Brazil

1. Brazil Pages 308 – 315 and 320 - 325

2. Vocabulary • Favelas – Brazilian slums. • Social Services – Programs designed to help the poor.

3. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 - 315 • Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world. • It has a wide variety of landforms.

4. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 - 315 • The best known feature in Brazil is the Amazon River. • Flows east from the Andes Mts. • About 4,000 miles long • Carries more water than any other river in the world.

5. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 - 315 • Amazon Basin is the 2.7 million square miles that surrounds the Amazon River. • The Amazon Basin is the area that drains into the Amazon River.

6. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 - 315 • The Amazon lowlands is a large area but more of the country is covered by highlands. • Two major highlands are Guiana Highlands and Brazilian Highlands.

7. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 - 315 • The Cerrado is a savanna. Savanna is an area of grasses and forests. • Pantenal is a wetland with many plants and animals.

8. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 - 315 • Climate • Tropical in the North – Times of drought and other times of flooding. • Subtropical in the South - Cooler • High humidity • Elevation affects the climate as well – Higher areas are cooler

9. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 - 315 • Land Uses – • Cattle Ranches in dryer regions • Iron Ore, Bauxite, and Gold are found here • Forest – Cover over ½ the country • Provide rubber, palm oil, and timber • Hydroelectric Plants • Some farmland – When rainforest are cut down to put in farmland, the land looses fertility

10. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 - 315 • Ecosystems – • Northeast • Semi Arid Ecosystem - In this region there are animals that can survive long periods of time without water. Plants that need little water such as low scrub vegetation.

11. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 - 315 • Ecosystem • Amazon Lowlands • Tropical Ecosystem • Most animals found in canopy which is high up in the trees. Fruit of the trees is up there, which is attracts the animals. • Igapo – Permanently flooded forests. Trees depend on fish to each their fruits and spread the seeds.

12. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 - 315 • Brazil has ethnic diversity. • Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans have blended together to form a culture with similar traits and language.

13. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 – 315 • Coastal cities are extremely crowded. • Inland is the thick, dense rainforests. • On the coast you have access to the ocean for trade and transportation. • Farming also occurs near the coastal area.

14. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 – 315 • Brazil has been trying to get people to move inland. • They even built a new capital, Brasilia, inland. • Manaus, is another inland city. It is known for rubber manufacturing. It is also the only city in Brazil that foreign companies can produce goods without having to pay taxes on imports.

15. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 – 315 • Brazilian cities are set up the same. • Businesses and rich neighborhoods within the city • Poor slums called favelas surround the city • Favelas – Estimated that 14 million Brazilians live here • These neighborhoods keep getting bigger because more people move from the country to the city liooking for work. • Homes are made from bricks or anything that can be found in the waste dumps. • Usually built on hillsides • Usually NO paved roads, electricity, piped water supply, toilets, or sewers.

16. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 – 315 • There is a gap between the rich and the poor in this country. In fact it is the largest gap between rich and poor in the world. • Estimated that 10% of Brazilians own more than 70% of the land and wealth in the country.

17. Section 1 : Chapter AtlasPages 308 – 315 • In the last 30 years poverty has increased by 50% • “We have two countries here under on flag, on constitution, and one language. One part of Brazil is in the Twentieth Century, with high-technology computers and satellite launches. And, beside that, we have another country where people are eating lizards.” • Wilson Brage, governor of Paraiba State, 1985 • As printed in my World Geography by Pearson

18. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • For more than 400 years Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans have been marrying one another. This has resulted in almost ½ of Brazil’s population being of mixed racial history. • This has also caused new kinds of religious worship and festivals such as Carnival

19. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • Ethnic Groups – • Africans – along the northeast coast where African slaves first arrived in Brazil • Europeans – southern Brazil and throughout the country. • Native Americans – live all over Brazil but can survive in the rainforests.

20. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • Religions • Primarily Catholic though other religions are becoming more popular. • Protestant, Buddhism, Mormon, Jewish, Islam, and Traditional African Religions are also found in Brazil.

21. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • Environmental Issues • Brazil must deal with pollution caused by factories and cars but the real concern is the rainforest. • Rainforest are being cut down for farming or ranching or to be used for timber. The rivers are being dammed up to create hydroelectric power and the streams are being mined for gold. • Harming the rainforest can take away trees that absorb carbon and create oxygen. • Much of the rainforest destruction is happening in the rural areas. Police are not able to fully protect these places.

22. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • Environmental Issues • Brazil is reducing their dependence on oil by using Ethanol which is a fuel made from sugar cane. • Urban planning or the planning of a city is creating “green” cities that are better for the environment.

23. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • Brazil is a free market economy. • Diversified economy • Many natural resources are used to power the economy. • Iron, Magnesium, Tin, Natural Gas, Oil, Timber, Rubber, Diamonds, and Gold • Manufacturing – Vehicle Manufacturing • Agriculture – Coffee, Sugar Cane, Soybeans

24. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • Trade – • Brazil is a part of MERCOSUR. • This is an organization for free trade. • Includes Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina • Stands for Southern Common Market

25. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • Government • Brazil has the same structure of government as the United States. • Both have three branches of government, elected officials, a president, congress, and supreme court. • Brazil’s legal voting age is only 16 not 18 like in the United States.

26. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • The gap between rich and poor is drastic. The poor lack good housing, schools, hospitals and police and fire protection. • Brazilian leaders are proposing to use wealth from oil fields to create social service that can be used to lift people out of poverty.

27. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • Government • Brazil was ruled by dictators or the military starting in 1930’s • Brazil returned to a democracy in the 1990’s

28. Section 3 : Brazil TodayPages 320 – 325 • Brazil gets power from its oil, ethanol production, industry, and agriculture. • If they use their resources properly they will be able to lift Brazilians out of poverty in the future.