North Region, Brazil

region of Brazil

The North Region of Brazil (Portuguese: Região Norte do Brasil) is one of the five geographical subdivisions of Brazil. It is the largest region, corresponding to 45.27% of the national territory but is the least inhabited region of the country and the lowest population density.

North Region
Região Norte
Coordinates: 3°7′45″S 60°1′17″W / 3.12917°S 60.02139°W / -3.12917; -60.02139
Country Brazil
Largest citiesManaus
Belém
StatesAcre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins
Area
 • Region3,853,676.9 km2 (1,487,913.0 sq mi)
 • Rank1st
Population
 • Region18,672,591
 • Rank4th
 • Density4.8/km2 (13/sq mi)
  • Rank5th
 • Urban
75.6%
GDP
 • Year2014
 • TotalR$387,5 billion (5th)
 • Per capitaR$17,879 (4th)
HDI
 • Year2014
 • Category0.730 – high (4th)
 • Life expectancy71 years (4th)
 • Infant mortality25.8 per 1,000 (2nd)
 • Literacy88.7% (4th)
Time zonesUTC−3 (BRT)
UTC−4 (AMT)
UTC−5 (ACT)

Geography

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The North Region has an area of 3,853,577.34 km2 (1,487,874.53 sq mi). In this region are the two largest Brazilian states: Amazonas and Pará, and also the three largest Brazilian municipalities: Altamira, Barcelos and São Gabriel da Cachoeira, with more of 100,000 km2 (39,000 sq mi) each one.

The region is between the Guiana Shield (to the north), the central plateau of Brazil (to the south), the Andes mountain range (to the west) and the Atlantic Ocean (to the northeast). The climate in the region is a tropical climate. Most of the region is part of the Amazon rainforest ecoregion but most of the Tocantins state is in a tropical savanna ecoregion known as the Cerrado.

The North Region borders to the south with the Mato Grosso and Goiás states; to the southwest with Bolivia; to the west with Peru and Colombia; to the north with Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana; and to the east with the Maranhão, Piauí and Bahia states.

The main regions rivers in the region are the Amazon, the Tocantins and the Araguaia; they have many tributaries.

Mountains

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The highest point in the North Region is Pico da Neblina (0°48′17″N 66°0′24″W / 0.80472°N 66.00667°W / 0.80472; -66.00667 (Pico da Neblina, Brazil)) at 2,995.3 m (9,827 ft).[1] Pico da Neblina is the highest summit of the larger Serra do Imeri, a plateau on the Venezuela-Brazil border; it is also the highest mountain in Brazil.[2]

The highest point of the different states of the North Region are:[3]

Department Mountain Elevation
Acre Loma Alta (Serra do Divisor) 659 m (2,162 ft)
Amapá Pico 701 (Serra Tumucumaque) 701 m (2,300 ft)
Amazonas Pico da Neblina 2,995.3 m (9,827 ft)
Pará Pico 906 (Serra do Acari) 906 m (2,972 ft)
Rondônia Pico 1126 (Serra dos Pacaás) 1,126 m (3,694 ft)
Roraima Monte Roraima-Triple Country Point 2,734 m (8,970 ft)
Tocantins Pico 1340 (Serra Traíras) 1,340 m (4,400 ft)

States

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This region is formed of seven states: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins.

States in the North Region of Brazil
State Capital Municipalities Population[4]
(2016)
Area
(km2)
Density
(inh./km2)
  Acre Rio Branco 22 816,687 164,123.04 5.0
  Amapá Macapá 16 782,295 142,828.52 5.5
  Amazonas Manaus 62 4,001,667 1,559,159.15 2.6
  Pará Belém 144 8,272,724 1,247,954.67 6.6
  Rondônia Porto Velho 52 1,787,279 237,590.54 7.5
  Roraima Boa Vista 15 514,229 224,300.51 2.3
  Tocantins Palmas 139 1,532,902 277,620.91 5.5
Total 450 17,707,783 3,853,577.34 4.6

Population

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As of 1 July 2016, the North region had a population of 17,707,783,[4] for a population density of 4.6 inhabitants/km2.

The most important municipalities of the North Region are:

Main municipalities in the North Region of Brazil[4]
Rank Municipality State Population Rank City State Population
Manaus Amazonas 2,094,391 11  Parauapebas Pará 196,259
Belém Pará 1,446,042 12  Castanhal Pará 192,571
Porto Velho Rondônia 511,219 13  Araguaína Tocantins 173,112
Ananindeua Pará 510,834 14  Abaetetuba Pará 151,934
Macapá Amapá 465,495 15  Cametá Pará 132,515
Rio Branco Acre 377,057 16  Ji-Paraná Rondônia 131,560
Boa Vista Roraima 326,419 17  Marituba Pará 125,435
Santarém Pará 294,447 18  Bragança Pará 122,881
Palmas Tocantins 279,856 19  São Félix do Xingu Pará 120,580
10  Marabá Pará 266,932 20  Barcarena Pará 118,537

Economy

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The economy of the North Region is essentially based on the plantations and the use of natural resources, such as latex, açaí, woods and nuts; and mineral extraction of gold, cassiterite and tin (metal); as well as mining exploitation, mainly iron in Pará and manganese in Amapá.

References

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  1. "Geociências: IBGE revê as altitudes de sete pontos culminantes" [Geosciences: IBGE revises the altitude of seven high points] (Press release) (in Portuguese). Brasília: Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). 29 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  2. "Pico da Neblina, Brazil". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  3. "Brazil State High Points". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Estimativas da População Residente no Brasil e Unidades da Federaçã com Data de Referencia en 1o de julho de 2016" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Retrieved 18 January 2017.