With a territorial extension of 8541 205 km 2 , which makes it the fifth largest country in the world and the third on the American continent, Brazil is considered a ” country-continent “.
The Brazilian geographical position
The Equator line crosses the north of the Brazilian territory. Thus, 7% of the country’s area is located in the northern hemisphere, and the remaining 93%, in the southern hemisphere. In relation to the Greenwich meridian, Brazil is totally located in the western or western hemisphere, occupying the central-eastern portion of South America. Its territorial dimensions allow it to border almost all South American countries, with the exception of Chile and Ecuador.
The limits of the Brazilian territory extend for 23086 km, with 15 719 km of land borders and 7 367 km of coastline with the Atlantic Ocean.
Mineral reserves
Petroleum
According to Youremailverifier, the Brazilian continental shelf is rich in oil deposits. From it, 60% of national production is extracted. The country’s oil reserves total 2,816 million barrels.
Oil began to be explored in Brazil in 1953. Currently, almost all production is consumed domestically, with only a small portion already refined being exported. Despite the emergence of new wells and the continuous increase in production, the oil explored in Brazil is not enough to meet the country’s needs.
There are 5,511 oil wells in production in the country, with 4,872 onshore and 639 offshore. Most of the production comes from the Campos Basin, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, discovered in 1974. Using national deepwater exploration technology, the production in the Campos Basin reaches 52,600 m3 (330 thousand) barrels per day.
In the region of Recôncavo Baiano, in the state of Bahia, oil has been explored for a longer time, with more than one billion barrels of product having been produced in that area. The Água Grande field is the most produced to date in the country, with a total of 42.9 million m3 (274 million barrels) of oil extracted from the soil.
Metallic minerals
Among the main minerals found in Brazil are bauxite, aluminum, copper, cassiterite, iron, manganese, gold and silver. In the northern region of the country, iron, gold, diamonds, cassiterite, tin and manganese are found. Iron and manganese are also available in large quantities in the state of Minas Gerais.
Relief
Tropical rains are mainly responsible for the major changes in the Brazilian territory. Since Brazil does not present geological faults in the earth’s crust of its territory, the earthquakes that occasionally occur in the country are the result of seismic shocks at distant points.
The plateaus are predominant in the Brazilian relief. The regions between 201 and 1,200 m above sea level correspond to 4,976,145 km2, or 58.46% of the territory. There are two predominant plateaus in Brazil: the Guiana Plateau and the Brazilian Plateau. The regions above 1,200 m in height represent only 0.54% of the country’s surface, or 42,267 km2. The Amazon, Pantanal, Pampa and Costeira plains occupy the remaining 41% of the territory. In Brazil, modest altitudes predominate, with 93% of the territory being less than 900 m above sea level.
Guianas Plateau – It occupies the north of the country and there are the two highest points of the Brazilian territory, located in the Imeri mountain range: the peaks of Neblina (3,014 m) and 31 March (2,992 m).
Brazilian Plateau – Due to its extension and diversity of characteristics, the Brazilian Plateau is subdivided into three parts: the Atlantic plateau, which occupies the coast from northeast to south, with plateaus and mountains; the Central plateau, which occupies the Midwest region and is formed by sedimentary plateaus and very old and worn crystalline plateaus; and the Southern Plateau, which predominates in the Southeast and South regions and the southern tip of the Midwest, formed by sedimentary terrains partially covered by basaltic lavage spills, which provided the formation of the fertile soil of the so-called roxa terra.
Amazonian Plain – It extends through the sedimentary basin located between the highlands of the Guianas to the north and the Brazilian to the south, the Andes mountain range to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast. It is divided into three parts: floodplains, which are the areas located along the rivers, remaining flooded for much of the year; taller, higher regions, only floodable during the flood season; and firm, older and higher ground, which are out of reach of the floods.
Pantanal Plain – It occupies the depression where the Paraguay River and its tributaries flows, in the region close to the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It has great floods during the rainy season, transforming the region into a large lake.
Pampa Plain – Also known as Gaúcha, it occupies the southern region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul and presents undulating terrain, known as coxilhas.
Coastal Plain – It extends along the coast, from the state of Maranhão in the Northeast region, to the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in a strip of irregular width. In some stretches of the Southeast region, the plateaus reach the coast, forming an original relief, the so-called cliffs or cliffs.
