Which continent is home to the Amazon rainforest?

Which continent is home to the Amazon rainforest? South America. The Amazon rainforest covers much of the Amazon Basin, a vast tropical region centered on the Amazon River and spread across northern South America.

Most of the forest lies in Brazil, with substantial areas in Peru and Colombia and smaller portions in Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. Brazil contains roughly 60 percent of the rainforest. The forest is part of the larger Amazon biome, while the Amazon Basin also includes rivers, wetlands, savannas, and other ecosystems.

The Amazon is often called the world’s largest tropical rainforest and is celebrated for extraordinary biodiversity. It is not confined to one country, and the rainforest should not be confused with the Amazon River itself: the river is a major geographic feature within the forest, while the rainforest is the broader ecosystem surrounding it.