What/where is Acre?
- Westernmost Brazilian state
- Neighboring countries: Peru and Bolivia
- Neighboring Brazilian states: Amazonas and Rondônia
- Population: 438,489 (1996)
- Area: about 55,000 sq mi
- Capital: Rio Branco with 288,907 inhabitants (1996)
The whole of Acre lies in the Amazon Basin. 93% of its territory is
covered with tropical rain forest. Acre is divided in two geographical
regions which are the drainage basins of the rivers Juruá and Purús.
The rivers of Acre are so-called white-water rivers, which (unlike the
clear- and black-water rivers) carry murky, muddy waters, rich in
minerals. Due to the regular floodings and the quality of the water, the
soil at the shores is more fertile. 
In
spite of the alarming extent of the deforestation the biodiversity of Acre
and the Amazon Basin is still enormous: There are the mammoth trees like
the "sumauma" that reaches up to 160 feet of altitude,
innumerable species of climbing plants and vines, ferns, bushes, palm
trees, the water lily "victoria regia" with 6 feet of diameter;
there are the Brazil-nuts, the copaíba, various fruits like açai,
graviola, and cupuaçu, numberless species of insects, fishes, the
parrots, araras and other birds that add together with the crickets and
cicadas the unique acoustics to the rain forest; the caimans, the boa
constrictor "sucuri", the rays, the land- and sweet-water
turtles, tapirs, the monkeys, jaguars, panthers and other wildcats...
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