Agreste

For the wine grape also known as Agreste, see Malbec.

Agreste.

In Brazil, the agreste (Portuguese pronunciation: [aˈɡɾɛʃtʃi]) is a narrow zone in the states of Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia between the coastal forest zona da mata 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.

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 than 10 millimetres in October and November to about 120 millimetres in May and June.

Campina Grande
Climate chart (explanation)
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 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source:
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 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Guarabira
Climate chart (explanation)
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 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source:
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 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

See also

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