Template:Short description Template:Country geography
The country of Brazil occupies roughly half of South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil covers a total area of Template:Convert which includes Template:Convert of land and Template:Convert of water. The highest point in Brazil is Pico da Neblina at Template:Convert. Brazil is bordered by the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, and French Guiana.
Much of the climate is tropical, with the south being relatively temperate. The largest river in Brazil, and the second longest in the world, is the Amazon.
Size and geographical locationEdit
Brazil occupies most of the eastern part of the South American continent and its geographic heartland and various islands in the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="Hudson-1998">Template:Citation-attribution</ref> The only countries in the world that are larger are Russia, Canada, China and the United States.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The national territory extends Template:Convert from north to south (5°16'10" N to 33°45'03" S latitude), and Template:Convert from east to west (34°47'35" W to 73°58'59" W longitude).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> It spans four time zones, the westernmost of which is equivalent to Eastern Standard Time in the United States.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The time zone of the capital (Brasília) and of the most populated part of Brazil along the east coast (UTC-3) is two hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Atlantic islands are in the easternmost time zone.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> This continent occupies almost half of the total area. Its coasts are washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the east. Brazil borders all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador. It ranks 5th among the countries of the world in terms of area. The territory of Brazil is located on the ancient South American platform. Therefore, the relief consists of lowlands and flat mountains. In the north, a large area is occupied by the Amazonian lowland. To the south of it is the strongly dissected Brazilian lowland. Between the Brazilian lowland and the Atlantic Ocean is a narrow coastal lowland. Brazil has large deposits of oil, iron, bauxite, nickel, uranium, manganese ores, diamonds and other minerals. Due to the fact that most of it is located in the equatorial and subequatorial climatic zones and the influence of the trade winds blowing from the Atlantic Ocean, the climatic conditions are characterized by high humidity and heat. Due to the temperate climate, the hydrographic network in Brazil is very well developed. The longest and most fertile river in the world, the Amazon, flows through the north of the country. The Amazon basin has formed one of the largest and thickest massifs on our planet. In addition to the Amazon, Brazil also has such large rivers as the Paraná, Tocantins, and São Francisco. In general, Brazil is one of the countries best endowed with water, hydroelectric power, and forest resources.
Brazil possesses the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, located Template:Convert northeast of its "horn", and several small islands and atolls in the Atlantic - Abrolhos, Atol das Rocas, Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, Trindade, and Martim Vaz.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In the early 1970s, Brazil claimed a territorial sea extending Template:Convert from the country's shores, including those of the islands.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
On Brazil's east coast, the Atlantic coastline extends Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In the west, in clockwise order from the south, Brazil has Template:Convert of borders with Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana (overseas department of France).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The only South American countries with which Brazil does not share borders are Chile and Ecuador.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> A few short sections are in question, but there are no true major boundary controversies with any of the neighboring countries.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Brazil has the 10th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of Template:Convert.
Brazil's 49 major ecosystems include the Amazon Basin, Pantanal, Cerrado, Caatinga, Atlantic Forest, and Pampas, each contributing uniquely to the country's rich biodiversity and environmental diversity. In Brazil forest cover is around 59% of the total land area, equivalent to 496,619,600 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 588,898,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 485,396,000 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 11,223,600 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 44% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 30% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 56.% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership and 400% private ownership.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Geology, geomorphology and drainageEdit
In contrast to the Andes, which rose to elevations of nearly Template:Convert in a relatively recent epoch and inverted the Amazon's direction of flow from westward to eastward, Brazil's geological formation is ancient.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Precambrian crystalline shields cover 36% of the territory, especially its central area.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The dramatic granite sugarloaf mountains in the city of Rio de Janeiro are an example of the terrain of the Brazilian shield regions, where continental basement rock has been sculpted into towering domes and columns by tens of millions of years of erosion, untouched by mountain-building events.
The principal mountain ranges average elevations under Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Serra do Mar Range hugs the Atlantic coast, and the Serra do Espinhaço Range, the largest in area, extends through the south-central part of the country.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The highest mountains are in the Tumucumaque, Pacaraima, and Imeri ranges, among others, which traverse the northern border with the Guianas and Venezuela.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
In addition to mountain ranges (about 0.5% of the country is above Template:Convert), Brazil's Central Highlands include a vast central plateau (Planalto Central).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The plateau's uneven terrain has an average elevation of Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The rest of the territory is made up primarily of sedimentary basins, the largest of which is drained by the Amazon and its tributaries.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Of the total territory, 41% averages less than Template:Convert in elevation.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The coastal zone is noted for thousands of kilometers of tropical beaches interspersed with mangroves, lagoons, and dunes, as well as numerous coral reefs.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> A recent global remote sensing analysis also suggested that there were 5,389 km2 of tidal flats in Brazil, making it the 7th ranked country in terms of how much tidal flat occurs there.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The Parcel de Manuel Luís Marine State Park off the coast of Maranhão protects the largest coral reef in South America.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Brazil has one of the world's most extensive river systems, with eight major drainage basins, all of which drain into the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Two of these basins—the Amazon and Tocantins-Araguaia account for more than half the total drainage area.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The largest river system in Brazil is the Amazon, which originates in the Andes and receives tributaries from a basin that covers 45.7% of the country, principally the north and west.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The main Amazon river system is the Amazonas-Solimões-Ucayali axis (the Template:Convert-long Ucayali is a Peruvian tributary), flowing from west to east.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Through the Amazon Basin flows one-fifth of the world's fresh water.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> A total of Template:Convert of the Amazon are in Brazilian territory.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Over this distance, the waters decline only about Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The major tributaries on the southern side are, from west to east, the Javari, Juruá, Purus (all three of which flow into the western section of the Amazon called the Solimões), Madeira, Tapajós, Xingu, and Tocantins.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> On the northern side, the largest tributaries are the Branco, Japurá, Jari, and Rio Negro.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The above-mentioned tributaries carry more water than the Mississippi (its discharge is less than one-tenth that of the Amazon).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Amazon and some of its tributaries, called "white" rivers, bear rich sediments and hydrobiological elements.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The black-white and clear rivers—such as the Negro, Tapajós, and Xingu—have clear (greenish) or dark water with few nutrients and little sediment.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
The major river system in the Northeast is the Rio São Francisco, which flows Template:Convert northeast from the south-central region.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Its basin covers 7.6% of the national territory.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Only Template:Convert of the lower river are navigable for oceangoing ships.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Paraná system covers 14.5% of the country.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Paraná flows south among the Río de la Plata Basin, reaching the Atlantic between Argentina and Uruguay.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The headwaters of the Paraguai, the Paraná's major eastern tributary, constitute the Pantanal, the largest contiguous wetlands in the world, covering as much as Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Below their descent from the highlands, many of the tributaries of the Amazon are navigable.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Upstream, they generally have rapids or waterfalls, and boats and barges also must face sandbars, trees, and other obstacles.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Nevertheless, the Amazon is navigable by oceangoing vessels as far as Template:Convert upstream, reaching Iquitos in Peru.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Amazon river system was the principal means of access until new roads became more important.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Hydroelectric projects are Itaipu, in Paraná, with 12,600 MW; Tucuruí, in Pará, with 7,746 MW; and Paulo Afonso, in Bahia, with 3,986 MW.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Natural resourcesEdit
Natural resources in Brazil include bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, clay, rare earth elements, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, and timber.<ref name="World Factbook">Template:Citation-attribution</ref>
Rivers and lakesEdit
According to organs of the Brazilian government there are 12 major hydrographic regions in Brazil. Seven of these are river basins named after their main rivers; the other five are groupings of various river basins in areas which have no dominant river.
- 7 hydrographic regions named after their dominant rivers:
- 5 coastal Hydrographic Regions based on regional groupings of minor river basins (listed from north to south):
- Atlântico Nordeste Ocidental (Western North-east Atlantic)
- Atlântico Nordeste Oriental (Eastern North-east Atlantic)
- Atlântico Leste (Eastern Atlantic)
- Atlântico Sudeste (South-east Atlantic)
- Atlântico Sul (South Atlantic)
The Amazon River is the widest and second longest river (behind the Nile) in the world. This huge river drains the greater part of the world's rainforests. Another major river, the Paraná, has its source in Brazil. It forms the border of Paraguay and Argentina, then winds its way through Argentina and into the Atlantic Ocean, along the southern coast of Uruguay.
Soil and vegetationEdit
Brazil's tropical soils produce almost 210 million tons of grain crops per year,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> from about 70 million hectares of crops.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The country also has the 5th largest arable land area in the world.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Burning also is used traditionally to remove tall, dry, and nutrient-poor grass from pasture at the end of the dry season.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Until mechanization and the use of chemical and genetic inputs increased during the agricultural intensification period of the 1970s and 1980s, coffee planting and farming, in general, moved constantly onward to new lands in the west and north.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> This pattern of horizontal or extensive expansion maintained low levels of technology and productivity and placed emphasis on quantity rather than the quality of agricultural production.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
The largest areas of fertile soils, called terra roxa (red earth), are found in the states of Paraná and São Paulo.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The least fertile areas are in the Amazon, where the dense rainforest is.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Soils in the Northeast are often fertile, but they lack water, unless they are irrigated artificially.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
In the 1980s, investments made possible the use of irrigation, especially in the Northeast Region and in Rio Grande do Sul State, which had shifted from grazing to soy and rice production in the 1970s.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Savanna soils also were made usable for soybean farming through acidity correction, fertilization, plant breeding, and in some cases spray irrigation.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> As agriculture underwent modernization in the 1970s and 1980s, soil fertility became less important for agricultural production than factors related to capital investment, such as infrastructure, mechanization, use of chemical inputs, breeding, and proximity to markets.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Consequently, the vigor of frontier expansion weakened.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
The variety of climates, soils, and drainage conditions in Brazil is reflected in the range of its vegetation types.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Amazon Basin and the areas of heavy rainfall along the Atlantic coast have tropical rain forest composed of broadleaf evergreen trees.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The rain forest may contain as many as 3,000 species of flora and fauna within a Template:Convert area.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Atlantic Forest is reputed to have even greater biological diversity than the Amazon rain forest, which, despite apparent homogeneity, contains many types of vegetation, from high canopy forest to bamboo groves.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
In the semiarid Northeast, caatinga, a dry, thick, thorny vegetation, predominates.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Most of central Brazil is covered with a woodland savanna, known as the cerrado (sparse scrub trees and drought-resistant grasses), which became an area of agricultural development after the mid-1970s.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In the South (Sul), needle-leaved pinewoods (Paraná pine or araucaria) cover the highlands; grassland similar to the Argentine pampa covers the sea-level plains.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Mato Grosso swamplands (Pantanal Mato-grossense) is a Florida-sized plain in the western portion of the Center-West (Centro-Oeste).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> It is covered with tall grasses, bushes, and widely dispersed trees similar to those of the cerrado and is partly submerged during the rainy season.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Brazil, which is named after reddish dyewood (pau brasil), has long been famous for the wealth of its tropical forests.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> These are not, however, as important to world markets as those of Asia and Africa, which started to reach depletion only in the 1980s.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> By 1996 more than 90% of the original Atlantic forest had been cleared, primarily for agriculture, with little use made of the wood, except for araucaria pine in Paraná.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
The inverse situation existed with regard to clearing for wood in the Amazon rain forest, of which about 15% had been cleared by 1994, and part of the remainder had been disturbed by selective logging.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Because the Amazon forest is highly heterogeneous, with hundreds of woody species per hectare, there is considerable distance between individual trees of economic value, such as mahogany and Pereira.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Therefore, this type of forest is not normally cleared for timber extraction but logged through high-grading or selection of the most valuable trees.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Because of vines, felling, and transportation, their removal causes destruction of many other trees, and the litter and new growth create a risk of forest fires, which are otherwise rare in rainforests.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In favorable locations, such as Paragominas, in the northeastern part of Pará State, a new pattern of timber extraction has emerged: diversification and the production of plywood have led to the economic use of more than 100 tree species.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Starting in the late 1980s, rapid deforestation and extensive burning in Brazil received considerable international and national attention.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Satellite images have helped document and quantify deforestation as well as fires, but their use also has generated considerable controversy because of problems of defining original vegetation, cloud cover, and dealing with secondary growth and because fires, as mentioned above, may occur in old pasture rather than signifying new clearing.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Public policies intended to promote sustainable management of timber extraction, as well as sustainable use of nontimber forest products (such as rubber, Brazil nuts, fruits, seeds, oils, and vines), were being discussed intensely in the mid-1990s.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> However, implementing the principles of sustainable development, without irreversible damage to the environment, proved to be more challenging than establishing international agreements about them.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
ClimateEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}Template:See also
Although 74% of the country is within the tropical zone, the climate of Brazil varies considerably from the mostly tropical North (the equator traverses the mouth of the Amazon) to temperate zones below the Tropic of Capricorn (23°27' S latitude), which crosses the country at the latitude of the city of São Paulo.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Brazil has five climatic regions: equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, subtropical and oceanic.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Temperatures along the equator are high, averaging above Template:Convert, but not reaching the summer extremes of up to Template:Convert in the temperate zones.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> There is little seasonal variation near the equator, although at times it can get cool enough for wearing a jacket, especially in the rain.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> At the country's other extreme, there are frosts south of the Tropic of Capricorn during the winter (June–August), and there is snow in the mountainous areas, such as Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Temperatures in the cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Brasília are moderate (usually between Template:Convert), despite their relatively low latitude, because of their elevation of approximately Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and Salvador on the coast have warm climates, with average temperatures ranging from Template:Convert, but enjoy constant trade winds.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba have a subtropical climate similar to that in parts of the United States and Europe, and temperatures can fall below freezing in winter.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Precipitation levels vary widely.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Most of Brazil has moderate rainfall of between Template:Convert a year, with most of the rain falling in the winter (between December and April) south of the Equator.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Amazon region is notoriously humid, with rainfall generally more than Template:Convert per year and reaching as high as Template:Convert in parts of the western Amazon and near Belém.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> It is less widely known that, despite high annual precipitation, the Amazon rain forest has a three- to five-month dry season, the timing of which varies according to location north or south of the equator.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
High and relatively regular levels of precipitation in the Amazon contrast sharply with the dryness of the semiarid Northeast, where rainfall is scarce and there are severe droughts in cycles averaging seven years.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Northeast is the driest part of the country.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The region also constitutes the hottest part of Brazil, where during the dry season between May and November, temperatures of more than Template:Convert have been recorded.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> However, the sertão, a region of semidesert vegetation used primarily for low-density ranching, turns green when there is rain.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Most of the Center-West has Template:Convert of rain per year, with a pronounced dry season in the middle of the year, while the South and most of the year without a distinct dry season.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Geographic regionsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Brazil's 26 states and the Federal District (Distrito Federal) are divided conventionally into five regions: North (Norte), Northeast (Nordeste), Southeast (Sudeste), South (Sul), and Center-West (Centro-Oeste).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In 2015 there were 5,570 municipalities (municípios),Template:Citation needed which have municipal governments.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Many municipalities, which are comparable to United States counties, are in turn divided into districts (distritos), which do not have political or administrative autonomy.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In 2015 there were 10,424 districts.Template:Citation needed All municipal and district seats, regardless of size, are considered officially to be urban.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> For purely statistical purposes, the municipalities were grouped in 1990 into 558 micro-regions, which in turn constituted 137 meso-regions.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> This grouping modified the previous micro-regional division established in 1968, a division that was used to present census data for 1970, 1975, 1980, and 1985.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Each of the five major regions has a distinct ecosystem.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Administrative boundaries do not necessarily coincide with ecological boundaries, however.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In addition to differences in physical environment, patterns of economic activity and population settlement vary widely among the regions.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The principal ecological characteristics of each of the five major regions, as well as their principal socioeconomic and demographic features, are summarized below.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Template:Detailed map of Brazil
Center-WestEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
The Center-West consists of the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul (separated from Mato Grosso in 1979) and the Federal District, where Brasília is located, the national capital.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Until 1988 Goiás State included the area that then became the state of Tocantins in the North.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
The Center-West has Template:Convert and covers 18.9% of the national territory.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Its main biome is the cerrado, the tropical savanna in which natural grassland is partly covered with twisted shrubs and small trees.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The cerrado was used for low-density cattle-raising in the past but is now also used for soybean production.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> There are gallery forests along the rivers and streams and some larger areas of forest, most of which have been cleared for farming and livestock.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In the north, the cerrado blends into tropical forest.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> It also includes the Pantanal wetlands in the west, known for their wildlife, especially aquatic birds and caimans.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In the early 1980s, 33.6% of the region had been altered by anthropic activities, with a low of 9.3% in Mato Grosso and a high of 72.9% in Goiás (not including Tocantins).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In 1996 the Center-West region had 10.2 million inhabitants, or 6% of Brazil's total population.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The average density is low, with concentrations in and around the cities of Brasília, Goiânia, Campo Grande, and Cuiabá.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Living standards are below the national average.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In 1994 they were highest in the Federal District, with per capita income of US$7,089 (the highest in the nation), and lowest in Mato Grosso, with US$2,268.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
NortheastEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
The nine states that make up the Northeast are Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Fernando de Noronha archipelago (formerly the federal territory of Fernando de Noronha, now part of Pernambuco state) is also included in the Northeast.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
The Northeast, with Template:Convert, covers 18.3% of the national terrest concentration of rural population, and its living standards are the lowest in Brazil.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In 1994 Piauí had the lowest per capita income in the region and the country, only US$835, while Sergipe had the highest average income in the region, with US$1,958.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
NorthEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
The equatorial North, also known as the Amazon or Amazônia, includes, from west to east, the states of Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas, Roraima, Pará, Amapá, and, as of 1988, Tocantins (created from the northern part of Goiás State, which is situated in the Center-West).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Rondônia, previously a federal territory, became a state in 1986.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The former federal territories of Roraima and Amapá were raised to statehood in 1988.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
With Template:Convert, the North is the country's largest region, covering 45.3% of the national territory.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The region's principal biome is the humid tropical forest, also known as the rain forest, home to some of the planet's richest biological diversity.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The North has served as a source of forest products ranging from "backlands drugs" (such as sarsaparilla, cocoa, cinnamon, and turtle butter) in the colonial period to rubber and Brazil nuts in more recent times.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In the mid-twentieth century, non-forest products from mining, farming, and livestock-raising became more important, and in the 1980s the lumber industry boomed.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In 1990, 6.6% of the region's territory was considered altered by anthropic (man-made) action, with state levels varying from 0.9% in Amapá to 14.0% in Rondônia.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
In 1996 the North had 11.1 million inhabitants, only 7% of the national total.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> However, its share of Brazil's total had grown rapidly in the 1970s and early 1980s as a result of interregional migration, as well as high rates of natural increase.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The largest population concentrations are in eastern Pará State and in Rondônia.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The major cities are Belém and Santarém in Pará, and Manaus in Amazonas.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Living standards are below the national average.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The highest per capita income, US$2,888, in the region in 1994, was in Amazonas, while the lowest, US$901, was in Tocantins.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
SoutheastEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
The Southeast consists of the four states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Its total area of Template:Convert corresponds to 10.9% of the national territory.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The region has the largest share of the country's population, 63 million in 1991, or 39% of the national total, primarily as a result of internal migration since the mid-19th century until the 1980s.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In addition to a dense urban network, it contains the megacities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which in 1991 had 18.7 million and 11.7 million inhabitants in their metropolitan areas, respectively.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The region combines the highest living standards in Brazil with pockets of urban poverty.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In 1994 São Paulo boasted an average income of US$4,666, while Minas Gerais reported only US$2,833.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Originally, the principal biome in the Southeast was the Atlantic Forest, but by 1990 less than 10% of the original forest cover remained as a result of clearing for farming, ranching, and charcoal making.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Anthropic activity had altered 79.7% of the region, ranging from 75% in Minas Gerais to 91.1% in Espírito Santo.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The region has most of Brazil's industrial production.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The state of São Paulo alone accounts for half of the country's industries.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Agriculture, also very strong, has diversified and now uses modern technology.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
SouthEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
The three states in the temperate South: Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina—cover Template:Convert, or 6.8% of the national territory.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The population of the South in 1991 was 23.1 million, or 14% of the country's total.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The region is almost as densely settled as the Southeast, but the population is more concentrated along the coast.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The major cities are Curitiba and Porto Alegre.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The inhabitants of the South enjoy relatively high living standards.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Because of its industry and agriculture, Paraná had the highest average income in 1994, US$3,674, while Santa Catarina, a land of small farmers and small industries, had slightly less, US$3,405.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
In addition to the Atlantic Forest and Araucaria moist forests, much of which were cleared in the post-World War II period, the southernmost portion of Brazil contains the Uruguayan savanna, which extends into Argentina and Uruguay.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In 1982, 83.5% of the region had been altered by anthropic activity, with the highest level (89.7%) in Rio Grande do Sul, and the lowest (66.7%) in Santa Catarina.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Agriculture—much of which, such as rice production, is carried out by small farmers—has high levels of productivity.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> There are also some important industries.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
DataEdit
In contrast to the Andes, which rose to elevations of nearly Template:Convert in a relatively recent epoch and inverted the Amazon's direction of flow from westward to eastward, Brazil's geological formation is very old.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Precambrian crystalline shields cover 36% of the territory, especially its central area.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The dramatic granite sugarloaf mountains in the city of Rio de Janeiro are an example of the terrain of the Brazilian shield regions, where continental basement rock has been sculpted into towering domes and columns by tens of millions of years of erosion, untouched by mountain-building events.
The principal mountain ranges average elevations just under Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Serra do Mar Range hugs the Atlantic coast, and the Serra do Espinhaço Range, the largest in area, extends through the south-central part of the country.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The highest mountains are in the Tumucumaque, Pacaraima, and Imeri ranges, among others, which traverse the northern border with the Guianas and Venezuela.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
In addition to mountain ranges (about 0.5% of the country is above Template:Convert), Brazil's Central Highlands include a vast central plateau (Planalto Central).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The plateau's uneven terrain has an average elevation of Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The rest of the territory is made up primarily of sedimentary basins, the largest of which is drained by the Amazon and its tributaries.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Of the total territory, 44% averages less than Template:Convert in elevation.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The coastal zone is noted for thousands of kilometers of tropical beaches interspersed with mangroves, lagoons, and dunes, as well as numerous coral reefs.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
The Parcel de Manuel Luís Marine State Park off the coast of Maranhão protects the largest coral reef in South America.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Brazil has one of the world's most extensive river systems, with eight major drainage basins, all of which drain into the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Two of these basins—the Amazon and Tocantins-Araguaia account for more than half the total drainage area.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The largest river system in Brazil is the Amazon, which originates in the Andes and receives tributaries from a basin that covers 45.7% of the country, principally the north and west.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The main Amazon river system is the Amazonas-Solimões-Ucayali axis (the Template:Convert-long Ucayali is a Peruvian tributary), flowing from west to east.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Through the Amazon Basin flows one-fifth of the world's fresh water.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> A total of Template:Convert of the Amazon are in Brazilian territory.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Over this distance, the waters decline only about Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The major tributaries on the southern side are, from west to east, the Javari, Juruá, Purus (all three of which flow into the western section of the Amazon called the Solimões), Madeira, Tapajós, Xingu, and Tocantins.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> On the northern side, the largest tributaries are the Branco, Japurá, Jari, and Rio Negro.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The above-mentioned tributaries carry more water than the Mississippi (its discharge is less than one-tenth that of the Amazon).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Amazon and some of its tributaries, called "white" rivers, bear rich sediments and hydrobiological elements.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The black-white and clear rivers—such as the Negro, Tapajós, and Xingu—have clear (greenish) or dark water with few nutrients and little sediment.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
The major river system in the Northeast is the Rio São Francisco, which flows Template:Convert northeast from the south-central region.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Its basin covers 7.6% of the national territory.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Only Template:Convert of the lower river are navigable for oceangoing ships.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Paraná system covers 14.5% of the country.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Paraná flows south among the Río de la Plata Basin, reaching the Atlantic between Argentina and Uruguay.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The headwaters of the Paraguai, the Paraná's major eastern tributary, constitute the Pantanal, the largest contiguous wetlands in the world, covering as much as Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Below their descent from the highlands, many of the tributaries of the Amazon are navigable.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Upstream, they generally have rapids or waterfalls, and boats and barges also must face sandbars, trees, and other obstacles.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Nevertheless, the Amazon is navigable by oceangoing vessels as far as Template:Convert upstream, reaching Iquitos in Peru.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Amazon river system was the principal means of access until new roads became more important.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Hydroelectric projects are Itaipu, in Paraná, with 12,600 MW; Tucuruí, in Pará, with 7,746 MW; and Paulo Afonso, in Bahia, with 3,986 MW.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
LocationsEdit
Brazil occupies most of the eastern part of the South American continent and its geographic heartland, as well as various islands in the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The only countries in the world that are larger are Russia, Canada, China, and the United States.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The national territory extends Template:Convert from north to south (5°16'20" N to 33°44'32" S latitude), and Template:Convert from east to west (34°47'30" W to 73°59'32" W longitude).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> It spans four time zones, the westernmost of which is equivalent to Eastern Standard Time in the United States.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The time zone of the capital (Brasília) and of the most populated part of Brazil along the east coast (UTC-3) is two hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The Atlantic islands are in the easternmost time zone.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
Brazil possesses the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, located Template:Convert northeast of its "horn", and several small islands and atolls in the Atlantic - Abrolhos, Atol das Rocas, Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, Trindade, and Martim Vaz.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In the early 1970s, Brazil claimed a territorial sea extending Template:Convert from the country's shores, including those of the islands.<ref name="Hudson-1998" />
On Brazil's east coast, the Atlantic coastline extends Template:Convert.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> In the west, in clockwise order from the south, Brazil has Template:Convert of borders with Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana (overseas department of France).<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> The only South American countries with which Brazil does not share borders are Chile and Ecuador.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> A few short sections are in question, but there are no true major boundary controversies with any of the neighboring countries.<ref name="Hudson-1998" /> Brazil has the 10th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of Template:Convert.