Since the sixties, cattle ranching has been a major activity associated with the expansion of the agricultural frontier in the Amazon basin, especially in Brazil. We are analyzing the strong link between cattle ranching and development of the Amazon through a interdisciplinary approach based on three scales (macro, meso and micro), combining regional farming system, economic and geographic methodologies. The first methodology is used to understand the farmers' strategies and to characterize the local evolution, especially in relation to land use aspects. The second is based on the economic analysis of the beef market chain, from the production of calves to the butcher shop. It describes the regional organization, showing the integration of agricultural activities with urban factors. Finally, the third involves satellite imagery interpretation as a geographic methodology to interpret spatial economic factors integrating the first and second results, thus permitting a better understanding of the frontier in the Amazon. At the present, the combination of the three methodologies is being done in three agricultural frontier regions of the Eastern Brazilian Amazon. In the future, this approach will be evaluated through a comparative analysis among contrasting ecosystems of the Amazon Region.