IN CONTRAST to the United States, colonization in Brazil generally has not been spontaneous; it has been organized, planned, subventioned, and directed, either by the government-federal, provincial, or state-or by private colonization agencies or large estate owners. One might then expect to find abundant details about the colonizing process, but though much has been written in a popular way, scientific studies are lacking. To remedy this deficiency I propose the compilation of "An Atlas of Colonization in Brazil." Much valuable material is already available in the departments of "Terra y Coloniza?ao" of the several states; it awaits collection, classification, and interpretation. But personal experience and observation also are needed. For nearly three years a group of young Brazilian geographers has been studying colonization with me in both field and office.' We think it is time to summarize in a preliminary way our observations, ideas, and conclusions on that type of colonization of most significance, the European colonization of southern Brazil. This article is a condensation of a report presented before the Conselho Nacional de Geografia in Rio de Janeiro in December, I948.2 It essays to bring out contrasts between colonization in two markedly different regions-forest and grassland.