With reference to 'Brazil', which of the following statements is/are correct?

Question

With reference to 'Brazil', which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. The equatorial rainforests of Brazil are called 'Selvas'.

2. The dark black colour fertile land here is called 'Terra Roxa'.

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. Only 2
2. B. Neither 1 nor 2
3. C. Both 1 and 2
4. D. Only 1 (Correct answer)

Correct Answer

Option D — Only 1

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Only 1.

Key Points

• Statement 1 is correct. The equatorial rainforests of Brazil, in the Amazon basin, are called "Selvas".
• Statement 2 is incorrect. Terra Roxa means "purple/red earth" in Portuguese — it is a reddish-purple weathered volcanic soil of southern Brazil, famous for coffee cultivation, not a dark black soil.
• Only statement 1 holds, giving option (d).

Additional Information

• Terra Roxa is formed from weathered basalt and is comparable in origin to India's black cotton (regur) soil — which is genuinely dark. The question exploits that similarity of origin but difference of colour.
• Terra Rossa (a different soil, with one "s") is a red clayey soil formed on limestone in Mediterranean regions.
• Brazilian geography terms worth revising: Selvas (rainforest), Campos (tropical grassland of Brazil), Llanos (Venezuela and Colombia), Pampas (Argentina) and Gran Chaco (Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia).
• Brazil is the world's largest producer of coffee and sugarcane, and the Amazon is called the "lungs of the planet".