When we think of rainforests, we most likely think first of the Amazon basin in South America. That's appropriate, as the Amazon rainforest is the world's largest tropical rainforest. But where the Amazon basin meets the Andes mountains, there is enormous biodiversity. The northern portion of the Andes, bordering on the Amazon rainforest, is known as the Tropical Andes. In the Tropical Andes, the pattern of vegetation includes includes tropical rainforests at 1,600 to 4,900 feet above sea level, and also cloud forests ranging from 2,600 to 11,500 feet. Cloud forests (also known as water forests) are evergreen and typically have low-level cloud cover enveloping them.
A dispute over succession after the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632 split the Muslim world into Sunni and Shiite branches. Shiites believe Ali, the prophet's son-in-law, was Muhammad's rightful heir.
