Discovering Brazil

Page 9

Discovering Brazil

Geographic Overview

Brazil is divided into five regions and has 26 states, as well as one Federal District.

Regions

(With each state, per region)



North

Acre, Amapá, Amazonas,

Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Sergipe,

and Tocantins



Northeast

Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará,

Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco,

Piauí, and Rio Grande do Norte



Mid-West

Distrito Federal

, Goiás,

Matogrosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul



Southeast

Espírito Santo, Minas

Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and Brazil



South

Paraná, Santa Catarina, and

Rio Grande do Sul

Major Cities

Brasilia

: Brasilia is the capital of the country, designated in the First Constitution of

Brazil (1891). Its bold and contemporary architecture was created by the architects

and urbanists Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer and was inaugurated in 1960

Belo Horizonte

: Inaugurated in December of 1897, Belo Horizonte was the first

planned city of Brazil. Currently, it is the fourth-largest urban center of the country

Rio de Janeiro

Discovered by the first

Portuguese expedition that

explored the coast in 1502.

Today, Rio is the second

major economical city of

the country and one of the

most fascinating tourist

cities in the world with its

exuberant landscapes and

beautiful shores, frantic

nightlife, delicious

restaurants, and fantastic

hotels

Sao Paulo

: São Paulo is truly a cosmopolitan city with a multi-ethnic population and

a more international and business environment than any other Brazilian city. São

Paulo is a city of great wealth, wide boulevards, contemporary skyscrapers,

sophisticated international boutiques, fabulous restaurants, state of the art hotels,

and huge traffic jams



Other major cities:

Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Recife, and Salvador