Brazil

1. Brazil Half of South America’s population and land lie in Brazil Brasilia is the capital of Brazil

2. Northeast The Northeast Region • Climate = tropical, wet, and dry • Poverty is severe. Because of this people have an average life of 49 years old. • Colonized by the Portuguese in 1500. Portuguese built large sugar plantations. • Brazil is one of the world’s major producers of sugar.

3. The Southeast Region • Brazil’s smallest region. • Brazil’s economic heartland. • Southeast produces cotton, sugarcane, rice, chocolate, and coffee. • Southeast is known as the “coffeepot”. This area grows ¼ of the world’s supply of coffee. • Climate = humid and sub tropic. Southeast

4. The Amazon River Region • The Amazon River spreads across more than ½ of Brazil. • Receive more than 80 inches of precipitation per year. • Average of 80 degrees. • Home of thousands of species of plants and animals. • 10% of Brazilians live here, with about 200,000 Indians from over 180 different tribes.

5. Economy & Poverty in Brazil • Brazilians have benefited from economic development, but poverty and environmental harm are major problems. • Brazilian farmers suffer from poverty because they live in areas where the soil is poor and free/open land is scarce. They also can’t afford expensive farm equipment. • The Brazilian government has boosted the economy and decreased the poverty levels by encouraging settlement and development of land. • Industry accounts for 1/3 of Brazil’s economy.

6. Environmental Changes in Brazil • Deforestation = the process of striping the land of its trees. This is done throughout the Amazon rainforest to create more farms. • To save the rainforest the Brazilian government is trying to fight deforestation. They are confiscating timber and materials that came from the rain forest, taxing farmers, and encouraging ecotourism. • Ecotourism = tourism that encourages environmental awareness.