Geography & environment — Brazil
Location, land area, terrain, climate, and natural resources.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Geography & environment at a glance
Location, land area, terrain, climate, and natural resources. Key figure for Brazil: South America
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Location & size
- Geographic Location
South America
- Geographic Coordinates
10 00 S, 55 00 W
- Total Area
3,287,594 Square Miles 8,514,877 Square Kilometers
- Land Area
3,266,181 Square Miles 8,459,417 Square Kilometers
- Water Area
21,413 Square Miles 55,460 Square Kilometers
- Land Boundaries
10,492 Miles 16,885 Kilometers
- Border Countries
Argentina 1,261 km, Bolivia 3,423 km, Colombia 1,644 km, French Guiana 730 km, Guyana 1,606 km, Paraguay 1,365 km, Peru 2,995 km, Suriname 593 km, Uruguay 1,068 km, Venezuela 2,200 km
- Coastline
4,655 Miles 7,491 Kilometers
Physical geography
- Terrain
Mostly flat to rolling lowlands in the north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
- Highest Point
2,994 Meters
- Highest Point Location
Pico da Neblina 2,994 m
- Lowest Point Location
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- Natural Resources
Bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
- Irrigated Land
20,849 Square Miles 54,000 Square Kilometers
Climate & time
- Time Zone
UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) time zone note: Brazil has four time zones, including one for the Fernando de Noronha Islands
- Daylight saving time
+1hr, begins third Sunday in October; ends third Sunday in February
Climate
- Climate
Although Brazil is immense in size and varies in topography from the sweeping sea-level Amazon basin in the north to the mountainous areas of São Paulo and Porto Alegre in the south, the temperature range is slight. Summer runs from December to February. The rainy season runs from October to March but varies greatly by region.
- Terrain
Mostly flat to rolling lowlands in the north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt
- Location
Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
- Total Area
3,287,594 Square Miles 8,514,877 Square Kilometers
- Border Countries
Argentina 1,261 km, Bolivia 3,423 km, Colombia 1,644 km, French Guiana 730 km, Guyana 1,606 km, Paraguay 1,365 km, Peru 2,995 km, Suriname 593 km, Uruguay 1,068 km, Venezuela 2,200 km
Environment
- Environment - Current Issues
- Deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area
- there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade
- air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities
- land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities
- wetland degradation
- severe oil spills
- Environment - International Agreements
- Party To: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed,
- but not ratified: none of the selected agreements