10 / 64
Brazil
10
uplands of the Brazilian Highlands to the south. The Amazon River, with its
surrounding lowland basin of 1,544,400 square miles (3,998,451 sq km), forms
the largest rain forest in the world. In the south and southeast, the Brazilian
Highlands—an eroded
plateau
dotted with irregular mountains and crossed
by river valleys—forms the major feature of the landscape. A network of
mountains runs from the south through the northeast, dividing the interior of
Brazil from the Atlantic Ocean.
The most extensive lowland is the Amazon Basin. Most of the area is
gently rolling terrain, rarely rising more than 490 feet (149 meters) above sea
level. Seasonal flooding occurs along the Amazon River through stretches of
flat, swampy land called
varzeas
. A second major lowland is the Pantanal in the
western Mato Grosso area near the border with Bolivia and Paraguay. Seasonal
flooding occurs in this region along the headwaters of the Paraná and
Paraguay river system. The third lowland area is the
coastal plain
. In
northeastern Brazil it may be up to 40 miles (64 km) wide, but in some places
it is very narrow. Between Rio de Janeiro and Santos it disappears entirely. The
coastal plain—
flat land adjacent to a coast.
fauna—
an area’s animal life.
flora—
an area’s plant life.
plateau—
an elevated, level expanse of land.
trade winds—
prevailing winds of the Tropics that blow toward the equator.
tributaries—
rivers and streams that feed larger bodies of water.
Words to Understand in this Chapter