THE region Nhell is well known for two main aspects: it is the largest region of the Brazil in terms of territorial extension and is the one that concentrates the greatest biodiversity thanks to the existence of the Amazon Forest. More than half of this forest is located in Brazilian territory.
Due to the presence of the forest, it is in the North region that we notice the great influence that the natural landscape has on human occupations at the geographic space. The existence of riverside communities and the frequent use of rivers to transport people and/or cargo can exemplify this influence.
Read more: Regions of Brazil - groupings of states with similar characteristics
Northern States
Despite being the largest in the country, the North region does not have the largest number of states. Are they:
States |
capitals |
Gentile |
Acre |
White River |
acrian |
Amapá |
Macapa |
Amapaense |
Amazons |
Manaus |
Amazonian |
For |
Bethlehem |
Paraense |
Rondônia |
Porto Velho |
Rondonian or Rondonian |
Roraima |
Good view |
Roraima |
Tocantins |
palms |
Tocantinense |
General data for the North region
See now some statistical data from this region, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, the IBGE. These data are from 2019.
Territorial area: 3,853,575.6 km², which represents approximately 45% of the Brazilian territory.
Population: 18,430,980 inhabitants.
household income per capita (in reais): 950,00
Demographic density: 4.73 inhabitants per km²
Human Development Index|1|: 0,683
Infant mortality rate|1|: 20,97
Gross Domestic Product (in reais)|1|: 201.511.748.000,00
Brief history of the North region
THE history of Brazil it shows us that, at the beginning of Portuguese colonization, human occupations were concentrated in the coastal strips. Because of that, only in the 17th century did the region North started to be occupied by the settlers, through incentives from the Portuguese government, with the installation of a military fort at the mouth of the Amazon River. This occupation gave rise to the city of Belém, in Pará.
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In the 18th century, there was two types of occupations: the religious, to catechize the natives, and the military, to defend the national territory.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, new housing began to appear for economic and social reasons, due to the rubber exploration, at the interior of the Amazon, and with Japanese immigration, concentrated in the state of Pará.
THE rubber exploration in the 19th century, it was fundamental for the population of the North region, because, with the Second Industrial Revolution and the vulcanization process, such raw material has become essential in the Brazilian economy, becoming the second most exported product in the country at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, just behind of coffee.
Rubber enriched a small group of people which was concentrated in the city of Manaus, but the extraction of latex in rubber trees to make rubber attracted a lot of people, mainly northeastern people who went to the Amazon due to the drought and in search of better quality of life. Thus, we can say that a large part of the North region is the result of immigrants who were looking for quick enrichment with the riches of the Amazon Forest.
North region climate
The North of the country is the only Brazilian region cut by equator line. As a result, a large part of the climate in this region is the andquatorial, besides being found the continental tropical climate.
O climateequatorial it is present in all states, except in some areas of Tocantins, Pará and Roraima. Very hot and rainy, this climate allows us to say that there is no winter like in other regions of Brazil. already the continental tropical climate, found on stretches where the equatorial does not reach, has two well-defined characteristics: a dry winter and a summer rainy.
The location of the North region allows us to say that the climate in this location is very homogeneous, not suffering many variations. THE thermal average is between 25 °C and 27 °C.
Three factors make the region Nort the wettest in the country: its proximity to the Equator, the large and dense Amazon rainforest and the many large (caudalous) rivers that are there. Thus, due to the high temperature and the forest, evaporation is more intense, forming clouds during the day that generate rain in the late afternoon, which we call convection rain. Thus, the states with the highest concentration of rainfall are Amazonas and Pará.
However, there is a period of the year when the cold phenomenon. During the Winter, between May and June, cold fronts coming from the sul It's from ssoutheast from Brazil penetrate into the southwest of the North region, lowering temperatures to 14 ºC. This phenomenon usually lasts, at most, a week.
See too: What are the differences between weather and climate?
North region relief
In relation to relief, much of the region Nnorth has low altitudes, with the exception of areas bordering the Guyanas and Venezuela. In this area, there is the incidence of plateaus that reach up to 3000 m in altitude, such as Pico da Neblina, the highest point in the country located on the border with Venezuela, in the state of Amazonas.
There is also the presence of depressions, lower surfaces in relation to neighboring areas. This type of relief predominates in the North region. Among the depressions named by geologists, we can mention the North Amazon depression and the South Amazon depression. The altitude of these depressions does not exceed 300 m.
In the bed of the Amazon River, we find its plain, which follows the entire river and some of its tributaries. plains they are generally flat and low-lying areas.
North region hydrography
The hydrography of the North region encompasses two hydrographic basins in Brazil: the Amazon hydrographic basin and the Tocantins-Araguaia hydrographic basin.
The first corresponds to 45% of the Brazilian territory and bathes the following states: Amazonas, Acre, Amapá, Pará, Rondônia and Roraima and the state of Mato Grosso, in the Midwest.
The river gives its name to the basin, O ryo Amazons is the largest in the region and the world in water volume, which shows its great importance to everyone around him. This river rises in the mountains of Peru and flows into Pará, reaching the Atlantic Ocean.
When it enters Brazilian territory, the Amazon River is called the Solimões River. When it meets the Rio Negro, it forms a magnificent landscape due to the contrast of waters. After this encounter, he is called Amazonas again.
Due to its size, O rio Amazonas has many tributaries, some with more than 1000 km, such as the Madeira River, the Juruá River and the Tapajós River, in addition to the Negro River and the Jari River.
During the flood of the Amazon River and the high tide of the Atlantic Ocean, there is a phenomenon known as pororoca, resulting from the encounter of these waters in these periods. This phenomenon attracts tourists from all over the country, as it is typical of that region.
already the Tocantins-Araguaia basin it bathes two states in the North region: Tocantins and Pará. É the second largest river basin in the country and has a south-north direction. Thus, the rivers that give this basin its name, the Tocantins River and the Araguaia River, originate in the Center-West, cross the states of Tocantins and Pará until they flow into the Atlantic Ocean.
Also access: São Francisco River – considered the river of national integration
Northern region vegetation
The highlight of the North region in this aspect is the Amazon rainforest. The intensity of rainfall in the region allows for a great biodiversity, with dense vegetation and evergreen. It is the largest forest in the world of warm regions, concentrating the greatest terrestrial biodiversity on the planet.
We can mention some characteristics of this forest:
varied plants;
species adapted to the humid climate (hygrophilic);
trees with broadleaved, that is, large and broad leaves;
varying sizes of trees, which can reach more than 30 m in height;
trees very close together, which guarantees closed vegetation;
richness of raw materials, such as wood, piassava and medicinal plants.
This natural wealth generates speculation by large industries. O deforestation in the forest it is one of the largest in the world, generating great concern among scholars. That's because the region's soil is fragile and infertile. The great biodiversity of the forest occurs due to the organic material deposited in the ground, such as leaves and fruit residues, and to high rainfall. The slightest change in this biome can lead to an irreparable error.
North region demographics
THE North region population did not grow significantly until the 1970s, as it is a very large region, and, until that decade, communication was precarious and there was little economic development.
From 1970 onwards, minerals were discovered, mines emerged and deforestation was intensified by agriculture and cattle raising. These factors have generated a mass migration to the region, which currently is second in terms of population growth rate, the first being in the Midwest region.
According to IBGE data for 2019, the North region has just over 18 million inhabitants, but its population is poorly distributed. For example: the state of Amazonas, the largest in the region, has a demographic density of 2.23 inhab/km², this being the second smallest in the region, the smallest is in the state of Roraima. These latest data are from IBGE, 2010. Belém, capital of Pará, has a demographic density of 1315 inhabitants/km², according to 2010 IBGE data, which reinforces the demographic inequality in the region.
Many factors can explain this irregular distribution of people, but let's name just two: the first is the vegetation. A large part of the region is occupied by the Amazon Forest, which prevents some areas from being occupied. The second factor is the presence of the riverside population, who lives on the banks of rivers, along their banks.
See too: Urbanization - increase in urban population in relation to rural population
Main economic activities
To encourage the economy and population of the region, in the 1960s, some government agencies were created responsible for economic stimulus in Northern Brazil. Among them we can highlight the Superintendence for the Development of the Amazon (Sudan) and the Manaus Free Trade Zone Superintendence (Suframa).
The latter corresponds to a large POindustrial lo, conceived in 1967 and located in Manaus, which is home to large multinationals, providing enormous industrial development and job creation for the region.
This hub concentrates three types of activities: commercial, agricultural and industrial (the strongest of all). According to Suframa, there are more than 600 industries on the p.Oit is generation of more than 500 thousand jobs, direct and indirect. The areas of industrial production that stand out are: electronics (cell phones, TVs), two wheels (motorcycles) and chemistry (production of raw material for soft drinks). In addition, coexist with this industrial development the natural economic activities, such as agriculture, livestock and plant and mineral extraction.
At agriculture, we can mention the production of Black pepper, started with the Japanese at the beginning of the last century; and the cultivation of jute, a species of tree planted on the banks of rivers from which a vegetable fiber used in the production of rugs and ropes is extracted. In addition to these products, the North region is the largest producer of fibers in the country, with jute and mallow very important plants in this process.
already the livestock is developed extensively, with emphasis on cattle raising and buffalo breeding. The latter is concentrated in the state of Pará, in flooded areas, and corresponds to 68% of national production.
You plant and mineral extraction represent an important source of income for the local population. At the plant extractivism, the strength of logging is in the states of Pará and Amazonas. A wide variety of Palm heart, açaí and other vegetables from local trees.
THE rubber is still present in extractive activities, but not with the strength of the beginning of the 20th century, as it has been losing space to agriculture. In addition, the biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest attracts the pharmaceutical industry in the search for medicines and medicinal plants, in addition to offering cosmetics for the beauty industry.
Mineral extraction began in the 1950s as a strategy for population in the region by the Federal Government at the time. Among the ores found in the North region, we can highlight:
manganese, in Amapá;
cassiterite, in Rondônia;
iron, in Pará;
bauxite, in Pará;
nickel, in Pará.
gold, in several states, but with an emphasis on Amazonas and Pará.
Mineral extraction in the North region is one of the economic bases of many states, such as Pará. In this state, we have iron, in the Serra dos Carajás, and gold, in the Mountain rangenaked. This last area attracted a large number of miners in the 1980s, accelerating deforestation and pollution in it.
![Iron mining mine in Serra dos Carajás, in the state of Pará.[1]](/f/e1c172b809a8d815595aa087934162e8.jpg)
Cultural aspects of the North region
The large number of immigrants in the North region means that there is a great cultural diversity.
The two most popular festivals in the region take place in June, in the state of Amazonas, and on the second Sunday in October, in Pará. In June we have the FParintins summer. This festival brings together the boi-bumbá event and is marked by the artistic dispute of the Boi Caprichoso, in blue, and the Boi Garantido, in red. There are three days of festivities, with various presentations by local populations, carimbó and lots of fun.
In Pará, in October, we have the Nazare's Cirio, a Catholic religious procession in the city of Bethlehem in honor of Our Lady of Nazareth. This procession brings together Catholics from around the world, being one of the most important events for Brazilian Catholicism.
Grades
|1| Data are from the 2010 IBGE Census.
Image credit
[1] T photography / Shutterstock
By Attila Matthias
Geography teacher
