Brazil from National Geographic

"Christ the Redeemer," Rio de Janeiro

 

Photograph by Christian Heeb

From atop Corcovado Mountain, "Cristo Redentor," or "Christ the Redeemer," watches over the city of Rio de Janeiro, sprawled against the backdrop of Sugarloaf Mountain and Guanabara Bay. Visitors can climb by taxi or cog railway to gain this unparalleled view of the city.

Carnaval Revelers, Rio de Janeiro

Photograph by Nelson Antoine/Fotoarena/LatinContent/Getty Images

A Carnaval parade in Rio de Janeiro includes fanciful floats and costumed performers. Many countries indulge in a riot of pleasures before the austere observance of Christian Lent—and Rio hosts one of the world’s biggest bacchanals.

Amazon Dolphin

Photograph by Kevin Schafer

Called botos in Brazil, the freshwater dolphins of the Amazon appear to glow orange when navigating the river basin’s tea-colored brew of silt and rotting vegetation. Out of water they’re pale grey, with some marked in pink.

Iguazu Falls

Photograph by Sharmy Francis,

One of the world's greatest cataracts shatters the Iguazu River between Argentina and Brazil. Ancient lore has it that a deity planned to marry an aborigine woman, but when she fled with her lover in a canoe down the Iguazu, the angry god sliced the river and damned the lovers to an eternal fall.

Caimans in the Pantanal

Photograph by Joel Sartore

Crocodilian caimans are a ubiquitous presence in the Pantanal, a wetland that lies primarily in Brazil. Ten million caimans crowd Pantanal waters, so many that their numbers stayed healthy even when poachers claimed perhaps a million a year in the 1980s. The hides supplied the market for inexpensive crocodile-skin accessories.

Pantanal Cowhands

Photograph by Joel Sartore

Cowhands pause on mule and horseback during the flood season in the Pantanal, a wetland ecosystem in parts of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Ranchers in the enormous landlocked river delta are increasingly taking in ecotourists to supplement their income from cattle.

Soccer Fans

Photograph by Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images

Brazil soccer fans celebrate their team’s victory in a match with Ghana at the World Cup in Dortmund, Germany, in 2006. The nation formed its first official team in 1914 and now boasts what is arguably the most successful national soccer team in the world.

Itaquai River

Photograph by Nicolas Reynard

An aerial view of the Amazon Basin reveals the cursive meandering of the Itaquai River. The headwaters of the Itaquai and the adjacent Jutai River are situated in one of the most remote and uncharted places left on the planet, home to some of Brazil’s remaining pockets of isolated indigenous tribes.

Close-Up of a toucan

Photograph by F. Lukasseck

The toco toucan, a native of South America’s tropical forests, is one of the world’s most recognizable birds. Its oversize, orange-yellow bill is six to nine inches (15 to 22 centimeters) long, about a third of the bird’s entire length and useful as a feeding tool.

Pantanal Lagoons

Photograph by Joel Sartore

Verdant lagoons dot patches of elevated forest during the wet season in the Pantanal, one of Earth’s largest wetlands. Mammals such as jaguars and monkeys retreat to the forests until waters recede, feasting on fish and other aquatic life trapped in shrinking pools.

Surui Indians

Photograph by Michael Nichols

The indigenous Surui (or Paiter) Indians have lost much of their forest territory to clearing. But recent research has shown that reserves established for Indian peoples are providing significant Amazon forest protection. Indigenous groups make up less than 1 percent (700,000) of Brazil’s population, most in the Amazon region.

Sugarloaf Mountain

Photograph by Zoran Milich/Masterfile

Sugarloaf Mountain juts into the sky over a beach in Rio de Janeiro, a city known for its magnetic beach culture.

Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro

Photograph by Sergio Tafner Jorge

Families, swimmers, and sunbathers crowd Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. With its crescent of sand, hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops, Copacabana might well be the most famous beach in the world.

Sugarloaf Mountain Cable Cars

Photograph by Craig Hayman,

Cable cars ascend through low clouds to reach Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf), a true symbol of Rio. The landmark, which is actually two mountains, has been accessible via cable car since 1912.

São Paulo Nightclub

Photograph by Christian Tragni/Aurora Photos

Clubgoers are lit by bright strobes while dancing at a discotheque in São Paolo. Dancing and nightlife are popular in the nation of nearly 200 million. São Paulo, with some 10.9 million people, is Brazil's largest city—and one of the world's largest metropolises.

Dunes

Photograph by Francesc Carreras, 

Rainwater-created pools provide oases between sand dunes in northeast Brazil. The region—subject to devastating droughts—is the second most populous in the country, extending from Maranhão in the north down to Bahia.

Formoso River

Photograph by Minden Pictures/Masterlife

Palm trees beside the Formoso River are silhouetted against the horizon in Brazil’s cerrado, a vast savannah ecosystem. Conservationists are concerned that the biologically diverse region is under threat from the country’s unregulated biofuels boom.

If life is a beach, Brazil is its headquarters. • Its first overseas visitors, from Portugal, wisely dedicated their attention to the glorious coastline, ignoring the jungly interior. • It is a big place claiming tenancy rights in most of the eastern half of South America. • Claiming more than 160 million souls, it has almost as many citizens as the rest of the continent’s other countries combined. • A melting pot of nearly countless cultures and races, with a stunning array of natural abundance in a landscape of unimaginable diversity.

Photograph by Andre Fagundes, 

View of the Rio de Janeiro hills from Niterói, Brazil

Photograph by Tiago Damas Martins, 

In Paraná state in southern Brazil, the main entertainment after a hard day fishing is the music and dance called fandango, played with handmade instruments.

Photograph by Flavio Andrade, 

Curitiba is recognized for having the best urban transportation system in Brazil. This photo was taken inside one of the interconnected terminals that are spread throughout the city.

Photograph by Francesco Gola,

This is my favorite shot of a Brazilian trip I made some time ago. I don't know exactly why, but this place snatched my soul. Pipa Beach, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

Photograph by Raymond Choo,

Panoramic view of Rio de Janeiro from Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf mountain) at dusk. This panorama was stitched from several sequential shots using PTGui software.

Photograph by Raphael Macek,

During one of my trips to the southern extremity of Brazil, I found these magnificent flamingos on a cold morning, hiding behind their feathers to protect themselves. I found the eyes and that formation of colors interesting and caught this incredible moment.

Photograph by Aurel Dahlgrun, 

A man walks along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro trying to sell footballs and balloons during the 2010 World Cup.

Photograph by Antoine Tardy, 

Rocinha, Rio's largest favela, is plagued with many social problems, such as violence, corruption, and drug trafficking.

Photograph by Pedro Leal,

Our Lady of Nazareth church (1630), Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro

Photograph by Katharina Gilcher,

National park of Jericoacoara, Ceara, Brazil

Photograph by Ellen Leonhardt, 

On the second day of our visit to Refúgio Ecológico Caiman we went canoeing. This tapir came into the lake right next to our canoe. He crossed the lake and continued traveling along after his encounter with us. Refúgio Ecológico Caiman is a lodge in Brazil's Pantanal.

Photograph by Andre Fagundes, 

Museum of Contemporary Art, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro

Photograph by Tamsin Blue,

An amateur rodeo in the mountains of Urubici, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Photograph by Paul Meyer, 

A late afternoon view of Salvador, Brazil, from an old colonial balcony in the Pelourinho

Photograph by Raymond Choo,

Viewing nature's powerful water flow

Photograph by Sara Andrea Vera Beltran,

These kids playing football (soccer) at the Ipioca beach in Maceió, Brazil, didn't need anything but a ball and their love of the game. They played for hours until the sun set.

Photograph by Christianus Fabbri, 

Hummingbird posing in at Itatiaia Nature Reserve, Brazil

Photograph by Alison DeGraff, My Shot

Festa Junina in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, takes place in June of the Brazilian winter to give thanks to Saint John for the rain. These celebrations focus on rural life and have been commemorated since the colonial era.

Photograph by Jose Fagundes Fl, 

Little girls dressed in traditional Baianas style at the Our Lady of Good Death Festival, which takes place every August in Cachoeira city, inlands of Bahia, Brazil

Photograph by Michel Braunstein,

The picture was shot in Fernando de Noronha (Brazil). The dive site is called Cabeço da Sapata. It's an underwater mountain rising up from the floor nearly to the surface. The dive site is deep, 138 feet (42 meters). There is often a lot of current coming in from the outer sea. We were not supposed to get deeper than 115 feet (35 meters), but when I saw that stingray in the depths of the valley, I went down to take some pictures.

Photograph by Gustavo Henrique Freire Chaves,

Smoke Squadron, Brazilian Air Force, Boa Viagem beach

Photograph by Ashley Sykes,

As part of an urban planning course, our class took a tour of one of the best planned cities in the world, Curitiba, Brazil. This is of Jardim Botânico de Curitiba.

Photograph by Luciano Sa,

This tree grows at a coral reef that remains covered by the water of the sea almost the entire part of the day. At the high tide only the canopy is uncovered by the water. It's a real example of the resistance and perseverance to live. It's the power of life! Picture taken a couple of miles off the coast at Coroa Vermelha, Bahia, Brazil.

Photograph by Trevor Bell, 

I took this shot from the back of a pickup truck while I was working a drill program in Brazil. The herders were transferring about a thousand cattle to a different grazing field and took close to an hour to go roughly a kilometer.

Photograph by Eric Doggett, 

I took this photo of these caimans in the Pantanal, Brazil.

Photograph by Brandon Sideleau, 

A caiman was attempting to hide outside my bungalow in the Pantanal, so I slowly crept up on my stomach and snapped some shots of the reptile's beautiful eye.

Photograph by Stuart Price, 

Boys jumping off a pier in Guarujá, Brazil

Photograph by Rogerio Mathias, 

Black Gold City, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Photograph by Jose Fagundes Fl, 

Young lady on a bike on the road from Natal to Pipa Beach, north shore of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Photograph by Salvatore Gebbia, 

Sunset in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. This park is located in Maranhão state in northeastern Brazil.

Brazil Map

Brazil Facts 

Fast Facts

Population:

184,184,000

Capital:

Brasília; 3,099,000

Area:

8,547,403 square kilometers (3,300,169 square miles)

Language:

Portuguese

Religion:

Roman Catholic

Currency:

Real

Life Expectancy:

69

GDP per Capita:

U.S. $7,600

Literacy Percent:

86

Flag

Brazil is the giant of South America with nearly half of the continent's area and people; worldwide it ranks fifth in both area and population, which is as diverse as it is large. About 54 percent (103 million) are mainly of European origin, descendants of immigrants from Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany and Eastern Europe. More than 44 percent (85 million) are black or of mixed-race, a legacy of the African slave trade. Less than 1 percent (700,000) are from indigenous groups, mostly Indians in the Amazon region; smaller numbers of Japanese, other Asians, and Arabs live in the larger Brazilian cities.
The motto "Ordem e Progresso"—(Order and Progress)—appears on Brazil's flag. Political progress continues after years of military dictatorship gave way to civilian rule in 1985. Recent censuses reveal social progress, with lower infant mortality rates and higher literacy rates. Brazil's growing urbanization rate helps economic development (some 80 percent of Brazilians live in urban areas), but creates serious social and environmental problems in cities.
São Paulo, with some 10.9 million people, is Brazil's largest city—and one of the world's largest metropolises. It is the leading industrial producer and financial center, but problems with pollution, overcrowding, and poverty abound. The Southeast region of Brazil includes São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Rio de Janeiro—the economic hub of Brazil, containing more than 40 percent of the country's population. South of São Paulo is a rich agricultural region with European-style standards of living, where German and Italian are still spoken alongside Portuguese. Itaipu, the second largest hydroelectric power facility in the world, provides electricity to power-hungry São Paulo.
Brazil's second most populous region is the Northeast region, from Maranhao in the north down to Bahia (the most African of Brazilian states). The architecture of cities like Recife and Salvador (Portuguese colonial capital, 1549-1763) shows an earlier age of plantation wealth, but today this is a poor region subject to devastating droughts. Millions have left here for jobs in the Southeast. However, tourism has begun to boom due to sunny weather, samba music, and soft sand beaches.
The North, dominated by the Amazon, is the largest region with the fewest people. The government is making progress in conserving the tropical rain forest and protecting the indigenous people. Tumucumaque National Park, created in 2002, is the world's largest tropical forest park.

ECONOMY

• Industry: Textiles, , chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore
• Agriculture: Coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice; beef
• Exports: Transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, , coffee