Brazil

BRAZIL, a republic of South America, the largest political division of the continent. It is somewhat larger than the United States, excluding Alaska, is nearly three times the size of Argen tina, and 65 times the size of England. Its extreme dimensions from north to south are 2,695 m. and from east to west 2,691 miles. According to the latest calculations its area is 3,285,318 sq.m., comprising about three-sevenths of the entire South Ameri can continent.

Boundaries.

Brazil is bounded by all of the South American republics except Chile and Ecuador, and its territory also touches that of the three Guianas. During the better part of the colonial period the boundaries between Brazil or Portuguese America on the east and Spanish South America on the west were supposed to be the line fixed by the Treaty of Tordesillas , which in turn was based on the line of demarcation drawn by Pope Alexander VI. a year earlier. The Portuguese were persistent trespassers in early colonial times and their land hunger led them to encroach widely on the Spanish claims. By treaties signed by Spain and Portugal in 1750 and 1777 this expansion of Brazil to the westward was recognized and the boundaries then adopted still serve in great part to separate Brazil from its neighbours.

The boundary of Uruguay was settled by treaty in 1851, but was subsequently modified in 1909 when Brazil voluntarily agreed to share with Uruguay the joint control over the waters of Lake Mirim. The line between Brazil and Argentina was defined by the treaty of 1847, but a long and heated controversy arose over the ownership of a region known as Mis iones adjoining the upper Uruguay river. The dispute was referred to the arbitration of President Cleveland, whose decision, handed down in 1895 favoured in the main Brazil's contentions. The boundary with Paraguay was settled by treaty in 1872. By this instrument certain territorial re adjustments demanded by Brazil as a result of her victory in the Paraguayan War were recognized. A thorny dispute with Bolivia over the Acre territory was settled by the Treaty of Petropolis in 1903 through the efforts of the Baron of Rio Branco, the distinguished minister of foreign affairs. This valuable rub ber district, comprising over 57,00o sq.m., was ceded to Brazil, which in turn paid Bolivia sterling and agreed to build a railway around the rapids of the Madeira river, thus giving Bolivia's rich hinterland direct access to the Amazon river. The boundary with Peru was definitely fixed by the treaty of 1910, which supplemented the treaties of 1851 and 1858. Ecuador has long claimed to border on Brazil, but her assertion has been disputed by both Peru and Colombia. In 1904 Brazil negotiated a boundary treaty with Ecuador which was to become effective only in case Ecuador could settle its boundary controversy with Peru. But all hope that Ecuador might be contiguous to Brazil vanished when in 1927 Peru and Colombia fixed their boundaries without reference to the claims of Ecuador. A protracted con troversy between Colombia and Brazil, which at one time involved fully a third of the great State of Amazonas, was settled in favour of the latter country by the treaty of 1907. The boundary line with Venezuela, defined by treaty of 1859, was settled by protocols signed in 1905. The disputed boundary between Brazil and British Guiana, which involved the possession of territory of some 12,000 sq.m., was submitted to the arbitration of the king of Italy. The decision, rendered in 1904, awarded Brazil nearly two-thirds of the area in question. The Brazilian boundary with Dutch Guiana was determined by the treaty of 1906. The boundary with French Guiana (see GUIANA), which had long been a subject of dispute, was settled by arbitration in 1900, the award, almost wholly in favour of Brazil, being rendered by the Government of Switzer land.

Major Physical Divisions.

A glance at the relief map of Brazil reveals two very irregular divisions of the surface : the great river basins of the Amazon on the north and the La Plata on the south, which are practically connected by low elevations in Bolivia, and a vast highland or upland region filling in the eastern projection of the continent and extending westward almost to the Bolivian frontier and southward to the plains of Rio Grande do Sul. In addition to these major divisions, which might simply be described as the Brazilian highlands and lowlands, there are a narrow coastal plain and an irregular elevation north of the Amazon and lying only partly in Brazil, known as the Guiana highlands.

The Lowlands.

The Amazon river (q.v.) and its tributaries drain over a third of the area of Brazil in addition to large parts of the neighbouring republics. The two immense States of Ama zonas and Path lie almost entirely within its basin. Most of this area has an elevation of less than Boo ft. and is subject to heavy rainfall. As a consequence large regions are annually flooded. This abundant moisture, together with the equatorial heat, gives rise to the tropical forests or selvas. Nowhere else in the world are to be found woodlands of equal extent. The La Plata basin, on the other hand, is less heavily forested, its surface more varied, and its Brazilian sections have a much higher elevation. The southern half of Matto Grosso as well as large sections of the States of Sao Paulo, Parana, Santa Catharina, and Rio Grande do Sul are drained by the La Plata river system.

The Brazilian Plateau.—The most important physical di vision of Brazil is the great Brazilian plateau. It comprises over half the area of the republic. It is larger than the Argentine republic, is seven times as large as France and 12 times as large as the British Isles. In contrast to the sparsely populated Amazon basin it is rightly characterized as the "real Brazil." In extent, population and resources it is in truth an empire in itself. In form it consists of an elevated table-land, from 1,000 to 3,00o ft. above sea-level, traversed by a number of compara tively low mountain chains. The most eastern of these, known as the Serra do Mar, or Coast range, follows the Atlantic coast for nearly 1,000 miles. Though in reality little more than the eastern edge of the great plateau, as seen from the ocean it appears as a practically unbroken range of mountains. From the first it has constituted a barrier to the economic penetration of Brazil and even to-day is crossed by only two standard-gauge railways, and one of these, the Sao Paulo railway, has to use cables to make the ascent. Many sections of the Serra do Mar bear local designations. Its loftiest peak is generally desig nated Pedra Act' (7,323 ft.), in the beautiful Organ mountains, which form such an impressive background to the harbour of Rio de Janeiro. The second of the mountain systems, which is separated from the Serra do Mar by a number of river valleys, is the Serra da Mantiqueira. The mean elevation of its crests is about 6,50o ft. and its culminating peak, Mt. Itatiaya (9,823 ft.), is the highest peak in Brazil. The central or Goyana system lies much farther to the west, between the basins of the Tocantins and Sao Francisco rivers. The importance of the Brazilian plateau can hardly be over-estimated. Thanks to this highland region, partly wooded, partly open prairies or cameos, immense areas lying geographically within the torrid zone, constitute a satis factory and, in some cases, ideal habitat for the white race. The Guiana Highlands and the Coastal Plain.—In addi tion to the great Brazilian plateau there is a mountainous region in the extreme north-east, known as the Guiana highlands. The Brazilian section belongs physically to an isolated mountain sys tem extending eastward from the Rio Negro and the Orinoco to the Atlantic. It is in part forested and in part a hot, stony desert. Up to the present it has been a negligible factor in the progress of Brazil. The narrow coastal plain extends from Cape Sao Roque on the north to Rio Grande do Sul on the south. It is of varying width, and in some parts of the coast, where the Serra do Mar rises directly from the Atlantic, it disappears alto gether. In the extreme south it widens greatly and is merged into an extensive rolling grassy plain characteristic of the neighbour ing republic of Uruguay. On this ribbon of littoral are to be found some of the most important cities of the republic, and together with the great plateau it contains nine-tenths of the population of Brazil.

Rivers and Lakes.—Outside of the two great river systems of the Amazon and the Rio de La Plata (qq.v.), tiie rivers of Brazil are limited to the numerous small streams and three or four large rivers which flow from the great plateau into the Atlantic. Some of these rivers are navigable for a considerable portion of their course and from the earliest times they have afforded means of penetration into the interior. On the other hand their usefulness has been impaired by sand-bars at their mouths, by frequent rapids and falls, and by the lowering of the water-level during the dry season. The Parnahyba ("Bad River") flows northward some goo m., draining the entire State of Piauhy. Though broken by rapids it is navigable for some 400 m. in sections. Of much greater importance is the Sao Francisco (q.v.), the largest river lying entirely within Brazil. Its total length is some 1,800 m., and though broken by rapids and cataracts its course is navigable in its upper sections for nearly i,000 m. and for 148 m. in its lower reaches. The chief obstacle to navigation is the Paulo Affonso Falls, around which the Government has constructed a railway. The falls have a total drop of 26o ft. and an estimated potential horse-power of over a million. The Sao Francisco takes its rise in southern Minas Geraes, flows in a north-easterly direction across Bahia, then turns to the south east, entering the Atlantic at the junction of the States of Alagoas and Sergipe.

Of the rivers flowing into the Atlantic south of the Sao Fran cisco only three demand passing notice. The Jequitinhonha rises in north-eastern Minas Geraes and crosses a section of southern Bahia. It has a length of some 500 m., 84 of which are navigable. The Doce also rises in Minas Geraes but reaches the sea through the State of Espirito Santo. Its deep cut through the Serra do Mar has made possible the construction of a railway along its course from the port of Victoria up into the enormously rich iron deposits of Minas Geraes. Its lower reaches are nav igable for 138 miles. The Parahyba do Sul (q.v.) enters the Atlantic about 3o m. north of Cape Sao Thome in the State of Rio de Janeiro. It rises in the State of Sao Paulo and flows across the State of Rio de Janeiro, through a broad fertile val ley producing coffee and sugar. Its length is 658 m. with navi gable stretches totaling 147 miles. The remaining streams empty ing into the Atlantic are confined for the most part to the narrow coastal plain.

The Brazilian sections of the rivers constituting the Rio de La Plata system are of great importance. Of the Paraguay, which rises near the centre of Matto Grosso, 88o m. are in Brazil. Of these some 60o m. are navigable. Until the completion of the trans-Brazilian railway the Paraguay constituted practically the sole means of access to the great interior State of Matto Grosso. The Parana ("Mother of the Sea") is a Brazilian river for over a third of its total length (2,800 miles) . With its tributaries it drains the south-western part of Minas Geraes and almost all of Sao Paulo and Parana west of the Serra do Mar. The southern parts of Matto Grosso and Goyaz also lie partly in its basin. The Parana is navigable in long stretches above and below the Sete Quedas ("Seven Falls"), one of the three most famous cataracts in Brazil.

The Uruguay, the third great river of the La Plata system, rises in the Serra do Mar, flows north-westward, forming the boundary between Santa Catharina and Rio Grande do Sul, and later south-westward, forming the boundary between Brazil and Argentina. One-third of its total length of nearly i,000 m. lies entirely outside of Brazil. Navigation in the Brazilian section is greatly impeded by rapids.

Brazil is ill supplied with lakes. Such as exist are to be found in the coastal plain ; for the most part they are lagoons and inland channels formed by uplifted beaches. The most famous are Lagoa dos Patos and Lagoa Mirim, both along the coast of Rio Grande do Sul. The former is 124 m. long and 37 m. wide. At its northern end is the State capital, Porto Alegre, and at its mouth the important seaport of Rio Grande do Sul. Lagoa Mirim, which is slightly smaller, lies partly in Uruguay, although both countries exercise condominium over its waters.

The Coast.

The coast-line of Brazil, 3,642 m. in length, is indented with a number of almost land-locked bays, forming spacious and' accessible harbours. The largest and most important are the Bahia de Todos os Santos, or simply Bahia, serving the metropolis of northern Brazil, and the magnificent harbour of Rio de Janeiro or Guanabara, beside which stands the capital of the republic. These two harbours are freely accessible to the largest ships afloat. Other important harbours are those of Pernambuco, Espirito Santo, Paranagua, and Sao Francisco. Para, Santos and Rio Grande do Sul are river ports situated near the sea on rivers having the same name. Mangos, the capital of Amazonas, may also be listed among Brazilian ports. Though it lies 85o m. from the sea, the great depth of the Amazon renders it accessible to trans-Atlantic liners. (P. A. M.) Geology.—The older rocks in Brazil consist of intrusive masses and metamorphic rocks—granite, gneiss, quartzite, marble and crystalline schist—which, taken together, have been called the Brazilian complex. They cover in the aggregate a large area, and they are exposed conspicuously in the mountain ranges in the eastern part of the country and in the ranges that border the basin of the Amazon on the north, along the boundary between Brazil and the countries north of it—Venezuela and the Guianas. At some places they are overlaid by Palaeozoic sedimentary beds, which have been greatly disturbed. These Palaeozoic beds con tain the veins of quartz that carry the gold now mined in Brazil and that were the source of the gold found in the old placers. They include also great deposits of iron and manganese, and some geol ogists suppose that they are the place of origin of the diamonds and the other precious stones now mined in Brazil. Silurian, De vonian and Carboniferous beds are exposed in the basin of the Amazon, which in its lower course follows the axis of a syncline composed of them. Rocks of Permian age cover an enormous area in Brazil. They consist mainly of sandstone and shale of de trital origin, but they include also extensive beds of limestone, which are cut here and there by eruptive dikes. The Permian beds in southern Brazil contain seams of coal and the remains of plants, some of which belong to the Glossopteris flora, found also in Argentina, as well as in India, Australia and southern Africa. Traces of Permian glaciation, such as erratic boulders, scratched pebbles and glacial till, are found in southern Brazil. The Triassic rocks are soft, reddish sandstone, generally in horizontal beds, which are at some places intruded by dikes of basic eruptive rock. They cover large areas in southern Brazil. Cretaceous marine beds are found in a narrow belt along the coast north of Bahia and they cap hills and cover large areas inland. The Tertiary beds consist of deposits laid down along the shore and in lakes. At several places they contain lignite and bituminous shale. Aeolian deposits of Tertiary sand and clay cover large areas in Brazil, especially in the basin of the Amazon. The remarkable stone reefs along the north-east coast are ancient beaches that have been hardened by the infiltration of carbonate of lime ; they are not coral reefs. (G. McL. Wo.)