Free original lessons
Brazil Outline Map Drawing: Regions, Borders, and Landmarks
Learn to transfer Brazil’s official outline and five region borders from an IBGE map onto a grid, then place city-capital markers and check the drawing.
Free lesson
Four exercises
Worked answers
Object Drawing Lessons
A grid helps you keep a country map proportional, but invented spokes do not become Brazil’s real regional borders. This guide uses the official IBGE map “Brasil - Grandes Regiões” as a visual source: trace its national outline, follow the state borders that separate the five colored regions, then transfer labeled city-capital positions. The IBGE PDF is a public reference; the worksheet and answer sheet described below are still planned and have not been built. Use a pencil, ruler, and a 10 by 10 practice grid. All square sizes and distance calculations are drawing examples, not official geographic coordinates.
Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.
Set Up a Grid and Define Your Drawing Convention
Begin by drawing a rectangular grid on your paper. For this exercise, use a 10 by 10 grid of squares, each square 2 cm wide, giving a 20 cm by 20 cm working area. Label columns A through J left to right and rows 1 through 10 bottom to top. This grid is a hypothetical example; if your paper is smaller, use 1 cm squares and keep the same 10 by 10 count. The grid lets you place points by coordinate rather than guessing.
Use a filled circle for a city capital. If you add a natural landmark, use a triangle only when you can locate that feature on a reliable map; do not place a bar at an invented border junction. Write labels in uppercase, no taller than one grid square, beside the symbol. The five city markers in this lesson come from the IBGE map named in this lesson.
- Draw the 10 by 10 grid and label columns and rows.
- Write the symbol key at the top margin: filled circle for a city capital; triangle only for a separately sourced natural feature.
- Open the official IBGE map titled “Brasil - Grandes Regiões,” available in the IBGE map library, keep north at the top, and fit its outline proportionally inside the grid. Use the grid as a drawing aid; its letters and numbers are not official coordinates. The planned printable is not part of the IBGE map named in this lesson.
- Measure one square with a ruler and confirm it is 2 cm; record the actual size you used.
Trace the National Outline from the IBGE Reference
Use the outline in the official IBGE map titled “Brasil - Grandes Regiões” rather than hypothetical extreme-point coordinates. Search that exact title in the IBGE map library if you need to open the reference. Fit the north-up country outline into the grid without stretching it. Mark a guide point at each clear turn in the coastline and international boundary, adding points wherever a long straight segment would cut across a visible bend. Join neighboring points with short light strokes, then smooth only enough to retain the source shape.
Check the completed contour by comparing it side by side with the IBGE reference: preserve the broad north and east outline, the westward bulge, and the narrowing toward the southern end as they appear in the map. Do not expand the outline merely to fill all ten squares, and do not replace curving borders with a few invented diagonals.
- Place the official IBGE map named in this lesson beside your grid and orient both north-up.
- Mark enough outline turns to capture each visible coastline and land-border bend; do not treat these marks as official geographic coordinates.
- Connect the marks in order with short segments and refine the contour while comparing it with the reference.
- Record the grid size you used so distance checks later use the same scale.
Trace the Five Official Region Borders
IBGE shows five official regions—North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast, and South—by coloring the states in each region. Trace the actual boundary between differently colored regions by following the state borders in the official map titled “Brasil - Grandes Regiões”; do not draw spokes from an interior hub. IBGE’s “Divisão político-administrativa e regional” page also names these five regions.
Use the federative-unit groupings as a check while labeling. Brazil’s five Great Regions collectively contain 26 states and the Federal District. North includes Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins; Northeast includes Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe; Central-West includes the Federal District, Goiás, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul; Southeast includes Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo; South includes Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. A regional boundary is a shared boundary where the official map changes region color. Keep internal state borders light if the drawing is meant to emphasize regions.
- Find each color change between neighboring states on the official reference.
- Trace the state edge at every color change; leave out radial spokes and invented hubs.
- Label North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast, and South inside their actual outlines.
- Check that the named states from the reference fall inside the corresponding region and that no label crosses a boundary.
Place Landmark Markers and Run Final Checks
Use filled circles for five city capitals shown on the reference: Manaus in North, Salvador in Northeast, Brasília in Central-West, Rio de Janeiro in Southeast, and Porto Alegre in South. Copy each marker’s relative position from the map named in this lesson onto the same grid; do not substitute an Amazon-area marker, a generic coast mark, or an invented border junction for a city location. Keep each uppercase label beside its circle.
Run three checks. First, confirm that there is one city marker in each of the five regions. Second, compare the outline and regional edges with the IBGE map named in this lesson, including state borders wherever the region color changes. Third, check that each city label matches its marked point and stays legible without crossing a regional border.
- Transfer the five named city-capital points from the official map and draw a filled circle at each point.
- Add uppercase labels beside the corresponding circles.
- Confirm one city marker lies in each of the five regions.
- Compare the regional borders with the reference and check that labels remain inside their regions.
Worked example
On a fresh 10 by 10 grid of 2 cm squares, Use the official IBGE map titled “Brasil - Grandes Regiões” as the geographic reference. Copy the country outline north-up, trace the five regional boundaries along state borders where the region changes, label all five regions, and place one capital marker in each region. Describe your construction order and one check.
Worked answer
First transfer the outer silhouette proportionally, using the grid only to compare widths and heights. Trace an internal boundary only where adjoining states belong to different regions; label North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast, and South. Place and label Manaus in North, Salvador in Northeast, Brasília in Central-West, Rio de Janeiro in Southeast, and Porto Alegre in South at the positions shown on the IBGE reference. Do not add radial spokes or invent coordinates.
Why: The source is a political and regional map, so region edges follow state borders, not lines from a hub. The five named capitals are geographically located inside their corresponding regions; the grid is a transfer aid rather than a claim of surveyed coordinates.
Check: Compare the outer silhouette and relative placement of each region boundary with the IBGE map. Confirm that all five region labels appear once and that each named capital marker lies inside its listed region. Check north-up orientation and that no hub-and-spoke dividers remain.
Four practice exercises
Exercise 1
On a new 10 by 10 grid of 2 cm squares, Use the official IBGE map titled “Brasil - Grandes Regiões” as the geographic reference. Draw only the outer Brazil silhouette, north-up, fitting it proportionally inside a centered guide box no larger than 8 by 8 squares. Do not add state or region lines, labels, or city markers.
Show answer and check
A correct result is a north-up outline that matches the source proportions and stays inside the chosen guide box without being stretched to fill it. The outline includes the source’s broad northern extent, eastern coast, western contour, and southern taper; no interior lines or labels are added.
Why: This isolates the outer contour before internal boundaries make the drawing harder to compare. A proportional guide box constrains placement without assigning invented map coordinates.
Check: Compare the traced silhouette directly with the IBGE map. Confirm north is at the top, the outline is within the guide box, its width-to-height proportions have not been forced, and no interior marks or labels appear.
Exercise 2
On a fresh 10 by 10 grid of 2 cm squares, use the official IBGE map titled “Brasil - Grandes Regiões” as the geographic reference. Copy the outer silhouette and trace only the boundaries between regions. Use this complete federative-unit-to-region key for Brazil’s 26 states and the Federal District: North: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins; Northeast: Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe; Central-West: Federal District, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul; Southeast: Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo; South: Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul. Label the five resulting areas with their region names.
Show answer and check
Draw a regional boundary wherever neighboring states in the source map belong to different groups in the supplied key; do not draw a line between states in the same group. Label exactly North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast, and South. A correct result has shared state-border divisions, not five spokes from a central point.
Why: The key makes the classification task explicit, while the source map supplies the locations of the states and their shared borders. A boundary is needed only when the region assignment changes across that border.
Check: For every traced internal line, inspect the federative units on both sides and confirm that the key assigns them to different regions. Confirm all 27 units (26 states plus the Federal District) appear exactly once in their correct groups, all five region labels appear once, and no hub-and-spoke lines replace the map boundaries.
Exercise 3
On a new 10 by 10 grid of 2 cm squares, Use the official IBGE map titled “Brasil - Grandes Regiões” as the geographic reference. Copy the outline and regional boundaries, then mark these five capitals at the relative locations shown by the map: Manaus (North), Salvador (Northeast), Brasília (Central-West), Rio de Janeiro (Southeast), and Porto Alegre (South). Use a small filled circle and write each city name beside it.
Show answer and check
Place and label five markers: Manaus inside North, Salvador inside Northeast, Brasília inside Central-West, Rio de Janeiro inside Southeast, and Porto Alegre inside South. Their relative positions should follow the IBGE reference rather than guessed coordinates; each marker stays inside its correct regional area.
Why: A capital marker is checked both by its geographic position on the source map and by its region assignment. The prompt gives each city’s region so the task does not depend on recalling political geography.
Check: Count five circles and five names. Compare each marker’s relative position with the IBGE reference, then verify the region mapping listed in the prompt. Reject a marker placed on a region boundary or assigned to a different region.
Exercise 4
On a fresh 10 by 10 grid of 2 cm squares labeled columns A-J from left to right and rows 1-10 from bottom to top, Use the official IBGE map titled “Brasil - Grandes Regiões” as the geographic reference. Correct this flawed practice sketch: its north-up outer silhouette is present, but five straight spokes run from a hub at grid point E5 to the outline, and five unlabeled dots have been placed near coastlines. Redraw the internal regional boundaries as state-border changes and place the named capitals at the map-relative positions: Manaus (North), Salvador (Northeast), Brasília (Central-West), Rio de Janeiro (Southeast), and Porto Alegre (South). State two corrections you made.
Show answer and check
Erase the hub and all five spokes. Trace the regional divisions only along state borders where the neighboring states change region. Relocate and label the five dots at the positions of the named capitals on the source map, keeping each inside its listed region. Two explicit corrections are replacing radial sectors with state-border divisions and moving the generic coast dots to the actual capital locations.
Why: The flawed spokes do not represent the regional divisions, and proximity to a coastline does not identify a capital. The supplied names and region assignments plus the IBGE reference determine the correction.
Check: Confirm the hub and spokes are gone; each remaining internal regional boundary follows a change in the supplied region key. Count five correctly named capital markers and compare each location with the source map. The two written corrections must identify concrete changes, not merely say “fixed the map.”
Common mistakes
- Replacing the country shape with a few invented straight diagonals. Trace visible outline bends from the IBGE map named in this lesson, add enough guide points, and compare the contour with the source before darkening it.
- Placing region labels across border lines, making regions ambiguous. Place each region name inside the actual color-coded area copied from the IBGE reference; follow state borders where region colors change.
- Using inconsistent symbol sizes so landmarks are hard to distinguish. Keep every symbol within one grid square and use the stated shape for each type; redraw any oversized symbol.
- Skipping the grid measurement and guessing square sizes. Measure one square with a ruler, record the actual size, and use that recorded value for all distance checks.
Self-check rubric
- Grid labels and square size are clear and are treated as drawing coordinates, not official latitude or longitude.
- National outline follows the official IBGE reference named in this lesson, uses enough guide points at bends, and is not stretched to fit the grid.
- Five region boundaries follow state borders where the official map changes color; no schematic spokes or invented hubs are drawn.
- North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast, and South labels sit inside their corresponding areas.
- Manaus, Salvador, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre are copied from the official map, with one filled circle in each region.
- Distance calculations use the recorded grid-square size; planned worksheets are not described as already available.
Questions and answers
Which map should I use for the real outline and region borders?
Use the official IBGE map titled “Brasil - Grandes Regiões”; search that exact title in the IBGE map library. It shows the country outline, state borders, region colors, and capital labels.
Should I divide the drawing with five spokes?
No. Brazil’s five Great Regions group the 26 states and the Federal District. Trace the shared boundaries where the official map changes region color; do not draw a hub or radial spokes.
Which city markers should I include?
Copy Manaus, Salvador, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre from the official reference, using one filled circle in each region.
Are the page’s printable files ready to download?
No. The page’s own grid worksheet and answer sheet are planned but not built. The IBGE map named in this lesson is an existing public reference.