If placed over the United States, the Amazon would stretch from western Pennsylvania to eastern California and from Canada to Mexico.
Calling the Amazon rainforest "the lungs of the planet" may appear melodramatic, but it holds some truth: As the largest tropical forest on Earth, the Amazon spans eight countries and 1.4 billion acres. If placed over the United States, the Amazon would stretch from western Pennsylvania to eastern California and from Canada to Mexico. The forest is one of our largest terrestrial carbon sinks, meaning its trees store carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. 2019 reports estimate that the Amazon absorbs about 5% of all the carbon dioxide released each year.