Portal:Brazil

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Welcome to the Brazil Portal Main Indices   Projects   Flag of Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil), is the largest and most populous country in South America, and the fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Its territory covers 8,514,876.599 km² between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean and it is the easternmost country of the Americas. It borders Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the département of French Guiana to the north, Uruguay to the south, Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest, Bolivia and Peru to the west, and Colombia to the northwest. The only South American countries not bordered by Brazil are Ecuador and Chile. The Brazilian coastline covers 7,367km (4,655 mi) along the Atlantic ocean. Numerous archipelagos are part of the Brazilian territory, such as Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, Fernando de Noronha, Trindade e Martim Vaz and Atol das Rocas. Tropical climate is predominant. In the south of the country, subtropical climate prevails. Brazil is traversed by the Equator and Tropic of Capricorn lines. It is home to varied fauna and flora and extensive natural resources. The Brazilian population tends to concentrate along the coastline in large urban centers. While Brazil has one of the largest populations in the world, population density is low and the inner continental land has large demographical empty spaces. It is a multiracial country composed of European, Amerindian, African and Asian elements, more often combined in the same individual than separated into different communities. The official language is Portuguese, and it is the only Portuguese-speaking country in all the Americas. Catholicism is the predominant religion, though Protestant communities have experienced significant growth in the last decades. Brazil has the largest Roman Catholic population in the world. Show new selections TAM Airlines Flight 3054 wreckage Credit: Agência Brasil TAM Airlines Flight 3054 (JJ 3054) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Porto Alegre and São Paulo, Brazil. The Airbus A320 aircraft used for the route, PR-MBK crashed upon landing during rain in São Paulo on July 17, 2007. PR-MBK overran the runway, crossed a major thoroughfare during rush hour, crashed at high speed into a TAM Express warehouse adjacent to a gas station and exploded. There were 187 people on board: 181 passengers, 19 of them were TAM employees, and 6 crew members. All passengers and crew were killed in the crash, in addition to twelve people on the ground. As of 2007, Flight 3054 has the highest death toll of any aviation accident in Latin America and the highest death toll of any accident involving an Airbus A320 anywhere in the world. Lagoa Mirim (Portuguese) or Laguna Merín (Spanish) is a large estuarine lagoon which extends from southern Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil into eastern Uruguay. Like its larger neighbor Lagoa dos Patos to the north, Lagoa Mirim is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a sandy, partially barren peninsula. Credit: Agência Brasil Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Portuguese pronunciation: [feʁˈnɐ̃dʊ ẽˈʁikɪ kaʁˈdozʊ], (born June 18, 1931) – also known by his initials FHC – was the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to January 1, 2003. He is also an accomplished sociologist. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he has lived in São Paulo most of his life. Cardoso is a widower (he was married to Ruth Valença Correia Leite Cardoso until her death on June 24, 2008) and has three children. Educated as a sociologist, he was a Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the Universidade de São Paulo. He was President of the International Sociological Association (ISA), from 1982 to 1986. He is a member of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton), an honorary foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has penned several books. He was also Associate Director of Studies in the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris and then visiting professor at the Collège de France and later at the Paris-Nanterre University. Credit: Bridge Pix ...that the Paço Imperial, a Baroque palace in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, served as a main government seat for almost 150 years? ...that the centre of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is crossed by an 18th century aqueduct nicknamed Arcos da Lapa? ...that all five species of the catfish genus Epactionotus are endemic to limited geographic areas in Brazil and Argentina? Panorama of the falls from Brazil Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls are waterfalls of the Iguazu River located on the border of the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentine province of Misiones. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. Latin America Argentina Bolivia Colombia Chile Ecuador French Guiana Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela The following Wikimedia sister projects provide more on this subject: