quality:correction, structural:scholar_edition
Geography

São Paulo is the capital of the most populous state in Brazil, São Paulo, located at latitude 23°33'01'' south and longitude 46°38'02'' west. The total area of the municipality is 1,521.11 square kilometres (587.30 sq mi), according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), being the ninth largest in the state in terms of territorial extension. Of the entire area of the municipality, 949,611 square kilometres (366,647 sq mi) are urban areas (2015), being the largest urban area in the country.

The city is on a plateau placed beyond the Serra do Mar (Portuguese for "Sea Range" or "Coastal Range"), itself a component of the vast region known as the Brazilian Highlands, with an average elevation of around 799 meters (2,621 ft) above sea level, although being at a distance of only about 70 kilometers (43 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean. The distance is covered by two highways, the Anchieta and the Imigrantes, (see " Transportation " below) that roll down the range, leading to the port city of Santos and the beach resort of Guarujá. Rolling terrain prevails within the urbanized areas of São Paulo except in its northern area, where the Serra da Cantareira Range reaches a higher elevation and a sizable remnant of the Atlantic Rain Forest. The region is seismically stable and no significant activity has ever been recorded.