In Brazil, the agreste is a narrow zone in the states of Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia between the coastal zona da mata (forest zone) 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. 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 that 10 millimetres in october and November to about 120 millimetres in May and June.

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.

See Also

• Brazil Socio-Geographic Division
• sertão