An Escarpment is a long, steep slope especially one at the edge of a plateau.
Though the Great Escarpment occupies a I very small area, the nature of its slope and the effect it has on the climate makes is a separate
physiographic region.
The eastern side of the Brazilian Highland is demarcated because of the escarpment.
In this region, the altitude of the escarpment is 790 m.
In some regions, the height decreases gradually.
The escarpment is very steep particularly from Sao Paulo to Porto Alegre.
The escarpment acts as a barrier to the Southeast Trade Winds giving rise to the rainshadow area in the northeast part of the highlands. The region to the north of this area is called ‘Drought Quadrilateral’.
