THE LAND

Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world, has the sixth largest population. It is almost as large as the United States of America and its area is nearly half of South America. For neighbors it has all the South American countries save Chile and Ecuador. Distances are enormous: 4,320 km from N to S, 4,328 km from E to W, a land frontier of 15,719 km and an Atlantic coast line of  7,408 km. Its population is over half that of all South America, and over 65% is under 30 years of age. It was named for the tropical redwood, pau-brasil, exported by the first settlers.
Brazil's topography may be divided roughly into five main zones: the Amazon Basin, the River Plate Basin, the Guiana Highlands N of the Amazon, the Brazilian Highlands S of the Amazon, and the Coastal Strip. The two great river basins account for about three-fifths of Brazil's area.