It borders Guinea and Brazil. Description of Brazil: population, language and flag, cities and borders of the country, map of Brazil or where it is located on the world map

Most big country Latin America is Brazil. Having significant natural resources, the state is in a difficult economic situation.

Geographical characteristics

Brazil is located on the continent of South America and is the fifth largest country in the world by area. Its territory is 8.5 million square km.

Brazil borders most countries on the continent. Its neighbors are: French Guiana, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay.

The territory of the state of Brazil includes the islands: Sao Paulo, Trinidadi e Martin Vas, Fernando de Noronha, Rocas.

The population of Brazil exceeds 200 million people. According to racial composition data, the majority of people come from mixed marriages.

Nature

Mountains and waterfalls

The mountains of Brazil occupy a relatively small part of the territory and are represented by the Guiana and Brazilian Highlands. The heights of individual peaks of mountain systems reach an altitude of 2,890 m above sea level, in particular Mount Bandeira, which belongs to the Brazilian Highlands. There are low hills, steep cliffs with cliffs, and plateaus.

The features of the topography and dense river network determined the presence of many waterfalls in Brazil. Many of them are located on the territory national parks, for example, a waterfall on the Iguazu River in a gorge nicknamed the “Devil’s Throat”. The height of the falling column of water is 80 m.

Also among the famous and popular waterfalls among tourists are: Caracol, Angel, Salto Floriano, San Martin, etc...

Rivers and lakes

The most famous river flowing through Brazil is the Amazon.

Among the others large rivers countries can be noted: the Paranaiba River, Rio Grande, Uruguay and Paraguay, as well as San Francisco.

The Amazon is suitable for navigation with its tributaries located in the western and eastern parts of the country, as well as small sections of rivers flowing through the plateau.

The rivers have rapids, the water level in them is not constant, the drops are significant, even to the point of floods.

Most lakes in Brazil are located in river basins. The largest in Latin America is Lagoa Mirin.

Another lake, Patus, is the world's largest shallow body of water. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a sandbar.

Interesting lakes that form exclusively during the rainy season are reservoirs with fresh water in the territory national park Lencois Maranhenses. Their lifespan is only 4 months, but during this period fish, crabs, etc. manage to appear here...

The ocean surrounding Brazil

On the eastern side, the country is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The length of the ocean coast of Brazil is almost 7.5 thousand km. Throughout the year, the sea temperature remains approximately in the same range, 20 - 25 degrees Celsius with a plus sign.

Direct access to the ocean influenced history and continues to regulate the economic life of the state.

Today, the coastline, in addition to well-maintained beaches and resort areas, has large ports, whose territories occupy up to ten kilometers. Some of them are city-forming enterprises...

Plants and animals of Brazil

In the Amazon basin vegetable world Brazil is represented by evergreen wet equatorial forests with valuable tree species.

In the central part of the country there are savannas where shrubby plants grow. In the southern part of the country there are evergreen deciduous plants And mixed forests with coniferous araucaria.

Brazil is the country with the largest species diversity of primates, amphibians, reptiles and birds. According to these indicators, it is among the top five world leaders.

There is a problem in the country related to the threat of extinction individual species animals. This mainly concerns the inhabitants of ecosystems that are being deforested...

Climate of Brazil

The country is located within the equatorial, subequatorial tropical and subtropical climate zone. It is characterized by a hot and humid climate. Temperatures throughout the year range from 16 to 29 degrees Celsius. Frosts are possible only in the eastern part of the state.

The amount of precipitation depends on the zone. There are regions with a drought period of up to 4 months. In general, temperature fluctuations across the country are insignificant. The exception is the central part of the Brazilian plateau, where differences can reach 45 - 50 degrees...

Resources

Natural resources of Brazil

The location of the state provides Brazil with significant reserves natural resources. Their list includes wood materials, including valuable tree species, as well as iron ore, which not only covers the needs of the state, but is exported.

The presence of an extensive river network, as well as access to the sea, provides the country with fish and fresh seafood...

Industry and Agriculture of Brazil

In terms of GDP, Brazil is the leader among Latin American countries, but in reality it is experiencing serious economic difficulties, aggravated by corruption, social conflicts and the lack of adequate quality of services provided to the public.

The country produces cars, computers and components for them, petroleum products, as well as consumer goods. Aviation equipment, vehicles, as well as light industrial goods, such as textiles, shoes, and ready-made clothing, are exported.

The country has developed Agriculture. The share of Brazilian products in the world market is 6%. The population is employed in the production of corn, salt, sugar cane, bananas, cocoa, coffee, etc.

Livestock farming is represented by cattle and accounts for 40% of the volume of all agricultural products...

Culture

Peoples of Brazil

The presence of colonialists in the country for a long time influenced the culture of citizens. Official language Brazil is Portuguese, also spoken here in French, Spanish, Italian and English languages. Most of the population is literate, 90% have an education.

More than half of the population professes Catholicism and about 20% are Protestants. Also present among religious movements are the beliefs of African cults brought by slaves from Africa...

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TERRITORY

Brazil is the fifth country in the world in terms of territory (8,515,767,049 km²) and population (190.7 million people in 2010). What continent is Brazil on? Brazil is located on the mainland of South America. The country occupies 20.8% of the American continent and 47.8% of the South American continent.

The equator line crosses Brazil in the North, passing through the states of Amazonas, Roraima, Pará and Amapa. The southern tropic crosses the states of Sao Paulo, Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul. 93% of Brazilian territory is in the Southern Hemisphere and 92% in the tropical zone.

The length of Brazil's land borders is 15,719 km, and its sea borders are 7,367 km. Brazil has the longest border with Bolivia and the shortest border with Suriname. Only two South American countries do not have borders with Brazil - Chile and Ecuador.

Brazil has 3 time zones, all located to the left of the Greenwich Meridian: -2h (Atlantic Islands of Brazil), -3h (official capital time), -4h (western Brazil). The time difference between Moscow and Brasilia from the third Sunday in October to the third Sunday in February is 6 hours, and from the third Sunday in February to the third Sunday in October is 7 hours. This change in time difference is due to the fact that most states in Brazil change their clocks to summer time(entire South, South-East and Center-West regions + Bahia state). In the rest of the country, clocks do not change to summer time.

• northern: source of the Ayla River on Mount Kaburai (Roraima state, border with Guyana)
• southern: one of the bends of the Shui stream (state of Rio Grande do Sul, border with Uruguay)
• eastern: Cape Seixas (Paraiba state)
• western: source of the Moa River, in the forests of Divisor (state of Acre, border with Peru)

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

Geographically, the country is divided into 5 regions:

• • North (Amazonas, Roraima, Amapa, Para, Rondonia, Acre and Tocantins)

• • Northeast (Maranhao, Piaui, Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia)

• • Centro-West (Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goias, Federal District)

• • Southeast (Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo)

• South (Parana, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul).

RELIEF

Tropical rains are the main factor influencing the formation of the relief of Brazil.

Plateau is the main landform. Brazil is a country of mountains of medium altitude: regions with altitudes ranging from 201 to 1,200 m above sea level occupy 58% of Brazil's territory. The main two plateaus in Brazil are the Brazilian Highlands (which includes the Central Plateau, the Atlantic Plateau and the Southern Plateau) and the Guiana Highlands. Regions with an altitude of more than 1,200 m above sea level occupy only 0.54% of the country's area.

The second most important form of relief is plains, occupying 41% of the country's territory. The main plains are the Amazonian Plain (the largest plain in the world), the Pantanal (the largest wetland on the planet), the Pampa and the Coastal Plain.

Area and dimensions

Territory - 8,514,215.3 km², of which 8,456,510 km² is land and 55,455 km² is water. The Federative Republic of Brazil occupies 5.7% of the total land area of ​​the world, the Russian Federation - 11.5%. The territory of Brazil, therefore, is about 50% of the territory of the Russian Federation. Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, China and the United States of America).

• Length from west to east: 4,328 km. (in a straight line)
• Length from north to south: 4,320 km. (in a straight line)

Extreme points

• North - 8° north latitude and 60° west longitude.
• South - 32° south latitude and 70° west longitude.
• West - 10° south latitude and 75° west longitude.
• East - 10° south latitude and 40° west longitude.

Borders

The total length of the border is 14,691 km (border length: with Argentina - 1224 km; with Bolivia - 3400 km, with Colombia - 1643 km, with French Guiana - 673 km, with Guyana - 1119 km, with Paraguay - 1290 km, with Peru - 1560 km, with Suriname - 597 km, with Uruguay - 985 km, with Venezuela - 2200 km).

Coastline

Main article: Coastline Brazil

Amazon Basin

Most of northern Brazil is occupied by the drainage basin of the Amazon River and its major tributaries Tocantins, Xingu, Tapajos, Madeira, Purus, Jurua, Japura and Rio Negro. This is the largest lowland globe, covering an area of ​​1.8 million square meters. km, one of the least populated and least developed territories. In the west, this lowland is widest - up to 1,290 km from north to south, it narrows greatly near the city of Santarém, where the distance between the Guiana and Brazilian plateaus is only 240 km. Below the confluence of the Xingu River, the lowland again expands greatly, and the mouth of the Amazon begins there. The rivers of the Amazon basin carry into the ocean on average more than 1 billion tons of silt-sand sediments per year, however, due to the tectonic depression in the estuarine zone, the river cannot create an extensive delta, and the island of Marajo, consisting of alluvium, was formed at the mouth. The murky yellow waters of the Amazon can be traced into the Atlantic Ocean at a distance of up to 300 km from the mouth. The Amazon regime is affected by sea tidal waves, which reach a height of 5 m and extend up the river for 1,400 km, flooding low floodplains - igapó.

There are floods on the main river and its tributaries, leading to flooding of an area up to 80 km wide. However, as a rule, floods spread along river beds, and between them rise interfluves, covered with trees or herbaceous vegetation, which are never flooded. The abundance of the Amazon is explained by the fact that its northern and southern tributaries are located in different hemispheres; Accordingly, floods occur at different times of the year: on the right tributaries - from October to April (summer season in the Southern Hemisphere), on the left ones - from April to October (summer season in the Northern Hemisphere). Accordingly, seasonal fluctuations in flow in the Amazon are smoothed out. The average annual flow of this river is approximately 7 thousand km³ - about 15% of the annual flow of all rivers on Earth. The Amazon is navigable throughout its entire length within Brazil and further upstream to the city of Iquitos in Peru, a distance of 3,700 km from the Atlantic Ocean.

Guiana Highlands

In morphostructural terms, the Guiana Highlands are the northern continuation of the Brazilian Highlands, but are separated from them by the Amazonian Lowland. The Guiana Highlands occupy the northern part of Brazil. Its peak is Mount La Neblina (2994 m) on the border with Venezuela and Mount Roraima (2772 m) at the junction of the borders of Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana. Manganese deposits are being developed in the state of Amapa.

Brazilian Highlands

Almost all southern country occupies the vast Brazilian Highlands. Most of the fertile lands and valuable minerals are concentrated there. The eastern edge of the highlands, east of the Parana River, is densely populated. The sparsely populated, arid interior areas of the highlands, including the São Francisco River basin, are called sertanams (sertão). Eastern outskirts The highlands north of Rio de Janeiro have a stepped structure: steep cliffs, facing the ocean, rise in ridges, one above the other. South of Rio de Janeiro, the highland escarpment reaches a great height and makes an impressive impression, appearing in the form of a massive wall. It is called the Great Escarpment, and its individual sections are Serra Geral, Serra do Mar, Serra do Paranapiacaba, etc. Further inland, a series of massive mountain ranges extend parallel to the coast and the edge of the escarpment. The highest of them is the Serra da Mantiqueira and its part of the Serra do Caparao with the peak of Bandeira (2891 m). The Serra do Espinhaço range in central Minas Gerais contains the country's largest mineral reserves. The ridge of the ledge is cut in places by the valleys of the Jequitinhonha, Rio Dosi and Paraiba rivers, of which only the flat-bottomed Rio Dosi valley is easy to penetrate into the interior of the country. The Paraiba River valley stretches almost parallel to the ocean coast, and is connected to the railway and highway connecting the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

In the southwestern Brazilian Highlands, the Paraná River and its tributaries cross the very flat surface of the Paraná lava plateau. Here the Paraná River and its tributary Iguazu flow in wide, shallow valleys cut into ancient subhorizontal strata of diabase. These rivers fall from the edge of the plateau, forming the huge waterfalls of Guaira (now submerged by the Itaipu Dam reservoir) (on the border of Brazil and Paraguay), and Iguazu (at the junction of the borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay), which are among the highest in the world.

Brazil's twenty-six states and one Federal District (Distrito Federal) are generally divided into five geographical regions or regions: North (Norte), Northeast (Nordeste), Southeast (Sudeste), South (Sul) and Central West (Centro- Oeste). In 1996, there were 5,581 municipalities (municípios) in the country, which had municipal governments. Many municipalities are in turn divided into districts (distritos), which have no political or administrative autonomy. In 1995 there were 9,274 counties. All municipal and district settlements, despite their size, are officially considered cities. For statistical purposes, municipalities are grouped into 559 micro-regions (), which in turn make up 136 meso-regions. This division replaced the previous microregional division established in 1968, which was used in the , , and 1985 censuses.

Ecological problems

Deforestation in the Amazon is undoubtedly the biggest problem that has brought international attention to Brazil. Among Latin American countries, Brazil still has the largest part areas (66%) covered by forests, but deforestation and burning continued at an alarming rate. Most of the logging was carried out by large corporate farms and only a small amount by small farmers.

Deforestation in the Amazon fell from an average of 22 thousand square kilometers per year during 1970-88 to about 11 thousand square kilometers per year between and. Although some of the change is due to variations in rainfall, the main reason for the decline is thought to be the 1987 economic crisis, which reduced the availability of capital for significant logging work and led to reduced migration opportunities. Migration in the Amazon has also declined due to effective government controls and changes in public opinion about environment. Technological changes that caused a partial shift from horizontal agricultural expansion to increased productivity also explain the decline in deforestation rates.

Theoretically, the construction of the Belo Monte dam could also become a serious environmental problem for the Amazon forests. This is an ambitious project of the Brazilian authorities: the constructed dam should become the third largest hydroelectric power station in the world in terms of energy production and provide Brazil with the energy it needs for many years to come. The construction was approved by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the previous president of the country. The current president, Dilma Van Rousseff, considers the project one of his priorities foreign policy. Despite the authorities’ assurances about the absolute safety of the project for the country’s ecology, environmentalists themselves have repeatedly reiterated the likely catastrophic consequences; together with the latter they tried to achieve the cancellation of construction such famous people, such as director James Cameron.
On February 26, 2011, construction was banned by Brazilian federal judge Rolando Desterro. However, the ban he imposed was lifted on March 3, and construction of the dam began immediately.

Desertification is another major environmental problem that has become widely known since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in June. Desertification is a process in which the soils and vegetation of drylands are seriously degraded, but the area does not necessarily become a desert. In the early 's, it became apparent that the semi-arid Caatinga of the Northeast and other areas had lost their natural vegetation and, as a result, had become almost waterless. In areas where agriculture is intensive and developed, serious problems arise with soil erosion, siltation and sedimentation in rivers, and pesticide pollution. The expansion of cattle pastures has reduced the number of wildlife species in the savannas, especially in the state of Santa Catarina.

The largest cities have high levels of air pollution. At the same time, environmental problems are associated with poor sanitation, which still remains in some areas of Brazil, especially in medium-sized and small cities. Ecological problems cities began to attract more public and government attention in the 1990s.

Notes

Links

• Brazil Nature - overview of Brazilian ecosystems, description of nature
• countrystudies.us/brazil - Detailed site containing various statistical information about the country.

Brazil, in terms of area, is one of the most big countries peace. It is not surprising that a country with a population of 205 million people has so many neighboring countries. Which countries does the Brazilian territory border with?

Borders of mainland Brazil

In a well-known South America Brazil occupies the east and central part of the continent. Its borders are in contact with the borders of the following countries:

• Venezuela;
• State of Uruguay;
• Guyana;
• Country Suriname;
• Argentina;
• Paraguay;
• French Guiana
• Bolivia;
• Peru;
• Colombia.

From the north and east, Brazil is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The length of all borders of the country is 14,690 km. The longest border of Brazilian territories stretches opposite the borders of Bolivia, and is equal to 3,400 km. Brazil's smallest frontier borders Suriname.

The eastern Brazilian border is located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The length of the coastline is 7,491 km. Brazil has islands far from its shores, and they also have their own borders. The most famous of them are the Sao Paulo Islands.

« In the west of the country there is the maximum number of countries with which the Brazilian state has a land border».

Brazil is a multicultural country. Its climate and national characteristics contribute to the fact that immigrants from neighboring countries seek to move to it. In addition, in South America, Brazil is considered one of the economically and socially developed countries. Its level is much higher than that of other countries, which also attracts many visitors and tourists.

In this regard, the Brazilian government annually tightens immigration policy, strengthens borders and introduces new border crossing rules. So far, the flow of immigrants to Brazilian lands has been successfully regulated by legal methods.

The fifth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, China and the United States of America).

• Length from west to east: 4328 km (as the crow flies).
• Length from north to south: 4320 km (as the crow flies).

Extreme points

• North - 8° north latitude and 60° west longitude.
• South - 32° south latitude and 70° west longitude.
• West - 10° south latitude and 75° west longitude.
• East - 7° south latitude and 34.5° west longitude.

Borders

The total length of the border is 14,691 km (border length: with Argentina - 1224 km; with Bolivia - 3400 km, with Colombia - 1643 km, with French Guiana - 673 km, with Guyana - 1119 km, with Paraguay - 1290 km, with Peru - 1560 km, with Suriname - 597 km, with Uruguay - 985 km, with Venezuela - 2200 km).

Coastline

See also: Islands of Brazil

Amazon Basin

Most of northern Brazil is occupied by the drainage basin of the Amazon River and its major tributaries Tocantins, Xingu, Tapajos, Madeira, Purus, Jurua, Japura and Rio Negro. This is the largest lowland on the globe, covering an area of ​​1.8 million square meters. km, one of the least populated and least developed territories. In the west, this lowland is widest - up to 1,290 km from north to south, it narrows greatly near the city of Santarém, where the distance between the Guiana and Brazilian plateaus is only 240 km. Below the confluence of the Xingu River, the lowland again expands greatly, and the mouth of the Amazon begins there. The rivers of the Amazon basin carry into the ocean on average more than 1 billion tons of silt-sand sediments per year, however, due to the tectonic depression in the estuarine zone, the river cannot create an extensive delta, and the island of Marajo, consisting of alluvium, was formed at the mouth. The murky yellow waters of the Amazon can be traced into the Atlantic Ocean at a distance of up to 300 km from the mouth. The Amazon regime is affected by sea tidal waves, which reach a height of 5 m and extend up the river for 1,400 km, flooding low floodplains - igapó.

There are floods on the main river and its tributaries, leading to flooding of an area up to 80 km wide. However, as a rule, floods spread along river beds, and between them rise interfluves, covered with trees or herbaceous vegetation, which are never flooded. The abundance of the Amazon is explained by the fact that its northern and southern tributaries are located in different hemispheres; Accordingly, floods occur at different times of the year: on the right tributaries - from October to April (summer season in the Southern Hemisphere), on the left ones - from April to October (summer season in the Northern Hemisphere). Accordingly, seasonal fluctuations in flow in the Amazon are smoothed out. The average annual flow of this river is approximately 7 thousand km³ - about 15% of the annual flow of all rivers on Earth. The Amazon is navigable throughout its entire length within Brazil and further upstream to the city of Iquitos in Peru, a distance of 3,700 km from the Atlantic Ocean.

Guiana Highlands

In morphostructural terms, the Guiana Highlands are the northern continuation of the Brazilian Highlands, but are separated from them by the Amazonian Lowland. The Guiana Highlands occupy the northern part of Brazil. Its peak is Mount La Neblina (2994 m) on the border with Venezuela and Mount Roraima (2772 m) at the junction of the borders of Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana. Manganese deposits are being developed in the state of Amapa.

Brazilian Highlands

Almost all southern part The country is occupied by the vast Brazilian Highlands. Most of the fertile lands and valuable minerals are concentrated there. The eastern edge of the highlands, east of the Parana River, is densely populated. The sparsely populated, arid interior areas of the highlands, including the São Francisco River basin, are called sertanams (sertão). The eastern edge of the highlands north of Rio de Janeiro has a stepped structure: steep cliffs, facing the ocean, rise in ridges, one above the other. South of Rio de Janeiro, the highland escarpment reaches a great height and makes an impressive impression, appearing in the form of a massive wall. It is called the Great Escarpment, and its individual sections are Serra Geral, Serra do Mar, Serra do Paranapiacaba, etc. Further inland, a series of massive mountain ranges extend parallel to the coast and the edge of the escarpment. The highest of them is the Serra da Mantiqueira and its part of the Serra do Caparao with the peak of Bandeira (2891 m). The Serra do Espinhaço range in central Minas Gerais contains the country's largest mineral reserves. The ridge of the ledge is cut in places by the valleys of the Jequitinhonha, Rio Dosi and Paraiba rivers, of which only the flat-bottomed Rio Dosi valley is easy to penetrate into the interior of the country. The Paraiba River valley stretches almost parallel to the ocean coast, and is connected to the railway and highway connecting the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

In the southwestern Brazilian Highlands, the Paraná River and its tributaries cross the very flat surface of the Paraná lava plateau. Here the Paraná River and its tributary Iguazu flow in wide, shallow valleys cut into ancient subhorizontal strata of diabase. These rivers fall from the edge of the plateau, forming the huge waterfalls of Guaira (now submerged by the Itaipu Dam reservoir) (on the border of Brazil and Paraguay), and Iguazu (at the junction of the borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay), which are among the highest in the world.

There is a lot of extra-storied vegetation - lianas and epiphytes, many orchids. Non-flooded areas (terra firma) are especially rich in epiphytes. Epiphytes belong mainly to the families Bromeliads and Araceae, differing in the shape and brightness of the color of the flowers. Epiphytes form numerous aerial roots. Lots of cacti. Melon trees, cocoa, and hevea grow here, in the backwaters of the Amazon, Orinoco and other rivers - Victoria Region.

In places flooded during floods, the lower tree layer, formed by hydrophilic palms, tree ferns and other plants, rises up to 8 m above the reed and sedge swamps. In more illuminated areas, the lower layer is quickly covered with a dense, impenetrable thicket of vines, epiphytes, shrubs and small trees turning the community into an impenetrable jungle.

Mata (semi-deciduous tropical and subtropical forest)

Campos (savannas)

Campos is a type of vegetation formed by deciduous trees and savannah grasses. It grows in the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goias, Piaui and Tocantins almost to the Atlantic coast.

Types of campos.

Caatinga

In the arid northeast of the country, caatinga is common - open forest consisting of thorny deciduous trees and shrubs.

Pantanal

Prairies

On the high plateaus of the four southern states of Brazil there are areas of grass prairies or pampas, characteristic of temperate latitudes. Their area increases in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where trees grow only in the valleys, and the interfluves are covered with a wavy carpet of steppe grasses.

Mangrove forests

The wetlands, which are found in many places along the Brazilian coast where rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean, are covered with mangrove forests. Unfortunately, most of them have been destroyed today. These impressive ecosystems can still be found in the Lagamar region on the border of the states of São Paulo and Paraná, the Camamu Bay (Bahia), the Parnaiba River delta (Piahui) and around the mouth of the Amazon.

Political-administrative division

Brazil's twenty-six states and one Federal District (Distrito Federal) are generally divided into five geographical regions or regions: North (Norte), Northeast (Nordeste), Southeast (Sudeste), South (Sul) and Central West (Centro- Oeste). IN