Brazil is divided into five primary geographic areas: the northern
Guiana Highlands;
Brazilian Highlands (
or plateau) central and east; the massive
Amazon River Basin;
Pantanal wetland areas of the southwest, and the Southern Highlands - to the west and south of Curitiba.
The
Brazilian Highlands are covered by low mountain ranges and forested river valleys. From Rio de Janeiro - north to Fortaleza, a series of higher mountain ranges form a natural barrier between the
Atlantic Ocean and the country's interior.
The
Pantanal is the world's largest freshwater wetland, a seasonally flooded plain fed by the tributaries of many rivers. For size comparison, it's almost 10 times the size of the
Florida Everglades.
The
Amazon is the world's largest tropical rain forest. It's drained by the huge Amazon River, and more than 200 of its tributaries - with more than a dozen of those tributaries being on (
The Longest Rivers of the World) list. The Sao Francisco is the longest river completely within
Brazil's borders.
The
Guiana Highlands, a relatively flat-topped mountainous area covered by rain forest, stretches across much of northern
South America. It's home to many of the planet's most spectacular waterfalls, and
Brazil's highest point.
