The Canastra Mountains (Serra da Canastra)are a range of hills in the Minas Gerais state of southeastern Brazil. The headwaters of the São Francisco River begin at this range and it is the location of the Serra da Canastra National Park and the Casca d'Anta waterfall. The altitude ranges from 900 m to 1,496 m. Kimberlite sites in this range have proven to be a rich source of diamonds.
The São Francisco River also is the 4th longest river in South America, passing through tons of states like Pernambuco, Bahia, etc..
Serra da Canastra in the context of São Francisco River
The São Francisco River (Portuguese: Rio São Francisco, pronounced[ˈʁiusɐ̃wfɾɐ̃ˈsisku]), known in English as the San Francisco River, is a large river in Brazil. With a length of 2,914 kilometres (1,811 mi), it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon, the Paraná and the Madeira). It is also locally known as the Velho Chico (pronounced[ˈvɛʎuˈtʃiku]; lit.'Old Chico'), and was once known as the Opara by the Indigenous people before colonization.
The São Francisco originates in the Canastra mountain range in the central-western part of the state of Minas Gerais. It runs generally north in the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia, behind the coastal range, draining an area of over 630,000 square kilometres (240,000 sq mi), before turning east to form the border between Bahia on the right bank and the states of Pernambuco and Alagoas on the left one. After that, it ends on the boundaries between the states of Alagoas and Sergipe and washes into the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to the five states which the São Francisco directly traverses or borders, its drainage basin also includes tributaries from the state of Goiás and the Federal District.
