Pictures of Brazil

Source: CIA World Fact Book- Brazil

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/photo_gallery/br/photo_gallery_A1_br_1.html

Brazil has always been a country of interest for me. As a child I grew up knowing that I have extended family in Brazil, but I, until know have not taken the time to find out more about this amazing country. Brazil is a country that has an amazing history behind it. Brazil is well know for its’ beautiful landscapes, including the lush Amazon Rain Forest and its’ incredibly long and stunning coast line. The country of Brazil is located on the continent of South America. It has an approximate population of 198,739,269 as of July 2009, and ranks as the world’s sixth largest country. Brazil has the tenth largest GDP in the world, and is considered an economically developed country.  Brazil has a democratic government. They embrace many concepts that support democracy, including freedom of speech and free media/press.

Annotated Bibliography

• Virtual-Brazil.Com

http://www.v-brazil.com/try

Virtual-Brazil.com provides a lot of in depth information on the 26 states plus the Federal District, that make-up the Federal Republic of Brazil. The website has pages devoted to each state that outline the political structure within the state, the climate of the state, where each state is located (i.e. whether the state is along the coast or inland) and so much more. This website also provides an in depth look at the political structure of Brazil as a whole country. It provides information on the educational system, specifically the universities in the various states, as well as detailing current cultural and societal issues and trends. This site is an invaluable reference for all who would like to learn about Brazil. The authors provide you with so much information, that you feel like you have been to Brazil and back.

• infoplease on Brazil

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107357.html

The infoplease website on Brazil provides people with a brief look at Brazil as it is today. It provides readers with the current population, birth rate (18.4/1000), and infant mortality rate (22.5/1000). It also lists the six cities that have the highest population from greatest to least (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Recife, and Porto Alegre). The site also lists the countries enormous land area (3,286,470 sq mi (8,511,965 sq km)).  I found it really interesting that under the “race” section of the page, there was a category titled “mulatto” which means mixed white and black and makes up 38.5%. I found this so interesting because there are many people in the United States that are pushing for such a distinction. Finally, there are also a few pages on the site that are specifically for the Lula Administration and the social reform that was brought about by his being elected to office.

• Brazilian Embassy in Washington

http://www.brasilemb.org/

The Brazilian Embassy’s website has detailed information all about Brazil and its relations with the United States and other countries around the world. The part of the website that is most interesting is actually the area in which the government is described. I like very much that the writers have provided the public with an in depth look at the government of Brazil, including all of its branches including the Supreme Court as well as listing various people of power within the government. The description of the electoral system was also very interesting that children that were 16-17 years old were allowed to vote during elections; also I found it interesting that even in the most remote areas of Brazil people vote electronically to cut down on voter and ballot fraud.

• CIA World Fact Book

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html

The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) has an incredible amount of information listed on their site about all aspects of Brazil. It has detailed information about the economy including information on Exports and Imports, on the stock of direct foreign investment both abroad and at home. Another particularly interesting thing about the site and the depth of information is that the information is so detailed that the CIA has detailed information about where Brazil stands in the world in terms of “stock of money”.

• Brazilian Travel Information- Brazil Travel Guide

http://www.braziltravelinformation.com/

This is a wonderful site that has a great deal of information on traveling to Brazil. It gives prospective travelers the opportunity to look at what traveling to Brazil would be like. It has great information about Carnival, including an updated calendar of dates for Carnival events, the history of carnival, and what it’s like in Brazil during Carnival.

• U.S. Department of State

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1072.html

This is a site that discusses the current security type of issues a U.S. tourist to Brazil may have. This site has detailed information about potential security/safety risks, entrance and exit requirements, medical insurance and care in case of emergency, as well as other important information a person needs to know when traveling to another country. I found it particularly interesting that the site had a very detailed page about traffic safety and road conditions.

• WIZ: World Info Zone

http://worldinfozone.com/country.php?country=Brazil

This website is very interesting. It has information on the geography of Brazil, the architecture that can be found throughout the country, and the food of the country, and a few other subjects that are specific to the culture rather than the country. I found the information on the food quite interesting. The diversity in the types of food that are offering in Brazil is incredible.  Unlike the United States, Brazil has a large variety of food offerings made in a great many ways.