Agreste

In Brazil, the agreste is a narrow zone in the states of Para?ba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia between the coastal zona da mata (forest zone) and the semiarid sert?o. The agreste actually fades out before Rio Grande Do Norte is reached owing to the breakdown of the mountain chain that gives the coastal Atlantic forest zone high rainfall.

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Most of the agreste is hilly, with the hills becoming higher in the south, except near the narrow valley of the S?o Francisco River. The climate is hot and sub-humid, with rainfall in the area's principal city of Campina Grande averaging about 700 millimetres per year - ranging from less that 10 millimetres in october and November to about 120 millimetres in May and June.

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Land use is predominantly mixed farming, with fruits such as melons especially important. Like the sert?o, the agreste is frequently affected by drought, though generally the effects are less severe.

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Brazil: The Federative Republic of Brazil (Rep?blica Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in Latin America, and the fifth largest in the world. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, it borders Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia,...

Sergipe: Sergipe is the smallest state of Brazil, located on the north eastern Atlantic coast of the country. It borders on two other states, Bahia and Alagoas....

Bahia: : For the genus of wildflowers in the family Asteraceae, see Bahia (Botany)...