Brazil

Travel Blog  •  Ben Keene  •  12.09.05 | 2:44 PM ET

Population: 186,112,794 (2005 est.)
Coordinates: 12 0 S 50 0W
imageWhile the mystery of what came first, the chicken or the egg, may remain unsolved, another question pertaining to trees and countries is decidedly less vexing. Brazil, the largest and most populous nation in South America, actually takes its name from the reddish hardwood once found in abundance among the continent’s virgin forests. Over time, the immense Terra de Brasil, or land of crimson brazilwoods, as the Portuguese called the region, became known simply as Brasil—Brazil to many of us. 

—.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) is the editor of the Oxford Atlas of the World.

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Ben Keene has appeared on National Public Radio, Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio as well as other nationally syndicated programs to discuss geographic literacy and his work updating a bestselling world atlas. Formerly a touring musician, he has written for Transitions Abroad and inTravel.


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