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BRAZIL
Brazil
Image courtesy of Roger de la Harpe www.africaimagery.com
Brazil covers almost half of the South American continent and it is bordered to the north, west and south by all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador; to the east is the Atlantic. The country is topographically quite flat and at no point do the highlands exceed 3000m (10,000ft). Over 60 per cent of the country is a plateau; the remainder consists of plains. The River Plate Basin (the confluence of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, both of which have their sources in Brazil) in the far south is more varied, higher and less heavily forested. North of the Amazon are the Guiana Highlands, partly forested, partly stony desert. The Brazilian Highlands of the interior, between the Amazon and the rivers of the south, form a vast tableland, the Mato Grosso, from which rise mountains in the southwest that form a steep protective barrier from the coast called the Great Escarpment, breached by deeply cut river beds. The population is concentrated in the southeastern states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The city of São Paulo has a population of over 10 million, while over 5.5 million people live in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil is South America's biggest and most influential country and takes up almost half the continent. It is one of the world's economic giants and is revered for its football prowess, coffee production and distinctive music such as samba and bossa nova. Two-thirds of Brazil’s population lives near the coast, meaning that life is a beach for locals and tourists alike. People are the essence of the country, and while Brazil is home to a multitude of ethnic groups of varying economic status, there are some characteristics that everyone shares – energy and passion. It is not all reserved
for football either; Brazilians enjoy a good party whatever the circumstances. Rio is the hottest of destinations, particularly around Carnival time. Dancers gyrate, the music beats and the summer temperature rises. Almost anything goes. Bodies of all ages, colors and sizes don the very minimum in beachwear and idle away the days on the sun-kissed Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. Volleyball, swimming and people-watching are but a few of the activities in which you can indulge. Brazil’s landscape is as diverse as the people who inhabit it. Few tourists venture far from Brazil’s spectacular beaches but a trip into the interior reveals a different Brazil, one with a great deal to offer the visitor. Brazil includes much of the world's biggest rain forest around the Amazon, whose exploitation has become a major environmental worry. Almost entirely covered with dense rainforest, Brazil’s northern interior is split into the vast regions of Amazonas, Pará, Acre and Rondônia. These massive federal states easily outstrip the land resources of many European countries and, combined, cover over 3,400,000 sq km (1,300,000 sq miles) of endless jungle home to lush vegetation and countless species of life. Brazil’s massive assortment of people and places renders it ripe for choice.
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