October 17- 23 , 2005

Rainforests are defined and created by rainfall: more than eighty inches per year. Tropical rainforests are located near the equator, a majority of them in Latin America. Temperate rainforests are found in coastal areas, such as the 1,200 miles of temperate rainforest that stretches along the Pacific coast from Oregon to Alaska. Because they are so ecologically rich, many are concerned with their current rate of destruction. Are rainforests worth saving? Learn more, and decide for yourself.

On the Line: Tropical Rainforests
“Tropical rainforests are mainly the product of climatic interactions, particularly temperature and rainfall. In general, tropical rain forests occur where a mean monthly temperature of between 20 and 28 degrees C is combined with an annual rainfall of between 1.5 and 10 meters, evenly distributed throughout the year.” Written for high school students and adults, On the Line focuses on African rainforests as part of its study of the various countries that fall on the Greenwich meridian: Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom.

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[tags]rainforest,environment,tropical,temperate,pacific[/tags]