Brazil

Neighbors, states and relief:

Brazil is one of the largest countries in the world and is on the 5th place as surface and also as population and it has the next neighbors: French Guyana, Suriname, Guyana and Venezuela in north, Colombia in north-west, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay in west, Argentina and Uruguay in south and in east and north-east is the Atlantic Ocean. It’s composed by 26 autonomic states and a federal district where is the capital Brasilia. Although it’s a huge country, the relief forms are not so varied.

The Amazonian basin from the north and central part of Brazil, which is nothing else, than a low plain with equatorial forest: the Amazonian Plain. Guyana Platform is up to the north close to the border with Guyana and Venezuela where Brazil has its highest peak Neblina with 3.014 m height. The Amazonian jungle is the largest equatorial forest in the world. The Brazilian Platform is an old and downy region situated in the central and south parts of Brazil which is crossed by deep valleys.

Amazonian Jungle and rivers of Brazil:

The great Amazonian basin is created by the river with the largest debit in the world, Amazon and its many influents. This basin represents a third from the entire Brazilian surface and many areas remain untouched. This huge equatorial forest hides a large number of species of plants and animals, but more important it hides approximately 200.000 indigenous people living in tribes like tikuna, yanomami or guajajara. Unfortunately the deforestation of this impressive biotope is a real problem for the Brazilian authorities since long ago. It was deforested more than 15% of the equatorial forest in the last decades. Other important Brazilian rivers are Parana, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Brazilian name and climate:

The name of Brazil is coming from the word fernambuc which if translating in Portuguese pau-brasil means a wood used to wash the clothes. Brazilian climate is warm and wet, mostly equatorial, but with great variations comparative with the other South American countries. The largest quantity of rainfall was registered in the Amazonian Plain. The temperature varies between 36-40º C in the northern part where the humidity is big and between 18-20º C in center of the country and to the ocean where the climate is warm and mild.

Capital, cities and population:

Although the capital of the country is Brasilia, the largest cities in Brazil are Sao Paulo (the largest), Rio de Janeiro (the best known and the cultural center), Salvador and others. Brasilia is the center of government and the place of foreign embassies. Sao Paulo City was founded in 1554 and it blew in the last century. Today, it is a huge metropolis with more than 18 million people and is on the 4th place in America.

On the other hand, Rio de Janeiro is the most famous Brazilian city and an important tourist objective with more than 6 million visitors annually. It was the capital of Brazil till 1960. The Brazilian population is a mix between Europeans (Portuguese who colonized the country) and indigenous people. The largest Japanese community outside Japan is here. More than a half of the population is under 25 years old and the contrast between the rich and poor people is very visible in the largest Brazilian cities.

Agriculture, resources and industries from Brazil:

The inhabitants work in agriculture and cultivate coffee and because Brazil is number 1 in the world for coffee exports with more than 1,2 tones annual, it is also called The Coffee’s Country. (Find more journeys on blog.worldlifetimejourneys.com) There are also cultures of rice, corn, sugar cane, cocoa, bean, exotic fruits, citrus, potatoes and cotton. The country has impressive resources of bauxite, nickel, plumb and manganese and it has some very developed industries like the one of motors, chemicals, confections and shoes.This South American giant obtained its independency from Portugal in 07 September 1822. Visit Brazil!

Sugar Loaf Mountain and Rio de Janeiro panorama, Brazil