BRAZIL

17

Brazil  is  so  immense,  situated  between  the
fifth  degree  north  and  the  thirty-third  degree
south,  and  its  topography  so  varied  that  it  has
all  kinds  of  climates  excepting  extreme  cold.
Lying  in  the  temperate  and  tropical  zones  one
would  incline  to  the  belief  that  it  would  be
more  or  less  warm,  but  its  many  rivers  and
mountains,  its  high  table-lands  and  plateaus
exert  a  beneficial  influence  in  this  regard  and
materially  modify  what  otherwise  would  be
extreme  degrees  of  heat.
More  than  half  of  Brazil  is  an  elevated
plateau,  varying  from  2000  to  3000  feet  in
altitude.  It  has  four  distinct  mountain
ranges,  which  deflect  its  rains  and  form  vast
watersheds  for  irrigating  the  fertile  lands  at
their  base.  The  eastern  and  central  portions
are  elevated  while  the  chief  characteristics  of
the  north  and  west  are  its  fertile  plains  and
valleys.
The  coast  of  Brazil  straggles  along  for  over
5000  miles  and  is  provided  with  numerous
natural  harbors,  where  the  earlier  settlers  established ­
  cities  which  have  grown  and  pros ­