Sertão

Common card · No. 268829

The sertão (Portuguese pronunciation: [seʁˈtɐ̃w], plural sertões) is the "hinterland" or "backcountry" of Brazil. The word refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil or the hinterlands of the country in general (similar to the specific association of "outback" with Australia in English). Northeast Brazil is largely covered in a scrubby upland forest called caatingas, from the Tupi language, meaning white forest. Leaves fall during dry season and most of the vegetation, mainly bushes and small trees, is reduced to bare branches and trunks in characteristic pale grayish, or off-white, hues. The regional borders are not precise. Due to lengthy and unpredictable droughts, the region is economically poor but it is well known in Brazilian culture for its rich history and folklore. The sertão is described fully within Os Sertões (The Backlands), a notable book written by Brazilian author Euclides da Cunha. Originally Portuguese explorers used the term for the...

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