GEO Brasil - UNEP

cycle, which at its time was the most notable
experience for fostering the process of
connecting the interior of the country and
affirming Brazilian nationality
The location of the great plateaus and plains are
scattered and, above all, the manner in which
the different types of topography in Brazil are
limited (Map 2 - Hypsometry) explain the fact
that demographic settlement and density first
occurred in the area along the coastal line The
existence of Brazilian plateau cliffs close to the
sea along large parts of the southeastern coast
was a natural barrier to reaching the interior of
the country in the past
Map 2 - Hypsometry
the state of environment in Brazil
Tenuous economic activity had been a
characteristic of the extractivist activity that takes
place in the enormous Amazon plain covered by
humid tropical forests It had also been a
characteristic of the cattle industry, which is the
main activity in the Cerrado of the Brazilian
central plateau, in the Caatinga of the semi-arid
areas in the northeast and in the subtropical
fields in the south This trend only ceased when
coffee culture and other agricultural activities
induced by its growth were introduced in the
interior in the west of São Paulo
In this context, rivers were the “natural ways” for
reaching the interior of the country This created
a traditional branching out pattern in the
occupation of the Brazilian territory, modelled
by the distribution of urban centres along
riverbanks Densely used agricultural areas
followed the same model
Source: CPRM
great clear cutting movement toward the interior of the country but
also the first regional difference in Brazil that went beyond mere
exploitation of the territory’s natural potential This happened despite
the exceptional temperature, rain and soil conditions
As a result of the nature of topography in Brazil,
plateau rivers are predominant Even though
they pose difficulties for navigation due to
sudden declivity, they have served as networks
for promoting population distribution in the
interior since colonial times Plateau rivers
include the São Francisco and the Paraíba do
Sul
The way in which coffee plantations moved
through the Paraíba Valley until they reached the
São Paulo plateau represented not only the first
Once the Serra do Mar barrier was crossed, the growth of coffee culture
in the São Paulo plateau became one of the vectors in the urbanisation/
industrialisation process São Paulo went through in the mid-19 th century
This happened through the successful introduction of various other
agricultural and non-agricultural activities and caused coffee culture to
depend on the growth of the internal market and on the modernisation
of the production process These were necessary for the reproduction
of the complex economy and interests that resulted from commercial
coffee activity
The consolidation of the commercial coffee production served as the
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