Skip to content
RichseenAtlas← JourneySign in

Amazon Rainforest

When these happened

25 dated records from 500 to 2025. Each is drawn as wide as its date is certain — a band is a band because nobody knows the year, not because the drawing is imprecise.

500100015002000Dark earths accumulate under long-term settlement — c. 2,500 - 500 years before presentOrellana descends the river to the Atlantic — 1541-1542BR-163 opens between Cuiaba and Santarem — mid-1970sConstruction of the Trans-Amazonian Highway begins — 1970-1972The Carhuasanta stream on Nevado Mismi is identified as the Amazon source — 1971Isotope study quantifies Amazonian moisture recycling — 1979BR-319 becomes impassable — late 1980sBrazil's constitution recognises indigenous land rights as original — 1988INPE begins the annual PRODES deforestation series — 1988Clearance reaches the highest annual figure in the record — 1995PPCDAm launched and DETER alerts begin — 2004A drought in the southwestern basin reverses the carbon sink — 2005The Amazon Soy Moratorium is signed — 2006Drought sensitivity of the Amazon is published — 2009A second severe drought follows within five years — 2010Annual clearance reaches its lowest recorded level — 2012The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory begins operating — 2015The tipping point estimate is revised sharply downward — 2018INPE's director is dismissed after defending the deforestation data — 2019Aircraft profiles show the eastern Amazon emitting more carbon than it absorbs — 2021Clearance reaches its highest level since the mid-2000s — 2021The most severe drought in the instrumental record — 2023-2024The threshold question is reframed as compounding disturbance — 2024Clearance falls to its lowest level in roughly a decade — 2024The UN climate conference convenes at the mouth of the Amazon — 2025-11
25 shown · 25 dated · 0 cannot be placed on an axis · Approximate or contested. Draw a band and do not sharpen its edges.
In order25
  1. c. 2,500 - 500 years before presentDark earths accumulate under long-term settlement

    Sources disagree, or the dating is contested. Stated, not resolved.

  2. 1541-1542Orellana descends the river to the Atlantic

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  3. mid-1970sBR-163 opens between Cuiaba and Santarem

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  4. 1970-1972Construction of the Trans-Amazonian Highway begins

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  5. 1971The Carhuasanta stream on Nevado Mismi is identified as the Amazon source

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  6. 1979Isotope study quantifies Amazonian moisture recycling

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  7. late 1980sBR-319 becomes impassable

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  8. 1988Brazil's constitution recognises indigenous land rights as original

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  9. 1988INPE begins the annual PRODES deforestation series

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  10. 1995Clearance reaches the highest annual figure in the record

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  11. 2004PPCDAm launched and DETER alerts begin

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  12. 2005A drought in the southwestern basin reverses the carbon sink

    It was measured or witnessed, with the observation cited.

  13. 2006The Amazon Soy Moratorium is signed

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  14. 2009Drought sensitivity of the Amazon is published

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  15. 2010A second severe drought follows within five years

    It was measured or witnessed, with the observation cited.

  16. 2012Annual clearance reaches its lowest recorded level

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  17. 2015The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory begins operating

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  18. 2018The tipping point estimate is revised sharply downward

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  19. 2019INPE's director is dismissed after defending the deforestation data

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  20. 2021Aircraft profiles show the eastern Amazon emitting more carbon than it absorbs

    It was measured or witnessed, with the observation cited.

  21. 2021Clearance reaches its highest level since the mid-2000s

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  22. 2023-2024The most severe drought in the instrumental record

    It was measured or witnessed, with the observation cited.

  23. 2024The threshold question is reframed as compounding disturbance

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  24. 2024Clearance falls to its lowest level in roughly a decade

    It happened, and the record is settled.

  25. 2025-11The UN climate conference convenes at the mouth of the Amazon

    It happened, and the record is settled.