What is a rain forest?

A rain forest is a very dense and dark forest that grows in a land where the rainfall is very heavy.  A rain forest is a large, very thick forest in a land where rain is very heavy throughout the year.  The closely crowded trees need at least 80, and often much more, inches of rain each year.

Rainforest

Most rain forests grow near the equator.  Here it is warm all year round, and rain falls nearly every day.  The tall trees raise their leafy branches high above the ground.  The leaves are usually so crowded that little sunlight can filter through, and the forest is often dark.

The heavy rains wash much of the plant food from the surface soil.  As a result, the floor of a rain forest is often bare because smaller plants cannot grow in the dim light and poor soil.  Many people think of rain forests is jungles.

Jungle differs from tropical rain forests.  A dense carpeting of creepers, vines and undergrowth generally covers the ground in a jungle.  Some jungles have a few trees.  Dense jungles may grow in dry climates where rain forests can’t.  Jungles are among the least livable places on earth.  Poisonous plants, snakes and wild creatures live in them. – Dick Rogers