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Amazon Delta lowlands south of the city of Macapa, Amapá state, Brazil. The name Amazon is derived from the local native word amassona, meaning 'boat destroyer'. The Amazon River is over 6,500 km (4000 mi) long and it supports the world’s largest rainforest. The Amazon Basin, the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries, is a vast depression covering approximately 7,050,000 km² (2,722,000 sq mi), an area almost as large as Australia. The region is home to an amazingly great biodiversity, over one hundred and sixty species of mammals are found here and more than five hundred and fifty species of birds.