For
almost 20 years, visitors to the National Aquarium in Baltimore
have discovered the beauty and importance of the upland rain
forest while exploring the Aquarium's rooftop South American
Rain Forest Exhibit. Now, a dramatic addition to the Aquarium,
Amazon River Forest, takes visitors on an all-new trek to
the heart of the jungle - the mysterious lowland rain
forest.
Amazon
River Forest, the first new permanent exhibit for the Aquarium
in nine years, gives visitors an extraordinary view of this
highly specialized and critically endangered habitat of South
America. Visitors travel along a 57-foot stretch of an Amazon
tributary, caught in the moment of time before it floods into
the surrounding forest. In this rare glimpse into a still
largely unknown world, travelers discover the amazing diversity
of life that has adapted to this seasonally changing
environment.
Using
three major displays and interactive computer stations, Amazon
River Forest illustrates the dramatic difference between the
rainy and the dry seasons in the same section of the forest.
When the Amazon River and the rivers that feed it swell to
create flooded forests, lakes, and floating meadows, water
levels may rise 30 feet or more for an average of five to seven
months. Water spreads for miles into the trees, giving fish as
much forest access as birds.
Once
they have experienced the sights and sounds of the flooded
forest, visitors can head for high ground and learn more about
the rain forest and the need to protect it in the Aquarium's
South American Rain Forest, home to many species of free-roaming
birds, reptiles, and amphibians, and the adjacent Hidden Life
Exhibit, which showcases an extensive collection of rare poison
dart frogs. Along with the new Amazon River Forest, these
exhibits comprise one of the most comprehensive rainforest
experiences in the country.
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