Sertão do Rio Grande do Norte

The sertão (which probably derives from desertão that is the great desert) is a semi-arid region that embraces many states in the north east of Brazil.nThe main feature of this dry climate region is thencaatinga (which in the native language means gray forest), a sort of dry forest in South America very rich in biodiversity.nThe average annual rainfall is not very low but concentrated entirely in a short period; this phenomenon, combined with the flatness of the territory (the sertão is almost totally a lowland that does not exceed 200-300 meters above sea level) and the high temperatures, alternating periods of floods with periods of drought, making agriculture impossible.nThis semi-desert in the State of Rio Grande do Norte reaches almost to the coast and can be encountered simply by moving a few tens of kilometers from Natal inland.