Maranhão
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| Flag of Maranhão | ||
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| See other Brazilian States | ||
| Capital | São Luís | |
| Largest City | São Luís | |
| Area | 333,366 km² | |
| Population - Total - Density |
5,642,960 17 inh./km² | |
| Governor | Jackson Lago(PDT) | |
| Demonym | Maranhense | |
| HDI (2000) | 0.636 – medium | |
| Timezone | GMT-3 | |
| ISO 3166-2 | BR-MA | |
Maranhão (pron. IPA: [ma.ɾa.'ɲɐ̃w̃] [1]) is one of the states of Brazil in the north-eastern region. To the north is the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Neighboring states are (from east clockwise) Piauí, Tocantins and Pará.
Geography
The northern portion of the state is a heavily forested plain traversed by numerous rivers, occupied by the eastern extension of the tropical moist forests of Amazonia. The Tocantins-Araguaia-Maranhão moist forests occupy the northwestern portion of the state, extending from the Pindaré River west into neighboring Pará state. The north-central and northeastern portion of the state, extending eastward into northern Piauí, is home to the Maranhão Babaçu forests, a degraded tropical moist forest ecoregion dominated by the Babaçu palm. Much of the forest has been cleared for cattle grazing and agriculture, and the Babaçu palm produces edible oil which is extracted commercially.
The southern portion of the state belong to the lower terraces of the great Brazilian Highlands, occupied by the Cerrado savannas. Several plateau escarpments, including the Chapada das Mangabeiras, Serra do Tiracambu, and Serra das Alpercatas, mark the state's northern margin and the outlines of river valleys.
The climate is hot, and the year is divided into a wet and dry season, extreme humidity being characteristic of the former. The heat, however, is greatly modified on the coast by the south-east trade winds.
The rivers of the state all flow northward to the Atlantic and a majority of them have navigable channels. The Gurupi River forms the northwestern boundary of the state, separating Maranhão from neighboring Pará, and the Tocantins River forms part the state's southwestern boundary with Tocantins state. The Parnaíba River forms the eastern boundary of Maranhão, but it has one large tributary, the Balsas, entirely within the state. Other rivers in the state include the Turiassu (or Turiaçu) which runs just east of the Gurupi, emptying into the Baía de Turiassu; the Mearim, Pindaré, and Grajaú, which empty into the Baía de São Marcos; and the Itapecuru and Munim which discharge into the Baía de São José. Like the Amazon, the Mearim has a pororoca or tidal bore in its lower channel, which greatly interferes with navigation.
The western coastline has many small indentations, which are usually masked by islands or shoals. The largest of these are the Baía de Turiassu, facing which is São João Island, and the contiguous bays of São Marcos and São José, between which is the large island of São Luís. This indented shoreline is home to the Maranhão mangroves, the tallest mangrove forests in the world. The coastline east of Baía de São José is less indented and characterized by sand dunes, including the stark dune fields of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, as well as restinga forests that form on stabilized dunes.
Major cities in the state besides the state capital São Luís are Imperatriz, Timon, and Caxias. The Alcantara spaceport is located in the north of the state, not far from São Luís.
See also:
- List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
History
The first known European to explore Maranhão was the Spanish explorer Vicente Yáñez Pinzón in 1500[citation needed], but was granted to João de Barros in 1534 as a Portuguese hereditary captaincy. The first European settlement, however, was made by a French trading expedition under Jacques Riffault, of Dieppe, in 1594, who lost two of his three vessels in the vicinity of São Luís Island, and left a part of his men on that island when he returned home. Subsequently Daniel de La Touche, Seigneur de La Rividière was sent to report on the place, and was then commissioned by the French crown to found a colony on the island; this was done in 1612. The French were expelled by the Portuguese in 1615, and the Dutch held the island from 1641 to 1644. In 1621 Ceara, Maranhão and Pará were united and called the "Estado do Maranhao," which was made independent of the southern captaincies. Very successful Indian missions were soon begun by the Jesuits, who were temporarily expelled as a result of a civil war in 1684 for their opposition to the enslavement of the Indians. Ceara was subsequently detached, but the "state" of Maranhao remained independent until 1774, when it again became subject to the colonial administration of Brazil.
Maranhão did not join in the Brazilian declaration of independence of 1822, but in the following year the Portuguese were driven out by Admiral Lord Cochrane and it became part of the Empire of Brazil.
São Luís is the Brazilian state capital which most closely resembles a Portuguese city. By the early 20th century São Luís has about 30,000 inhabitants, and contained several convents, charitable institutes, the episcopal palace, a fine Carmelite church, and an ecclesiastical seminary. The historic city center was declared a world heritage site in 1997.
Flag
The flag of Maranhão was designed by the poet Joaquim de Souza Andrade, and was adopted by decree nr. 6, of December 21, 1889.
The colored strips symbolize the different ethnic groups which make up the population, and their mixing and living together. The white star in the upper left corner symbolizes Maranhão itself, and is supposed to be Beta Scorpii, as the constellation Scorpius is also depicted on the national flag of Brazil. The flag has a ratio of 2:3.
Portrayals in film
- Andrucha Waddington's The House of Sand (Casa de Areia, 2005) prominently features the sand dunes of Maranhão.
Notes
- ^ The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese. The European Portuguese pronunciation is: /mɐ.ɾɐ.'ɲɐ̃w̃/.
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - This article incorporates text from the Catholic Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.
