History & Background:

Madre Selva Biological Station was the first of Project Amazonas' three field stations, and is the most developed of the stations with the capacity of hosting the largest groups. The station was founded in 1994 with a land purchase of 120 ha (~300 acres), and through an agreement with the Yagua Indian community of Comandancia for access to and use of 100 ha (~250 acres) of adjoining Yagua Indian tribal lands. There is also direct access to hundreds of thousands of hectares of state-controlled land immediately beyond the station boundaries. Since its creation, Madre Selva has rapidly grown into the most utilized of the Project Amazonas field sites. It is the favored site for educational groups due to ease of access, comfortable and convenient facilities, and the easy access to a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, as well as to local Yagua Indian and other communities in the region.

Location & Habitats:

Madre Selva is located 150 river km (90 river miles) east of Iquitos on the south bank of the Rio Orosa, with facilities near or overlooking Tunche Cano (Ghost Creek), a tributary of the Rio Orosa, a black-water river. This lower portion of the Rio Orosa is an ancient channel of the Amazon, and during high water, Amazon River water enters the Orosa at several points up- and down-stream from Madre Selva, imparting a strong seasonal white-water influence to this otherwise black-water river. Land near the Orosa River and along Tunche Cano is seasonally flooded (varzea and/or igapo forest), while further inland the terrain is a mixture of low rolling hills and fairly steep ravines. Across the Rio Orosa from the field station is an extensive area of seasonally flooded swamp forest and floodplain lakes, and at moderate to high water there is easy access to the sandbars, mud-flats, floating meadows and river islands of the Amazon River itself. (mouse over for map of general area?)

Facilities:

The station provides housing for up to 30 persons in two open-sided traditional-style elevated houses with Irapay palm thatch roofs (the largest is also screened), and two newly constructed (November 2004) smaller shelters called "tambos" (click to view the construction process). Large dome tents or mosquito nets are provided for protection from insects and for privacy, and beds, mattresses, and linens are included. Nearby modern flush toilets and showers are connected to a septic drainfield. A dining hall with attached fully equipped kitchen seats 35 comfortably, and doubles as an "assembly hall". A dedicated classroom/laboratory building with storage area in the rear is used by educational groups and researchers for various projects. Approximately 25 km of trails provide access to primary and secondary forest of varying ages. One long trail leads directly into the extensive unbroken forest that lies between the Rio Orosa and the Rio Yavari on the Brazilian frontier, approximately 75 km distant.