Brazil geography, maps, climate, environment and terrain from Brazil | (2024)

FAQs

What is the climate and terrain of Brazil? ›

Dominated by equatorial and tropical climates, northern and central Brazil receives frequent rainfall and experiences higher temperatures. Meanwhile, southern Brazil is characterized by a humid subtropical climate. Notably, northeast Brazil exhibits a semi-arid climate, receiving less than 700 mm per year of rain.

Brazil has six major ecosystems: the Amazon Basin, a tropical rainforest system; the Pantanal bordering Paraguay and Bolivia, a tropical wetland system; the Cerrado, a savanna system that covers much of the center of the country; the Caatinga or thorny scrubland habitat of the Northeast; the Atlantic Forest (Mata ...

Brazil's physical features can be grouped into five main physiographic divisions: the Guiana Highlands in the North, the Amazon lowlands, the Pantanal in the Central-West, the Brazilian Highlands (including the extensive coastal ranges), and the coastal lowlands.

There are four main geographical areas of Brazil; Brazilian Highlands, Pantanal, Guiana Highlands, and the Amazon.

Fortaleza. The tropical climate in Fortaleza offers travelers in the region warm to hot weather year round with consistently pleasant water temperatures—ideal conditions for a relaxed beach getaway along the northeastern coast of Brazil.

Brazil is one of the planet's most important World Environmental Heritage and it is home to incredible biodiversity. Almost 20% of all natural species inhabit one of its 6 biomes: Amazon, Cerrado, Caatinga, Pantanal, Atlantic Forest, and Pampa.

Three features define Brazil's geography: the Amazon Basin, tropical savanna and the Brazilian Highlands. The Amazon River and rain forest, the world's largest, encompass most of northern Brazil and make this region inhospitable to agriculture and large populations.

Brazil is rich in a variety of natural resources and is the world's leading producer of tin, iron ore and phosphate. It has large deposits of diamonds, manganese, chromium, copper, bauxite and many other minerals. However, the country has no significant oil reserves.

In the rainforest, temperatures average 80° F (27° C) all year round and rainfall is heavy. South of the Amazon lowland the climate becomes more varied. Along the coast temperatures can reach as low as 57° F (14° C), and during winter there are sometimes freezing temperatures in the southern hills.

Is Brazil bigger than the US? ›

Brazil is 431,000 square kilometers (166,000 sq mi) larger than the contiguous United States, but smaller than the entire United States, while Russia, Canada, and China are the only countries larger than both.

Brazil's territorial dimension as a nation was achieved before the independence by the Portuguese-Brazilian monarchy (House of Bragança) in 1822, with later some territorial expansion and disputes with neighboring Spanish ex-colonies, making Brazil the largest contiguous territory in the Americas today.

Brazil has a humid tropical and subtropical climate except for a drier area in the Northeast, sometimes called the drought quadrilateral or drought polygon, that extends from northern Bahia to the coast between Natal and São Luís; that zone receives about 15–30 inches (375–750 mm) of precipitation a year.

Some early sailors called it the "Land of Parrots". In the Guaraní language, an official language of Paraguay, Brazil is called "Pindorama", meaning "land of the palm trees".

The interior of Brazil is hot and dry. Brazil is located in the Southern Hemisphere, which means seasons here are the opposite of in the Northern Hemisphere. Summer is from December to March and it is colder in the winter from May to September.

Regarding temperatures: the winter is cool and the summer is hot. The annual medium temperatures range from 14 to 22 °C (57.2 to 71.6 °F), and in places with altitudes above 1,100 m (3,609 ft), drops to approximately 10 °C (50 °F). Some parts of the southern region also have an oceanic climate.

Increased drought severity can greatly affect freshwater ecosystems and increase the threat of rainforest fires. Change in rainfall and temperature could impact the spread of disease, sea level rise and storm surge that could have a substantial impact on lowland areas of the Amazon.