The Serra Geral is a mountain range in southern Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, constituting the southern portion of the Serra do Mar

Serra do Mar

Serra do Mar is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil, which runs in parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state of Espírito Santo to southern Santa Catarina, although some include Serra Geral in the Serra do Mar, in which case this range...

 system which runs along Brazil's southeastern coast. The Serra Geral runs parallel to the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 coast in Santa Catarina and northern Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

 states, separating a narrow coastal plain from an interior plateau. The coastal plain is characterized by short rivers and frequent lagoon

Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...

s and bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

s, and lies within the humid tropical Serra do Mar coastal forests

Serra do Mar coastal forests

Biome: Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forestsRealm: NeotropicalWWF ID: NT0160Size: 104,800 square kilometers...

 ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

.

The plateau to the west of the range is drained by tributaries of the Uruguay River

Uruguay River

The Uruguay River is a river in South America. It flows from north to south and makes boundary with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of the Mesopotamia from the other two countries...

, including the Pelotas

Pelotas River

The Pelotas River is a river in southern Brazil, and a tributary of the Uruguay River.The river originates in the Serra Geral at Alto do Bispo and flows northeast for before meeting the Canoas River, forming the Uruguay River...

 and Canoas

Canoas River (Santa Catarina)

The Canoas River is a river of Santa Catarina state in southeastern Brazil. The river joins the Pelotas River to form the Uruguay River.-See also:*List of rivers of Santa Catarina-References:* ] map]...

, and by the Jacuí River

Jacuí River

The Jacuí River is a river in Rio Grande do Sul state of southern Brazil. The Jacuí empties into the Guaíba River, an estuarine arm of the Lagoa dos Patos, a large coastal lagoon connected to the Atlantic Ocean....

 and its tributaries, which drains south into the Lagoa dos Patos

Lagoa dos Patos

Lagoa dos Patos is the second largest lagoon in Latin America and the biggest in Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. It is 174 miles long, has a maximum width of 44 miles , and a total area of 3,803 sq. mi....

 of Rio Grande do Sul. The plateau is home to the subtropical Araucaria moist forests

Araucaria moist forests

The Araucaria moist forests are a subtropical moist forest ecoregion of southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina.-Setting:The Araucaria moist forests cover an area of , encompassing a region of mountains and plateaus in the Brazilian states of São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do...

.

The Serra Geral is home to Aparados da Serra National Park

Aparados da Serra National Park

The Aparados da Serra National Park is located in the Serra Geral range of Rio Grande do Sul state in the south of Brazil, between 29º07’—29º15’ S and 50º01’—50º10’ W. It has been created in 1959 as one of Brazil's first national parks, to protect the Itaimbezinho canyon...

 and Serra Geral National Park

Serra Geral National Park

Serra Geral National Park is a national park of Brazil. It was created in 1992, and is made up of two separate sections adjacent to Aparados da Serra National Park, totalling 17,300 hectares.-References:...

, which are notable for their enormous canyons.