Brazil’s Physical Map ATLANTIC OCEAN GUYANAS PLATEAU CO AST AL AMAZON PLATEAU CAPE SÃO ROQUE PLA INE BRAZILIAN PLATEAU CENTRAL PLATEAU ME RID ION AL PL AT E AU PANTANAL PLAINE PACIFC OCEAN CHAPTER 1 — THE BRAZILIAN STATE AND NATIONAL DEFENSE RIVER OIAPOQUE 1200 m 500 m 200 m 100 m 0m RIVER ARROIO CHUI Source: IBGE. The Brazilian waterway network remains a decisive factor for national integration. The country has 12 large hydrographic basins. The four main basins are: to the north, the Amazon; in the center, the Araguaia-Tocantins and São Francisco; and, to the south, the sub-basins Parana, Paraguay and Uruguay, which form the Prata basin. There is a great potential for articulated actions that may facilitate intermodal transportation such as inland occupation and national integration, which directly affects South American Integration. The Brazilian oceanic coast has two clear segments: the segment extending from Cape São Roque5, in the Northeast, to the river Chui, in the South; and the segment from Cape São Roque to the river Oiapoque, in the North. The first segment links the country both physically and economically to the South Atlantic. In this region are located the most populated territory strip and the main national ports — Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Paranaguá, Cape of São Roque is located in the municipality of Maxaranguape, 51 km from Natal, capital of the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Norte. 5 20 DEFENSE WHITE PAPER