Geography of Brazil
Iguazu water falls
Brazil is characterized by the extensive low-lying Amazon Rainforest in the north and a more open terrain of hills and low mountains to the south — home to most of the Brazilian population and its agricultural base. Along the Atlantic coast there are several mountain ranges, at the top altitude of roughly 2,900 meters (9,500 ft). The highest peak is the 3,014 meter (9,735 ft) Pico da Neblina (Misty Peak) in Guiana's highlands. Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in the world in flowing water volume, and the second-longest in the world; the Paraná and its major tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the Iguaçu Falls are located; the Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers.
A number of islands in the Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil: Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, Rocas Atoll, Fernando de Noronha and Trindade and Martim Vaz.
Located mainly within the tropics, Brazil's climate has little seasonal variation. Southern Brazil, however, has a subtropical temperate weather, occasionally experiencing frost and snow in the higher regions. Precipitation is abundant in the humid Amazon Basin, but more arid landscapes are found as well, particularly in the northeast.
Although 90% 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. Brazil has five climatic regions: equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, and subtropical.
Temperatures along the equator are high, averaging above 25 °C, reaching the summer extremes of up to 40 °C in the temperate zones. There is little seasonal variation near the equator, although at times it can get cool enough for wearing a jacket, especially in the rain. At the country's other extreme, there are frosts south of the Tropic of Capricorn during the winter (June-August), and in some years there is snow in the mountainous areas, such as Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Temperatures in the cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Brasília are moderate (usually between 15 °C and 30 °C), because of their elevation of approximately 1,000 meters. Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador, located in the coast, have warm climates, with average temperatures ranging from 23 °C to 27 °C. 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 under zero degrees Celsius in the winter.
Precipitation levels vary widely. Most of Brazil has moderate rainfall of between 1,000 and 1,500 millimeters a year, with most of the rain falling in the summer (between December and April), south of the Equator. The Amazon region is notoriously humid, with rainfall generally more than 2,000 millimeters per year and reaching as high as 3,000 millimeters in parts of the western Amazon and near Belém. 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.
Geographically, mainland Brazil is commonly divided into five regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South. Also, Brazil is a federation consisting of twenty-six states (estados, one federal district (Distrito Federal) and 5,564 Municipalities.
Regions
The North constitutes 45.27% of the surface of Brazil, and it is the region with the lowest number of inhabitants. With the exception of Manaus, which hosts a tax-free industrial zone, and Belém, with the biggest metropolitan area of the region, it is a fairly unindustrialized and undeveloped region. It accommodates most of the largest rainforest of the world and many indigenous tribes. The Northeast has about 30% of Brazil's population. The region is culturally diverse, with roots from the Portuguese colonial period, Afro-Brazilian culture and some Brazilian Indian influence. It is also the poorest region of Brazil, and has long periods of dry climate. It is well-known for its beautiful coast. The largest cities are Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza. The Central-West has a low demographic density compared to the other regions, mostly because of the Pantanal, the world’s largest marshlands area, and a small part of the Amazon rainforest, in the northwest. However, much of the region is covered by Cerrado, the largest savanna in the world. It is also a very important area for agriculture in the country. The largest cities of this region are: Brasília (the capital), Goiânia, Campo Grande and Cuiabá.
The Southeast is the richest and most densely populated region. It has more inhabitants than any other South American country, and hosts one of the largest megalopolis of the world, whereof the main cities are the country's two biggest ones; São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The region is very diverse, including the major business centre of São Paulo, the historical cities of Minas Gerais and its capital Belo Horizonte, the third-largest metropolitan area in Brazil, the world famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and the acclaimed coast of Espírito Santo. The South is the wealthiest region by GDP per capita and has the best standard of living in the country. It is also the coldest region of Brazil, with occasional occurrences of frosts and snow in some of the higher altitude regions. The region has been heavily settled by European immigrants, mainly of Italian, German, Portuguese and Slavic ancestry, and shows clear influences from these cultures. The largest cities of this region are: Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, Londrina, Caxias do Sul and Joinville.
States
The Brazilian states enjoy a significant autonomy of government, law making, public security and taxation. The government of a state is headed by a Governor (governador), elected by popular vote, and also comprises its own legislative body (assembléia legislativa). Each state is divided into municipalities (municípios) with their own legislative council (câmara de vereadores) and a mayor (prefeito), which are autonomous and hierarchically independent from both federal and state government. A municipality may include other towns (distritos) besides the municipal seat; those, however, have no separate government.
The judiciary is organized at the state and federal levels within districts called foros. The foros in the state judiciary are called comarcas. Each comarca may include one or several municipalities. In the federal judiciary the foros are called seções judiciárias. One seção judiciária corresponds to the area of one State or the Federal District. Seções judiciárias may be divided in smaller units, called subseções judiciárias.
