Brazilian Highlands

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Brazilian Highlands

Brazilian Highlands (also, Planalto central or, less frequently, Planalto Brasileiro), a plateau region of southeastern Brazil located chiefly in the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo. The climate is temperate. Elevations of the low mountains, hilly uplands, and tabular plateaus characteristic of the highlands average 1,970-2,950 feet above sea level and are generally highest near the Atlantic coast. The highlands meet the Atlantic coast in a steep slope called "the Great Escarpment," which stretches from the city of Salvador, Bahia, to Pôrto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Three major river systems—the Amazon, the Paraná and the São Francisco—drain the region.

See alsoBrazil, Geography .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Additional Bibliography

Thomas E. Skidmore, Brazil: Five Centuries of Change (1999).

                                        Cara Shelly

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