Suspension bridge in Tambopata National Reserve, Amazon Basin, Peru

© Pere Rubi/Getty Image

Sway with the Amazonian canopy. Tambopata Natural Reserve, Peru

To cross this suspension bridge in the canopy of the Amazon rainforest means depending on the trees of the forest to support you. Similarly, the survival of life on Earth depends on the trees of the Amazon forest. Amazonia stores more carbon than 10 times the annual global emissions from fossil fuel and supports approximately 10% of all known animal and plant species on Earth. The Amazon River discharges more water than any other river on earth, and almost 20% of all water that flows into the ocean from rivers travels through the Amazon River basin. While almost two-thirds of the Amazon lies in Brazil, it stretches across seven other countries, from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. This section of canopy is in Peru’s Tambopata Natural Reserve, home to giant harpy eagles, macaws, jaguars, capybaras, sloths, and giant otters.