The world's richest habitats
Rainforests are home to more than half the world's species, and this word search gathers what makes them special. You'll track down the great forests themselves — the AMAZON, the CONGO, BORNEO's jungle and Australia's DAINTREE — all warm, HUMID and TROPICAL near the EQUATOR.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection from the list, so the jungle changes every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a Hard-mode trek once the diagonals and backwards words appear.
Layer by layer
A rainforest is built in four layers, and the words are here. At the bottom is the dark forest floor; above it the shadowy UNDERSTORY of FERNS, the ORCHID and climbing LIANA and VINES; then the dense, leafy CANOPY where most animals live; and finally a few giant EMERGENT trees poking out above the rest. It's alive with SPECIES — the colourful TOUCAN, the slow SLOTH — all sharing one HABITAT.
Why rainforests matter
Rainforests are the most crowded habitats on Earth: though they cover only a small slice of the land, they hold more than half of all the world's plant and animal SPECIES. They grow in a warm band near the EQUATOR where heavy RAINFALL falls almost every day, and the biggest of all, the AMAZON, pumps out so much oxygen it's nicknamed the 'lungs of the planet'.
They're also under threat. Cutting down forests for timber (like MAHOGANY) and farmland destroys HABITAT and adds to climate change, which is why looking after rainforests is such an important part of conservation — and a great topic to explore.
Great for an ecosystems topic
It pairs perfectly with a lesson on ecosystems, habitats and conservation — Easy mode keeps the grid small with no diagonals or reverse words. For the creatures themselves, try our Rainforest Animals puzzle. Play online, print a PDF pack, or build your own grid with Make Your Own.
Frequently asked questions
What's in the rainforests word search?
The great forests like the Amazon and Congo, plus rainforest words — canopy, understory, emergent layer, vines, species and habitat. Each puzzle uses a fresh mix.
Does it explain the layers of a rainforest?
It does — from the forest floor up through the UNDERSTORY and CANOPY to the tallest EMERGENT trees, plus great forests like the AMAZON, CONGO and Australia's DAINTREE.
How is this different from the Rainforest Animals puzzle?
Rainforests is about the habitat — its layers, plants and great forests. The separate Rainforest Animals puzzle (under Animals) is all about the creatures that live there.