Brazil - this is the fifth largest country in the
world and almost half of the entire South American continent. It shares
borders with all countries of South America except Chile and Ecuador. This
8000 km of coastline with some of the most beautiful beaches in the world
and the diversity of climatic and natural zones.
Brazil - a 134 national natural park, the Amazon jungle, the richest in
the world's flora and fauna.
population of Brazil - this is an explosive mixture
of Europeans, Africans and Indians, people who are in love with a
carnival, a dance samba, soccer and many others, that fills life and makes
it a festival. There is no other place on earth where emotion and energy
is so overwhelmed with all: and local residents and tourists, united by
one purpose - to live and enjoy it.
The country ranks fifth in the world by population (183,200 thousand in
2004).
Brazil - one of the most colorful on the ethnic composition of South
America, a nation that was formed by mixing of the Portuguese and other
European settlers with the natives, Indians and blacks brought from
Africa, slaves.
Ethnic composition: white - 54,7%, negros - 5,89%, mulatto - 38,45%.
There are more than 3 million immigrants (Japanese, Italians, Germans,
Arabs, French, etc.). 97% of residents call themselves Brazilians, and
Indians - less than 1%.
Brazil is known worldwide as a country of soccer and samba, fabulously
beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro and impenetrable jungle, and, of course,
the most spectacular carnivals. She rightly called a land of contrasts:
lush tropical forests coexist with majestic mountains, wild jungle with
multimillion dollar mega-cities, magnificent beaches and the vast desert
plateau with the river, roaring waterfalls with comfortable quiet ocean
bays. Each region - a particular geographical and ethnic peace. From the
natural attractions of the most famous - is the beaches of Copacabana,
Ipanema and Leblon, in Rio de Janeiro, mountain "Sugar Loaf, Corcovado
Mountain, National Park Foz de Iguazu, Iguazu waterfalls.
Pre-colonial history of Brazil does not know the highly developed
civilizations, like the Aztec or Inca. Before the arrival of Europeans,
Brazil was inhabited by Indian tribes of the Arawaks and the Caribs in the
north, the Tupi-Guarani - on the east coast and in the valley of the
Amazon, Pano - on the west.
At the beginning of the XVI century here invaded the Portuguese
conquistadors destroyed most of the indigenous population and created a
large-scale plantation agriculture with the use of slave labor blacks
imported from Africa. As a result of the liberation movement in 1822, the
country was declared an independent Empire (since 1889 - Federal
Republic).
official language - Portuguese. Distributed by the
Spanish, are also used French, German, Italian. In the interior of the
commonly used "lingua Geral" - a common language, which arose on the basis
of the languages of Indian tribes Tupi-Guarani, as well as 180 different
languages and dialects of ethnic groups.
Climate - from the equatorial north-west to subtropical in the
south-east. Average January temperatures range from 23 to 29 ° C, July 16
to 24 ° C. The seasons are opposite the Northern Hemisphere. In Rio de
Janeiro is always wet, from November to March - very hot. In mountain
areas, winter temperatures can drop to 0 ° C. The worst month - July,
because cold and often drizzles rain. In the Amazon dry season lasts from
August until early December, from December to April - very hot, occasional
rains from May to July - heavy rains.
Brazil is divided into 26 states and consists of 5 regions, each of
which is characterized by geographical, cultural, social characteristics.
Capital - the city of Brasilia, is located in the
eponymous state.
SOUTH
States: Parana, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul.
Main cities: Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Florianopolis, Foz do Iguacu.
The only region that lies south of the Tropic of Capricorn, and where
clearly differentiated all four seasons. In some cities is a real winter
with snow. Here is everything - architecture, culture and even culinary
traditions - strongly influenced by immigrants from Germany and Italy, who
settled here in the late XIX century.
NORTH
States: Amazonas, Para, Acre, Roraima, Amapa, Rondonia, Tocantins.
Main cities: Manaus, Belem.
Virtually the entire north of Brazil is covered by the Amazon jungle.
Nature reigns here, which determines the habits and lifestyles of local
people.
CENTER-WEST
States: Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goias.
Distrito Federal: Brasilia.
Main cities: Brasilia, Cuiaba, Campo Grande.
This contrasts the richest region of Brazil. District Pantanal
(Pantanal) with fantastic reserves - an ideal place for fishing, for those
wishing to turn away from the bustle of the modern world. And here is the
futuristic capital of Brazil, surrounded by untamed nature.
SOUTHEAST
States: Rio de Janeiro, San Paulo, Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo.
Main cities: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Victoria, Belo Horizonte.
This is the main gate through which visitors from all over the world
come to Brazil. In this region there are two major cities. Sao Paulo - a
huge, cosmopolitan city, a major industrial and business center. Rio de
Janeiro - a huge city, a famous beach resort with a length of 90 km.
NORTH EAST
States: Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraiba, Rio Grande do
Norte, Ceara, Piaui, Maranhao.
Main cities: Salvador, Maceio, Recife, Joao Pessoa, Natal, Fortaleza.
It is with the State of Bahia and the beginning of colonization of
Brazil after its discovery by the Portuguese in 1500, more than 200 years,
until the middle of the XVIII century, the state capital - El Salvador,
founded in 1549, was the capital of Brazil's most prosperous city in the
southern hemisphere, as well as a center of sugar refining cane and the
slave trade. Thousands of African slaves were brought here to work the
sugar plantations. The present population of the region and culture, rich
traditions and folklore - the result of mixing of cultures of the
Portuguese, Danes, French, Africans and Indians.
But the most ambitious and well-known that there is in the region, a
city Fooz do Iguacu (FozdoIguacu) and the nearby waterfalls of Iguazu.
Educated river Iguazu, 275 waterfalls are one of the greatest spectacles
in the world and attracts thousands of tourists. Streams of water, rushing
in the 65-meter chasm, form foggy curtain, cut by a razor blade, hundreds
of the brightest rainbows. The most adventurous tourists can take a
journey through the subtropical jungle to a waterfall Makuko. To fans of
feathered birds suggest that you visit the park, inhabited by more than
500 species of birds from South America and other continents. Bridges
Amizade and Neves, power plant Itaipu (Itaipu) - grand-scale works of
human hands.
Sami Brazilians believe that God was a Brazilian. Otherwise He could
not create this heavenly country. The land on which we can speak only in
superlatives. The most beautiful sandy beaches, the most full-flowing
rivers, the most dense and impenetrable forest, the most powerful
waterfalls, the largest city ...
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