KidZone Geography: Brazil

Climate

Brazil is a huge tropical and sub tropical country. It has a wide range of environments that can be separated into 5 general categories.

Rainforest
Photographed by Lucas Campoi on Unsplash

The five climate categories that exist across Brazil are: tropical rainforest, tropical wetland, tropical savannah, Atlantic forest and fertile plains. Despite these many variations, most places in Brazil only really experience two seasons, dry and wet.

Often the climate depends on the elevation and how close the area is to the ocean. The Amazon rainforest is a huge ecosystem that covers two thirds of Brazil, mainly in the North and West. At its center is the Amazon River, which at its narrowest point is 1.5Km across. At its widest it is 48Km wide during the wet season. Despite these incredible facts, the Amazon is the fastest depleting rainforest in the world.

Highland areas exist in the South East of the countryand the East suffers from regular drought. These highlands and plateaus are often less than 1220 meters in height. There is little seismic or volcanic activity in the country.