Brazil's "Middle Lands"

A view of the forest in the "Terra do Meio" or Middle Lands, in the municipality of Sao Felix do Xingu in Brazil's Amazonian state of Para. Named for the area between the Xingu and Iriri Rivers, the 29,343 sq. mile area (slightly smaller than Maine or Scotland) lies in the path of progress as cattle ranches encroach from the east and big business soy advances from the south. illegal logging, labor, land-grabbing and human rights abuses in the area are not uncommon. Simple people, looking for opportunity to have some cheap land, are migrating to the reagion. Much Like the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, which were not officially included on city maps until the mid-1990s, the Middle Land is also a species of autonomous zone - a black hole of information and uncertainty over which Brazilian authorities in reality have little control. (AustralFoto/Douglas Engle)

62 / 70

A view of the forest in the "Terra do Meio" or Middle Lands, in the municipality of Sao Felix do Xingu in Brazil's Amazonian state of Para. Named for the area between the Xingu and Iriri Rivers, the 29,343 sq. mile area (slightly smaller than Maine or Scotland) lies in the path of progress as cattle ranches encroach from the east and big business soy advances from the south. illegal logging, labor, land-grabbing and human rights abuses in the area are not uncommon. Simple people, looking for opportunity to have some cheap land, are migrating to the reagion. Much Like the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, which were not officially included on city maps until the mid-1990s, the Middle Land is also a species of autonomous zone - a black hole of information and uncertainty over which Brazilian authorities in reality have little control. (AustralFoto/Douglas Engle)

amazon brazil ranch slave deforestation forest