Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Brazil

South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and most in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern subregion of the Americas.

South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south by the Drake Passage; North America, the Caribbean Sea lying to the northwest, and the Antarctic Circle, Antarctica, and the Antarctic Peninsula to the south.

The continent includes twelve sovereign countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela; two dependent territories: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; and one internal territory: French Guiana.

The Caribbean South America ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) and Trinidad and Tobago are geologically located on the South-American continental shelf, and thus may be considered part of South America as well.

Adapted from Wikipedia: South America (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau (Portuguese: Planalto Brasileiro) is an extensive geographical region covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all some 4,500,000 km2 (1,930,511 sq mi) or approximately half of the country's land area. The vast majority of Brazil's population (203.062.512; 2022 census) lives in the highlands or on the narrow coastal region immediately adjacent to it.

Ancient basaltic lava flows gave birth to much of the region. However, the time of dramatic geophysical activity is long past, as there is now no seismic or volcanic activity. Erosion has also played a large part in shaping the Highlands, forming extensive sedimentary deposits and wearing down the mountains.

The Brazilian Highlands are recognized for its great diversity: within the region there are several different biomes, vastly different climatic conditions, many types of soil, and thousands of animal and plant species.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Brazilian Highlands (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Guiana Shield (French: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; Dutch: Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; Portuguese: Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; Spanish: Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American plate. It is a 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. The higher elevations on the shield are called the Guiana Highlands, which is where the table-like mountains called tepuis are found. The Guiana Highlands are also the source of some of the world's most well-known waterfalls such as Angel Falls, Kaieteur Falls, and Cuquenan Falls.

The Guiana Shield underlies Guyana (previously British Guiana), Suriname (previously Dutch Guiana), and French Guiana (or Guyane), much of southern Venezuela, most of Brazil north of the Amazon River, and parts of eastern Colombia. The first three are called The Guianas, and most of the Guiana Shield coincides with Guiana Island.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Guiana Shield (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Pantanal (Portuguese pronunciation: [pɐ̃taˈnaw], Spanish pronunciation: [pantaˈnal]) is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay. It sprawls over an area estimated at between 140,000 and 195,000 km2 (54,000 and 75,000 sq mi). Various subregional ecosystems exist, each with distinct hydrological, geological, and ecological characteristics; up to 12 of them have been defined.

Roughly 80% of the Pantanal floodplains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nurturing a biologically diverse collection of aquatic plants and helping to support a dense array of animal species.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Pantanal (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Caatinga (; [kaaˈt͡ʃĩɡɐ]) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" comes from the Old Tupi word ka'atinga, meaning 'white forest' (ka'a = 'forest, vegetation'; tinga = 'white').

The Caatinga is a xeric shrubland and thorn forest, which consists primarily of small, thorny trees that shed their leaves seasonally. Cacti, thick-stemmed plants, thorny brush, and arid-adapted grasses make up the ground layer. Most vegetation experiences a brief burst of activity during the three-month-long rainy season.

The Caatinga falls entirely within earth's tropical zone and is one of six major biomes of Brazil. It covers 912,529 km², nearly 10% of Brazil's territory. It is home to 26 million people and over 2,000 species of plants, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals.

The Caatinga is the only exclusively Brazilian biome, which means that a large part of its biological heritage cannot be found anywhere else on the planet.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Caatinga (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Chapada do Araripe, also known as the Serra do Araripe, is a chapada (plateau) in northeastern Brazil. The chapada forms the boundary of Ceará and Pernambuco states, and forms the watershed between the Jaguaribe River of Ceará, which flows northward into the Atlantic, and the much larger basin of the São Francisco River of Pernambuco and neighboring states, which drains eastward into the Atlantic. The Santana Formation, which is rich with fossils from the early Cretaceous, lies at the base of the chapada.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Chapada do Araripe (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Serra de Ibiapaba (Ibiapaba mountains) also known as Serra Grande, Chapada da Ibiabapa e Cuesta da Ibiapaba, is an upland in northeastern Brazil, which lies on the boundary of Piauí and Ceará states. The range runs north and south, extending from near the Atlantic coast in the north to connect with the Serra do Araripe, which forms the southern boundary of Ceará. The Poti River bisects the range, and the southern portion, between the Poti and the Serra do Araripe, is also known as the Serra Grande.

An attractive region for natural wealth which was already inhabited by various indigenous groups. People who lived already negotiating several natural products with European peoples, such as the French before them the arrival of the Portuguese. Initially inhabited by tabajaras and tapuias Indians, as the Iracema Indian woman who was bathing in the Bica do Ipú (Spout of Ipu) was fairly portrayed in the Iracema book by José de Alencar.

In the highlands of Ibiabapa are located the towns of Viçosa do Ceará, Tianguá, Ubajara, São Benedito, Guaraciaba do Norte and Ibiapina. The elevation ranges around 700 to 850 meters above sea level.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Serra da Ibiapaba (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Pampas (; from Quechua pampa 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plains, are fertile low grasslands in southern South America that cover more than 1,200,000 km2 (460,000 sq mi) and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil's southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul. The vast plains are a natural region, interrupted only by the low Ventana and Tandil hills, near Bahía Blanca and Tandil (Argentina), with a height of 1,300 m (4,265 ft) and 500 m (1,640 ft), respectively. This ecoregion has been changed by humans, especially since the release of animals like cattle, pigs, and especially sheep onto these plains.

The climate is temperate, with precipitation of 600 to 1,200 mm (23.6 to 47.2 in) that is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year, making the soils appropriate for agriculture. The area is also one of the distinct physiography provinces of the larger Paraná–Paraguay plain division.

It is considered that the limit of the Pampas plain is to the north with the Atlantic Forest and the Great Chaco Plain, to the west with the Pampas Mountains and the Cuyo Region, and to the south with Patagonia.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Pampas (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Tumuk Humak Mountains (Dutch: Toemoek-Hoemakgebergte, Portuguese: Serra do Tumucumaque, French: Monts Tumuc Humac) are a mountain range in South America, stretching about 120 kilometers (75 mi) east–west in the border area between Brazil in the south and Suriname and French Guiana in the north. In the language of the Apalam and Wayana peoples, Tumucumaque means "the mountain rock symbolizing the struggle between the shaman and the spirits". The range is very remote and almost inaccessible.

Both the Maroni and Oyapock rivers rise in the Tumuk Humak Mountains. The Maroni (Dutch: Marowijne) forms the entire (disputed) border between Suriname and French Guiana, and the Oyapock (Portuguese: Oiapoque) most of the border between French Guiana and Brazil.

The Tumuk Humak Mountains are part of the Tumucumaque Uplands of the Guiana Shield. They are geographically important because they form the divide between the biogeographical system of the Amazon Basin and that of the Atlantic coastal area of the Guianas. The Tumuk Humak plateau is covered primarily with lowland and plateau forests.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Tumuk Humak Mountains (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Borborema Plateau (Portuguese Planalto da Borborema, also known as the Serra da Borborema) is a plateau in northeastern Brazil which extends across the states of Pernambuco, Paraíba, and Rio Grande do Norte. The plateau is the northeasternmost portion of the Brazilian Highlands and is the most relevant watershed of its region. It ranges approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) from north to south and 200 kilometres (120 mi) from east to west. More than 100 rivers originate from the plateau, including the Moxotó, Mundaú, Pajeú, Paraíba do Norte, Seridó, and Una.

The Borborema Plateau serves as an orographic barrier, despite its relatively low elevation, against the moist easterly winds of the Atlantic Ocean. Areas west of the plateau, which make up part of the sertão, are arid and prone to drought. The Pajeú River, the largest tributary of the São Francisco River, originates from the Borborema.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Borborema Plateau (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Amazon Delta (Portuguese: delta do Amazonas) is a vast river delta formed by the Amazon River and the Tocantins River (through the Pará River distributary channel) in northern South America. It is located in the Brazilian states of Amapá and Pará and encompasses the Marajó Archipelago, with Marajó Island as its largest island. The region is 160,000 km2 and has 49 towns, with most of these being small towns with less than 20,000 inhabitants. The main cities located in the vicinity are Belém and Macapá, each with its respective metropolitan area.

It is the largest river delta in the world. It releases one fifth of the total amount of freshwater that is discharged into the earths oceans, into the Atlantic Ocean, with some estimating that equates to 200,000 litres a second. The area has wetlands, streams, lagoons and rich ecosystems and biodiversity. It is a vital area for wildlife, with extensive mangroves in wetland forests, that cover an area of 38,304 km2 of the delta, with 75% of Brazil's mangroves located in the Amazon Delta.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Amazon Delta (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Serra Geral (General Mountains) is a mountain range in southern Brazil, constituting the southern portion of the Serra do Mar system which runs along Brazil's southeastern coast. The Serra Geral runs parallel to the Atlantic coast in Santa Catarina and northern Rio Grande do Sul states, separating a narrow coastal plain from an interior plateau. The coastal plain is characterized by short rivers and frequent lagoons and bays, and lies within the humid tropical Serra do Mar coastal forests ecoregion.

The plateau to the west of the range is drained by tributaries of the Uruguay River, including the Pelotas and Canoas, and by the Jacuí River and its tributaries, which drains south into the Lagoa dos Patos of Rio Grande do Sul.

The Serra Geral is home to Aparados da Serra National Park and Serra Geral National Park, which are notable for their enormous canyons.

The plateau is the coldest part of Brazil, with frequent frosts and yearly snow, being home to the montane Araucaria moist forests. It is on Santa Catarina's portion of the Serra Geral where Brazil's coldest towns, Urubici, Urupema, São Joaquim and Bom Jardim da Serra, are located.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Serra Geral (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: Serra da Mantiqueira [literally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain]) are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.

The name shows the range's great importance as a source of drinking water, and the waters supply a large number of cities in the southeast of Brazil. From its brooks are formed the Jaguari River, which supplies the northern region of Greater São Paulo; most left-bank tributaries of the Paraíba do Sul River, which crosses a densely populated and highly industrialized region; and the Grande River, which is the source of the Paraná River, one of the longest in South America and the river with the world's largest hydroelectric output, through a series of power plants way down the river to Argentina and Paraguay.

Many springs of mineral water lie in the regions of Caxambu and São Lourenço in Minas Gerais, and Campos do Jordão and Serra Negra in São Paulo.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Mantiqueira Mountains (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Serra do Mar (Portuguese: [ˈsɛʁɐ du ˈmaʁ]; Portuguese for 'Sea Range') is a 1,500-kilometre-long (930 mi) system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Serra do Mar (CC BY-SA 4.0).