The coastline of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

measures 7,491 km, making it the 16th longest national coastline in the world. The coastline touches exclusively the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Brazil's coastline has many geographical features such as islands, reefs, bays, and its 2,095 beaches. 9 of Brazil's 26 states are landlocked, including the

Federal District A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...

. The capitals of the 17 coastal states are close to the ocean, with the exceptions of

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

in Paraná,

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

Teresina Teresina is the capital and most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Piauí. Being located in north-central Piauí 366 km from the coast, it is the only capital in the Brazilian Northeast that is not located on the shores of th ...

Piauí Piauí ( ) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. The state has 1.6% of the Brazilian population and produces 0.7% of the Brazilian GDP. Piauí has the shortest coastline of any coas ...

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

, and

Macapá Macapá () is a city in Brazil with a population of 512,902 (2020 estimate), and is the capital of Amapá state in the country's North Region, Brazil, North Region, located on the northern channel of the Amazon Delta near its mouth on the Atlant ...

Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...

From South to North

Despite the popularity of the expression "from Oiapoque to Chuí", which refers to the country's southernmost and northernmost points, Brazil's true northernmost and southernmost points are located at Monte Caburaí in

Roraima Roraima ( ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas t ...

and in Santa Vitória do Palmar, respectively. The southernmost point of Brazil is located near the Brazil-Uruguay border, within the municipality of Santa Vitória do Palmar. A few kilometers to the north lies the Praia do Cassino, which is 212 to 254 km long. Variation among sources in measurements of the beach's length has raised debate regarding whether the Praia do Cassino is the longest

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

in the world, but it is indisputably the longest in Brazil. The only island on Rio Grande do Sul's coastline is the small, rocky Ilha dos Lobos in Torres. The state of Santa Catarina's capital is

Florianópolis Florianópolis () is the capital and second largest city of the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the South Region, Brazil, South region of Brazil. The city encompasses Santa Catarina Island and surrounding small islands, as we ...

, located on Santa Catarina Island. The island, which spans an area of 424.4 km², is one of the largest in Brazil. The Serra do Mar mountain range starts in Santa Catarina, and follows the coastline north, ending in Espírito Santo. Paraná's coastline is small compared to other states, but it is very diverse geographically, containing a considerable number of islands and bays. São Paulo, contains famous coastal cities such as Guarujá, São Sebastião and Ilhabela. The northern portions of the coastlines of São Paulo and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

are the only southern-facing stretches of Brazil's coast, not including small islands and bays. The state of Rio de Janeiro is known for its capital's beaches such as

Ipanema Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone (Rio de Janeiro), South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the populari ...

and Copacabana. The state also contains the Campos Basin, the largest petroleum-rich area in Brazil. Covering an area of 100,000 km² and extending to Espírito Santo, the basin produces 1.49 million barrels of oil every day. 1,200 km east of Vitória, in Espírito Santo, lie the islands of Trindade and Martim Vaz.

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

has the longest coastline of the Brazilian states, and also the greatest number of coastal municipalities.

Porto Seguro Porto Seguro (, Safe Harbor in English), is a city located in the far south of Bahia, Brazil. The city has an estimated population of 150,658 (2020), covers , and has a population density of 52.7 residents per square kilometer. The area that inc ...

is regarded as the first place in which the explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral set foot. From

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region along the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geogra ...

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, the landscape changes little, remaining relatively flat. Most of their islands are separated from the continent by narrow channels.

has a coastline of only some 60 km, the smallest of any Brazilian state. It contains the cities of Cajueiro da Praia, Ilha Grande Luís Correia and Parnaíba.

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

is noted for its unique geographical features such as Lençóis Maranhenses. The area between Maranhão and

is dominated by the "Reentrâncias Maranhenses", a landform similar to a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

but shorter, narrower and lower. There are almost no beaches in this part of the coast. Half the coastline of Pará is characterized by the

Amazon Delta The Amazon Delta (Portuguese language, Portuguese: delta do Amazonas) is a vast river delta formed by the Amazon River and the Tocantins River (through the Pará River distributary channel) in northern South America. It is located in the Federat ...

, which flows into the Atlantic around

Marajó Marajó () is a large coastal island in the state of Pará, Brazil. It is the main and largest of the islands in the Marajó Archipelago. Marajó Island is separated from the mainland by Marajó Bay, Pará River, smaller rivers (especially M ...

, the largest fluvial island in the world.Island Superlatives
/ref> The outflow of the Amazon River is so strong that the ocean waters in the north and northeast faces of the island have low

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

. Amapá's coastline is almost 600 km long, but there are only three beaches: Fazendinha, Boca do Inferno and Goiabal. The coastline of Brazil ends in Cape Orange, in the city of Oiapoque.

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{{Brazil topics *

From South to North

See also

Notes

References