Note: Teacher’s notes are in red.

Students will define and locate a watershed; explore how people and wildlife are connected to the Amazon River through the Amazon Basin; and agree on strategies to ensure the sustainable use of the river.

Your Mission
Six countries share the Amazon River Basin—a watershed of 2.27 million square miles (5.88 million square kilometers). All water that flows within this huge drainage basin—called Amazonia—eventually ends up in the Amazon. Your task is to write an “Amazon Agreement” to ensure the sustainable use of the river.

Subjects: Geography, Math, Social Studies

Relevant U.S. National Geography Standards: 3, 4, 14, 15

Materials

• Student handout of Amazon Basin overlaid on a United States map (Download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file.)
• Research materials (encyclopedias, etc.)

Living in a River System
Ask students to define “watershed.” (The terms “watershed” and “drainage basin” are used interchangeably; the use of one term over another usually depends on the context in which it’s being used.) (Note to Teacher: If appropriate, explain that one watershed can be part of another watershed. For example, the Missouri River watershed is “nested” within the Mississippi River watershed. Water that enters a watershed always flows within that watershed—but it may also flow to another watershed.)

Distribute the handout of the Amazon Basin overlaid on the United States map, or ask students to look at the map on a computer. (Download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file.) About what portion of South America does the Amazon Basin drain?

What portion of the lower 48 United States do students think the Amazon Basin would cover if it were in the United States? Have students make the calculation, following the directions on the handout. (Answer: approximately 75 percent)

By almost every measure, the Amazon is the world’s greatest river. The Amazon and its more than a thousand tributaries make up the largest river system in the world, and drain one-sixth of the Earth’s runoff.

To get a better sense of this huge watershed, compare the size of the Amazon River network with the size of the United States. (Download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file.)

The highest ground around a watershed forms its boundaries, like the edge of a bowl. The water that flows down from the high ground, whether as runoff or from streams, rivers, or even groundwater, all eventually drains into the same river, lake, or ocean. All the water that enters a watershed always flows within the watershed. That means that what people put into the water, and how people use the water available to them, is very likely to affect the quality of the water—and its users—both locally and in other areas of the watershed. What people in one area may need for agriculture, drinking water, industry, and recreation may affect the economy of a region in a distant part of the same watershed.

Sharing a River System
Six countries in South America share nearly all of the Amazon River basin. Break the class into six teams; each team will represent one of those six countries.

Base the number of students per group, roughly, on the number of people living in each of the six countries sharing the Amazon Basin. For example, of the 282.3 million people living in these six countries:

• 60 percent live in Brazil
• 14 percent live in Colombia
• 10 percent live in Peru
• 9 percent live in Venezuela
• 4 percent live in Ecuador
• 3 percent live in Bolivia

In a class of 26 students, for example, groups would divide as such:

• Brazil: 15 students
• Colombia: 3 students
• Peru: 2 students
• Venezuela: 2 students
• Ecuador: 2 students
• Bolivia: 2 students

Have each group research its country. With the class, discuss how they can organize their information (maps, graphs, tables, photographs, aerial photographs, spreadsheets, timelines) and the type of information they might gather, such as:

• Physical geography of the country
• Economic benefits from the river; possible economic impact of enacting conservation measures
• How people have modified the physical environment
• Political issues involving the river

Online, students can find an overview of the region. For in-depth information, students can go to Britannica.com, then click on “Article.” (Exploratorium) (Encyclopedia Britannica)

If students don’t have access to a computer, print “Modern settlement patterns” from Britannica.com. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

With more than a thousand tributaries, the Amazon River Basin encompasses a large part of six countries of South America. More than 282 million people live in those six countries. Water quality and water use in Peru—in the headwaters of the watershed—can affect inhabitants in Brazil, thousands of miles away in the same watershed.

In a team, you’ll examine one of these countries—Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela—to learn how your country is connected to the Amazon, and to the millions of people who share the river’s basin.

To get a feel for the region, hop on a slow boat. For in-depth information, go to Britannica.com, and click on “Article.” (Exploratorium) (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Your team should consider questions such as:

• What part of the Amazon River Basin is in your country? Its Headwaters? Tributaries? Floodplain? Mouth? Is your country upstream from other countries? Downstream from other countries?
• How do people and wildlife in your country use the Amazon or its tributaries (transportation, recreation)? How might the river system be used in the future?
• How does your country use the land within the watershed (industry, agriculture, mining, forestry)?
• Do people in your country engage in activities that endanger the quality of the Amazon Basin? Do any conflicts that relate to the river exist between your country and another country?
• What does your country control? What could your country change?
• Why should your country protect the Amazon River?

Agreed—We’ll Save the River System
Have each group present the results of its research to the class. Have the class discuss the complexities involved in such a large number of people sharing one river. Have the six countries develop strategies on which all can agree for protecting the entire Amazon.

Your country, working in conjunction with the other five countries, will use the information you’ve gathered to draft an “Amazon Agreement.” Try to reach consensus on at least three things that each country will do that will protect, preserve, or restore the Amazon River to ensure its sustainable use, as well as serve the interests of all the countries. When the “Amazon Agreement” has been written, representatives can sign the document.

Take Action—Geography Action!
Where does your fresh water come from? Find out—find your watershed address.

If you’re concerned about the state of rivers in your state, make yourself heard! At EarthNet, you can e-mail your senators or congressman or enter your ZIP code to find local media organizations. (The Center for Environmental Citizenship)

Are you interested in “Saving the Amazon?” See how the World Wildlife Fund is working to support conservation efforts overseas. (World Wildlife Fund)

Whatever you decide to do, tell us about it! Fill out the Geography Action! survey, and learn what other students are doing for rivers!

Mapping activity from Amazon Geoguide. © 1995 National Geographic Society. Maps by Mickey Edwards.

Top

Student Page

Photographs (left to right): Amazon River, Brazil, by George F. Mobley; Chao Phraya River, Bangkok, by Jodi Cobb

Illustration (right): Dragonfly, copyright Corbis

© 2001 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.