Agreste

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Brazil, the agreste is a narrow zone in the states of Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia between the coastal zona da mata (forest zone) and the semiarid sertão. 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.

Most of the agreste is hilly, with the hills becoming higher in the south, except near the narrow valley of the São Francisco River. Land use is predominantly mixed farming, with fruits such as melons especially important. Like the sertão, the agreste is frequently affected by drought, though generally the effects are less severe.

[edit] Climate

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.

Climate chart for Campina Grande
J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
27   30 20	41   30 20	74   28 20	94   28 20	118   27 18	119   26 18	84   25 18	59   24 18	24   27 18	13   28 19	16   29 20	19   30 20
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm source: [1]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.1   86 68     1.6   86 68     2.9   82 68     3.7   82 68     4.6   81 64     4.7   79 64     3.3   77 64     2.3   75 64     0.9   81 64     0.5   82 66     0.6   84 68     0.7   86 68 temperatures in °F • precipitation totals in inches

Climate chart for Guarabira
J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
41   32 22	63   33 22	98   33 22	122   31 21	151   30 21	202   29 20	88   29 19	56   29 19	22   30 20	12   31 21	20   32 22	45   32 22
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm source: [2]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.6   90 72     2.5   91 72     3.9   91 72     4.8   88 70     5.9   86 70     8   84 68     3.5   84 66     2.2   84 66     0.9   86 68     0.5   88 70     0.8   90 72     1.8   90 72 temperatures in °F • precipitation totals in inches

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Wernstadt, Frederick L. ; World Climatic Data; published 1972 by Climatic Data Press; p. 99.
2. ^ Wernstadt, Frederick L. ; World Climatic Data; published 1972 by Climatic Data Press; p. 100.

[edit] See also

• Brazil Socio-Geographic Division
• sertão
• Tieta do Agreste, a Brazilian novel and film