to fires and
Answers will vary. Answers will vary.
deforestation)
© 2015 National Geographic Society

Indigenous Territories
Answers will vary. Answers will vary.

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