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Brazil is the largest country in South America, fifth largest country in the world after Russia, China, Canada and the United States. Brazil is so large that it is located in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere with the Equator running through the northern part of the country. The country is also situated in the Western hemisphere. Brazil which covers almost 50% of the land mass of South America is bordered by the Atlantic ocean to the east, Argentina and Uruguay to the south, Paraguay ,Bolivia and Peru to the west and to the north by Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
Brazil is home to the largest rainforest, the Amazon Rainforest, the greatest wetlands and Brazil can claim some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Brazil is known for it’s lively celebrations, Carnival being the biggest with the most popular cities to celebrate being Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Olinda
The country of Brazil is divided into 5 geographical locations, The Guyana highlands, Brazilian Highlands, the Amazon River basin, Panatal wetlands and the Southern Highlands.
The Guyana Highlands is a flat topped mountains area of mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north, the area is covered by large rain forests and is home to some of the worlds largest and spectacular water falls.
The Brazilian Highlands are located from Rio de Janeiro in the south northward to Fortaleza; the area is covered forested river valleys with mountain ranges that form a natural barrier between the coastal area and the country’s interior section.
The Amazon Basin which is home to the largest rain forest and the mighty Amazon River which is more than half in Brazil and accounts for more than 20% of all river water carried to oceans. The Amazon Basin also produce 20% of the worlds oxygen.
The Pantanal is very similar to the Florida Everglades in that it is one of the worlds largest freshwater wetlands, in size it is almost 10 times the size of the Florida Everglades and is fed by many rivers and tributaries. Pantanals dry season is from April to September with the rest of the years rainfall making travel almost impossible.
The Southern Highlands covers most of the region to the south of Curitiba and to the west, the Southern Highlands are home to the highest point of Brazil being Pico da Banderia at 9485 feet (2891 meters).
Brazil being such a large country the weather varies quite a bit from region to region. The northeastern section of the country tends to be the warmest where summer temperatures can exceed 100 degrees. The Amazon basin is humid and hot with an average temperature in the mid 80,s through out the year. The inland cities such as Brasilia and Belo Horizonte one will find relatively mild temperatures. To the south one will find the weather to be subtropical with frosts during the winter months.
Brazils rainy season runs from December to July depending where you are traveling in the country. Rainfall in the heaviest amounts will occur in the Amazon region with 115 inches or more a year being common. The Amazon Basins rainy season runs from December to May yet still receives rain the rest of the year, only lasting for one to two hours a day.
One must remember with the majority of Brazil being below the Equator the seasons are opposite to what one would find in the United States or Europe. Spring in Brazil runs from October to December, summer from January to March, Fall from April to June and Winter from July through September.
The population of Brazil is in the area of 190 million people with 75 % of the population living in the south and southeast of Brazil. Ranking number 5 in world population, Brazil fall in line with China, India, United States and Indonesia. Today the indigenous population in Brazil is about 350,000 compared to 2 to 56 million when the Europeans arrived
Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English and French
Currency of Brazil is the Real (BRL)
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