General Geography

Landforms created by glacial erosion

•Flows through Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean.

•It’s the world’s second longest river (6.580 km.)

•Drains over a third of Brazil, including the rainforest.

•Has hundreds of tributaries.

•Is over 80 km. wide at it’s mouth.

•Mix of ancient hills, plateaux (high flat areas) and mountains.

•Rise sharply from the coast, forming a steep slope called the Great Escarpment.

•There’s just a narrow strip of land between the escarpment and the Atlantic Ocean.

•Has some oil and gas, but not enough for its needs.

•Grows sugar cane to make ethanol which is used as a fuel for cars and power stations.

•One of the top producers of iron, aluminium, tin and other metals.

•Top producer of diamonds and other precious stones.

•Has a wide range of soils and climates.

•It can grow a wide range of crops: sugar cane, coffee, soya beans, rice, bananas, oranges, cotton …

•Lots of rivers, no water problems.

•Have many hydroelectricity power stations.

•Brazil gets 90% of its electricity from hydro.

•A favela is a collection of shacks built on waste ground without permission.

• The poorest people in the city live here.

•All Brazilian cities have favelas.

•20% of Rio’s population live in favelas.

•Government is trying to improve them suplying water and other services but progress is

slow.

•Built from anything (bricks, old sheets of metal, wood, plastic)

•Most have no running water or electricity.

•Many are hooked up illegally to cables and water mains.

•Rain turns paths into muddy sewers.

•People get work in the cities in factories, as servants …

•Not many favela children finish school.

•Children work or beg.

•Lots of disease, because of germs.

•Lots of crime, violence and drug use.

•It is the total value of the goods and services the country produces in a year.

•It is the GDP divided by the population. In other words it tells you how well off people are on average.

•The higher the GDP per capita the more developed a country is.

•How long a person in a country is expected to live.

•How many babies per thousand born alive who die before they reach 1.

•Percentage of people aged 15 and over who can read and write a simple sentence.

•Percentage of the population who don’t get enough to eat, and live in hunger.

	Brazil
	Landforms created by glacial erosion
	The Amazon •Rises in Peru. •Flows through Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. •It’s the world’s second longest river (6.580 km.) •Drains over a third of Brazil, including the rainforest. •Has hundreds of tributaries. •Is over 80 km. wide at it’s mouth.

	Brazilian Highlands
	•Mix of ancient hills, plateaux (high flat areas) and mountains. •Rise sharply from the coast, forming a steep slope called the Great Escarpment. •There’s just a narrow strip of land between the escarpment and the Atlantic Ocean.

	Brazil’s Climate
	Equatorial Humid
	Hot all year. Temperature does not vary much. Very wet. Most rain falling in the first half of the year.
	Litoral Humid
	Quite hot all year. Temperature does not vary much. Very wet in the first half of the year. Most rain falling December to March.
	Tropical Semi-Dry
	Hot with very dry season. Hot all year, gets a bit hotter in the dry season. Not much rain in the wet season. Sometimes there is drought.
	Tropical
	Hot and wet with dry season. Quite hot all year. Most rain falls in December to March when the sun is more directly overhead.
	Subtropical Humid
	Milder and Wet Has different seasons. Some rain all the year round. May even snow in winter.






	Brazil’s Natural Resources
	Fuels
	•Has some oil and gas, but not enough for its needs. •Grows sugar cane to make ethanol which is used as a fuel for cars and power stations.

	Minerals
	•One of the top producers of iron, aluminium, tin and other metals. •Top producer of diamonds and other precious stones.

	Soil and Climate
	•Has a wide range of soils and climates. •It can grow a wide range of crops: sugar cane, coffee, soya beans, rice, bananas, oranges, cotton …

	Water
	•Lots of rivers, no water problems. •Have many hydroelectricity power stations. •Brazil gets 90% of its electricity from hydro.



	Favelas (Shanty Towns)
	•A favela is a collection of shacks built on waste ground without permission. • The poorest people in the city live here. •All Brazilian cities have favelas. •20% of Rio’s population live in favelas. •Government is trying to improve them suplying water and other services but progress is slow.

	Life in the Favelas
	•Built from anything (bricks, old sheets of metal, wood, plastic) •Most have no running water or electricity. •Many are hooked up illegally to cables and water mains. •Open drains. •Rain turns paths into muddy sewers. •People get work in the cities in factories, as servants … •Not many favela children finish school. •Children work or beg. •Lots of disease, because of germs. •Lots of crime, violence and drug use.

	Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
	•It is the total value of the goods and services the country produces in a year.
	Gross Domestic Product per Capita (GDP per Capita)
	•It is the GDP divided by the population. In other words it tells you how well off people are on average. •The higher the GDP per capita the more developed a country is.

	Indicators
	Life Expectancy •How long a person in a country is expected to live.
	Infant Mortality •How many babies per thousand born alive who die before they reach 1.
	Adult Literacy Rate •Percentage of people aged 15 and over who can read and write a simple sentence.
	Undernourished People •Percentage of the population who don’t get enough to eat, and live in hunger.
	Regions of Brazil
	It is divided into five main regions, and the regions are divided into states.


	Large scale development in the Amazon
	Large scale development projects started in the Amazon after most of the area became part of Brazil’s territory in 1967. The Brazilian Government’s Polamazonia Plan in the 1970s aimed to open up the Amazon to development. This included encouraging and funding the following large scale development projects:
	Mining
	Miners (garimpeiros) have caused damage to the ecosystem by cutting down large areas of forest and by using chemicals to purify their metals. They use enormous amounts of mercury to purify the gold and this toxic metal is released into the rivers.

	Slash and burn
	Slash and burn is used to clear the land for settlement and ranching.

	Logging

	Road building

	Tucurui Dam
	Tucurui Dam was built between 1976 and 1984, on the Lower Tocantins River in the state of Para, approximately 300km south of Belem. The reservoir created upstream of the dam is over 2000km2. The dam will produce more than 4000 MW of electricity.

	Hydroelectric Power
	‘HEP is a renewable form of energy. This means that unlike coal, oil and gas, this type of energy does not run out. Brazil gets 92.5% of its energy from HEP and the demand for energy is rising. Hydroelec plans to build more dams like Tucurui in the Amazon to harness the fast flowing rivers in this area. Hydroelec believes that this electricity will not only benefit industries all over Brazil but will also provide energy to satisfy the country’s growing population.’