Brazil Geography:
Location:
Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Geographic coordinates:
10 00 S, 55 00 W
Map references:
Area:
total:
8,511,965 sq km
land:
8,456,510 sq km
water:
55,455 sq km
note: Includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
Area - comparative:
Slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries:
total: 14,691 km
border countries: Argentina 1224 km, Bolivia 3400 km, Colombia 1643 km, French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1119 km, Paraguay 1290 km, Peru 1560 km, Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2200 km
Coastline:
7,491 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:
Mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Terrain:
Mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 m
Natural resources:
Bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
Land use:
arable land: 6.96%
permanent crops: 0.9%
other: 92.15%
(2001)
Irrigated land:
26,560 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south
Environment - current issues:
Deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities; wetland degradation; severe oil spills
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements (not ratified)
Geography - Note:
Largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador |
