BRAZIL:

Brazil is a big country. It covers about half of South America and is home to about half the continent’s people. In fact, only four countries of the world have more land than Brazil: Russia, Canada, China, and the United States. All that area gives Brazil many kinds of landscapes and great natural beauty.

The world’s largest tropical rain forest covers most of northern Brazil. The mighty Amazon River winds through this vast forest. In the northeast, where Brazil bulges into the Atlantic Ocean, the land is cracked and dry. The Brazilian Highlands, a fertile region of hills and plateaus, reaches across the south. Sandy beaches line much of Brazil’s long coastline.

THE AMAZON:

The Amazon River is the world’s second longest river, after the Nile in Africa. But the Amazon carries more  water than any other river. The area drained by the river is called the Amazon Basin. It covers nearly half of Brazil. Lush, tropical rain forest grows throughout this basin.

Thousands upon thousands of species of plants, birds, reptiles, fish, and mammals live in the Amazon rain forest. If you like insects, this is the place for you! There are at least 70,000 different kinds, and more are being discovered all the time.

Native Americans, such as the Kayapó and the Yanomami, live deep in the rain forest. Some still maintain their traditional ways of life. They live in small villages in the forest without things like electric lights or even running water!

Today, the Amazon rain forest is in trouble. Each year, Brazil loses thousands of square miles of forest. The forest is cleared for wood or burned to open up farmland. These actions threaten the forest and the native people living within it

SOCCER: 

Do you like soccer? Brazilians do. They call it fútbol, and it’s by far the most popular sport. Millions of Brazilians belong to local soccer clubs.

Perhaps the world’s most famous Brazilian is Pelé. Many people consider him the greatest soccer player of all time. By 1970, Pelé helped lead Brazil to three victories in the World Cup, an international soccer tournament

                          

Brazil continues to be a force in world soccer. In 2002, Brazil won its fifth World Cup, this time led by scoring great Ronaldo.