Physical geography If I asked what springs to mind when someone mentions Brazil, I bet you'd say something about rain forest or the Amazon. I've always dreamed of taking a boat along the Amazon so that had to be my first stop. The river is huge, 6275km, and it covers over half of Brazil and bits of other countries around it. There's still loads of it that hasn't been explored. Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world and it covers almost half of South America. It's a varied country with coastlines, high plateau, mountains, rivers and forests. There are over 15,000 species of animals in the Amazon including, river dolphins, anaconda, hummingbirds, 200 types of mosquito, piranha and electric eels. There's even a butterfly that smells and looks like chocolate! The plants are just as impressive and there's a giant water-lily that has leaves three metres wide which support the weight of a child. Brazil contains 30% of the world's remaining forest but this is decreasing at a scary rate. Brazil also suffers from desertification, poaching and pollution. I was really pleased to leave the UK in the middle of winter and get to Brazil in the middle of summer because most of the country was warm and dry. It rained a lot in the Amazon, but I guess the name rainforest should have given that away. Summer here is December to February and it can get really hot and humid in the south. I'm glad I didn't come in July or August because it can sometimes rain non-stop, although there have also been droughts in recent years.