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Brasilia, Brazil, is a planned city designed in the 1960s to be a modern Brazilian capital. The center of the city hosts a long mall with fountains and parks. From the hill at the center of the mall, you can see all the way to the Brazilian Parliament Building.
The Brazilian Parliament in Brasilia sits at the end of the central mall. It was designed to be an iconic centerpiece for government in this planned city.
During the construction of Brasilia, Brazil, in the 1960s, the Paranoa River was dammed, creating Lake Paranoa. Today its shores contain governmental buildings (the presidential residence, embassies, and consulates), the University of Brasília, sports clubs, restaurants, residential areas, and walking trails.
Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista) is an important avenue in São Paulo, the most populous city in Brazil and one of the most populous in the world. The thoroughfare is lined with the headquarters of many Brazilian financial and cultural institutions.
The majestic Iguaçu Falls (Iguazú Falls) on the Brazil-Argentine border. The falls are part of a nearly virgin jungle ecosystem surrounded by national parks on both sides of the cascades. The Iguazú River begins in Parana state of Brazil, then crosses a 1,200-km (750 mi) plateau before reaching a series of faults forming the falls. The falls are shared between Iguazú National Park (Argentina) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil). The two parks were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984 and 1986, respectively. The entire waterfall system consists of some 275 falls that flow over several basaltic layers over an 80 m (262 ft) height and along 2.7 km (1.7 mi) of the Iguazu River.
The Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, stands 30 m (98 ft) tall and has outstretched arms spanning 28 m (92 ft). It was constructed between 1922 and 1931 on Mount Corcovado, in celebration of the centenary of Brazilian independence. The largest Art Deco-style statue in the world, it is made from reinforced concrete and covered with thousands of triangular soapstone tiles. The statue became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1973 and was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
Aquamarine, often called the treasure of mermaids, is found and mined in Brazil and in countries that fall along the Mozambique geological belt in Africa. The “Dom Pedro,” the largest single piece of cut-gem aquamarine in the world, was found in a Brazilian mine in the late 1980s and is named after Brazil’s first two emperors (both named Pedro). The original crystal, weighing roughly 45 kg (100 lb), shattered into three pieces during excavation. The largest section (pictured) was sculpted into an obelisk shape about 35.5 cm (14 in) tall and weighing 10,363 carats or 2.1 kg (4.6 lbs). It is part of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's collection in Washington, DC. Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian/ Greg Polley.
Sloths, which are nocturnal and sleep 15 hours a day, spend most of their lives hanging upside down in trees. They are masters at slowing their metabolism, burning little energy, and holding their breath under water for up to 40 minutes. This animal faces endangerment by deforestation, accidental death, poaching, and trafficking. The sloth’s natural habitat is Central America and northern South America, especially the tropical rain forests of Brazil.
Amethyst is the most valuable gem variety of quartz, one of the most abundant minerals on earth. Quartz is normally colorless, but when iron replaces some of the stone's silicon, the result is a purple stone. In Roman mythology, the god of wine made amethyst purple to offer protection against drunkenness, and the stone’s name derives from the Greek word meaning “not to intoxicate.” Most gem-quality amethyst is found in Brazil and Uruguay. The amethyst pictured here was mined in Brazil and weighs 401.52 carats. (Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Museum of Natural History/ Ken Larsen)
When iron impurities are added to quartz, the golden-yellow orange of citrine occurs. The stone’s name is derived from the French word “citron,” meaning “lemon,” because of the color. The majority of citrine is found in Brazil, but it also exists in the Ural Mountains of Russia, France, Madagascar, and Scotland. The stones for this 18k yellow-gold necklace, containing 64 cushion-cut citrines with a 177.11 ct pear-shaped citrine drop, were mined in Brazil. (Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian)
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