Goiás

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For the city in the state, see Goiás, Goiás.

Template:Infobox Brazilian State

Goiás (IPA: [goˈjajs][1]) is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The most central of the Brazilian states and most populous of the region, Goiás is characterized by a landscape of chapadões (plateaus) . In the height of the drought season, from June to September, the lack of rain makes the level of the Araguaia River go down and exposes almost 2 km (1 mile) of beaches, making it the main attraction of the State. At the Emas National Park in the municipality of Mineiros, it is possible to observe the typical fauna and flora from the region. Neighboring states are (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, the Federal District, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. At the Chapada dos Veadeiros the attractions are the canyons, valleys, rapids and waterfalls. Other attractions are the historical city of Goiás (or Old Goiás), at 132 km (82 miles) from Goiânia, established in the beginning of XVIII Century, and Caldas Novas, with its hot water wells attracting more than one million tourists per year.

Geography

Goiás lies wholly within the Brazilian Highlands, which are located in the center of the country. It occupies a large plateau, the vast almost level surface of which stands between 750 and 900 m above sea level and forms the divide between three of Brazil's largest river systems: to the south Goiás is drained by the Paranaíba River, a tributary of the Paraná River; to the east it is drained by tributaries of the São Francisco River; and northward the state is drained by the Araguaia River and the Tocantins River and their tributaries.

Goiânia, the biggest city and the capital of the state.
Goiânia Skyline.
Zoo of Goiânia.

The state's highest point is Pouso Alto, at 1676 meters above sea level, in the Chapada dos Veadeiros.

Other major rivers in the state are the Meia Ponte, Aporé, São Marcos, Corumbá River, Claro, Paranã, Maranhão, Paranã and Preto. None of these rivers is navigable except for short distances by small craft.

The state is covered with a woodland savanna known in Brazil as campo cerrado, although there are still tropical forests along the rivers. This cerrado has been seriously diminished in recent years due to cattle raising and soybean farming with great loss of animal life and forest cover.

The climate of the plateau is tropical. Average monthly temperatures vary from 26°C (78.8°F) in the warmest month to 22°C (71.6°F) in the coldest. The year is divided into a rainy season (October–March) and a dry season (April–September). Average annual rainfall is about 1,700 mm, but this varies due to elevation and microclimate.

The Great Central West Region, consisting of the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and the Brazilian Federal District, is among the fastest-growing regions of Brazil. The population of Goiás state tripled in size in the period from 1950 to 1980 and is still growing very quickly. However, outside the Federal District and the Goiânia metropolitan region (with a population of over a million) most of Goiás is very thinly populated. The chief concentration of settlement is in the southeast, in the area of Goiânia (Goiânia and Aparecida de Goiânia), across the border from Minas Gerais, (Catalão, Rio Verde, Jataí, and Caldas Novas), and around the Federal District (Formosa, Planaltina de Goiás, and Luziânia).

History

Catalão Museum in Catalão.
Matriz Pirenópolis in Pirenópolis.

The first European penetration of this interior part of Brazil was carried out by expeditions from São Paulo in the 17th century. Gold was discovered in the gravel of a tributary of the Araguaia River by the explorer Bartolomeu Bueno de Silva in 1682. The settlement he founded there, called Santa Anna, became the colonial town of Goiás Velho, the former state capital. In 1744 the large inland area, much of it still unexplored by Europeans, was made a captaincy general, and in 1822 it became a province of the empire of Brazil. It became a state in 1889. The Brazilian constitution of 1891 specified that the nation's capital should be moved to the Brazilian Highlands (Planalto Central), and in 1956 Goiás was selected as the site for the federal district and capital city, Brasília. The seat of the federal government was officially moved to Brasília in 1960.

Goiânia, the largest city and capital was planned in 1933 to replace the old, inaccessible former state capital of Goiás, 110 km northwest. In 1937 the state government moved there, and in 1942 the official inauguration was held. Goiânia is now one of the fastest growing cities in Brazil and is regularly voted one of the most livable cities in the country. [citation needed]

Due to the immense territory of the state, which was over 600,000 km²., communications were obviously very difficult. The northern part of the state began to feel abandoned by the southern government and began a movement for separation. Local political leaders, many of whom were large landowners and were eager to gain important positions such as governor or senator and financial gain with the construction of a new capital, also encouraged the movement. In 1989 the northern half of Goiás became a separate state called Tocantins.

Demographics

Dom Bosco Church in Catalão.

According to the IBGE of 2007, there were 5,750,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 16.9 inh./km².

Urbanization: 88.6% (2006); Population growth: 2.5% (1991-2000); Houses: 1,749,000 (2006).[2]

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 2,903,750 Multiracial people (50.5%), 2,530,000 White people (44.0%), 304,000 Black people (5.3%), 11,000 Asian or Amerindian people (0.2%).[3]

Economy

Mitsubishi in Catalão.
Garlic plantation in Goiás.
Commerce in Goiânia.

The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 43.9%, followed by the industrial sector at 35.4%. Agriculture represents 20.7%, of GDP (2004). Goiás exports: soybean 49.2%, meat of cattle 10.5%, gold 9.1%, others meats 7.5%, iron 7.4%, leather 4% (2002).

Share of the Brazilian economy: 2.4% (2005).

Goiás is a leader in the country in crop raising. The number of cows was estimated in 2000 to be around 18 million, four for every inhabitant. Possibly only Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul have more cattle. Agriculture as a total represented 21% of the GDP of the state, with great production of sugarcane, soybeans, corn, tomato, rice, cotton, manioc and beans.

Minerals are also important with the state being a major producer of nickel, iron, gold, niobium, phosphateand silver.

The strongest growing area in the state has been in industry and commerce. Goiânia and Aparecida de Goiânia have become centers of food-processing industries, Anápolis of pharmaceutical factories. Rio Verde, in the southwest, is one of the fastest growing small cities with many new industries locating in the area and Catalão is a metal-mechanical and chemical polo.

Important economic indicators

  • Agriculture (in tons): sugarcane (9.251.798), soybeans (3.420.653), corn (3.414.601), tomato (759.009), rice (352.135), cotton (278.363), manioc (255.639), beans (200.977)--(1999).
  • Livestock (in head): fowl (80.000.000 est.), cattle (18.000.000 est.), pigs (1.000.000 est.) --(1999).
  • Minerals: titanium-ilmenite (1.624 t), nickel (52.302 t), manganese (23.242 t), cobalt (484 t), iron (199 brute tons), niobium-pirocloride (54.953 t), gold (4.512.882 grams), silver (211.917)--(1998).
  • Industry: food, metallurgy, extraction of non-metallic minerals.

Interesting facts

Vehicles: 1,610,972 (March/2007); Mobile phones: 3.6 million (April/2007); Telephones: 1.3 million (April/2007); Cities: 246 (2007).[4]

Education

Goiânia is the most important educational centre of the state.

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum.

Educational institutions

Infrastructure

National Airport

Modernization work will soon get under way at Goiânia Airport. With nominal yearly capacity of 600 thousand passengers, in 2004 it received 950 thousand. With its new terminal, it will be able to handle up to 2 million users a year.

Highways

BR-020, BR-040, BR-050, BR-060, BR-070, BR-080, BR-153, BR-158, BR-251, BR-364, BR-414, BR-452.

Ecological problems

Yellow Ipê in Goiás.

To conciliate the expansion of agroindustry and cattle raising with the preservation of the cerrado, one of the richest regions in the world in biodiversity, is one of the main challenges of Goiás. At the same time that it has the third largest cattle herd of the country and occupies first place in grain production, the state faces serious environmental damage.

The expansion of cattle raising especially has caused damage to the cerrado. The native forest has been for the most part destroyed and the permanent reserves gradually cut down to give way to cattle and farming. In the region of the sources of the Araguaia River there are areas of erosion caused by cutting down the trees in order to create pastures. This has produced voçorocas -- sudden subsidence of land. Some measure up to 1.5 km. long, 100 meters wide, and 30 meters deep.

These problems, together with the loss of river banks, are causing Goiás to face a serious crisis in water supply, which is exacerbated by the long dry season. Cities like Goiânia, Anápolis, and Luziânia are especially vulnerable, especially since they dump their raw sewage into the rivers that pass through them or nearby.

Sites of interest

Waterfall, in Pirenópolis, Goiás.
Yellow Ipê, in Catalão, Goiás.
  • Chapada dos Veadeiros
Main article: Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park

It is an ecological national park famous for the diversity of its landscape and the richness of its fauna and flora.

  • City of Goiás
Main article: Goiás, Goiás

A nationally famous World Heritage Site, the city is notable for its historical importance.

  • Parque Nacional das Emas
Main article: Emas National Park

The Emas National Park is another World Heritage Site in Goiás.

  • Pirenópolis
Main article: Pirenópolis

Pirenópolis is a picturesque city in the interior of the State of Goiás, famous for its many natural beauties, preserved colonial homes and steep stone streets.

Cities

Chapada do Veadeiros National Park in Goiás.
Waterfall in Chapada dos Veadeiros.
View of Catalão in Goiás.

See also: List of municipalities in Goiás.

Top 15 cities in order of population (est. 01/07/2005 from IBGE):

See City population of Goiás for table showing population from 1991 to 2005 in the 37 largest cities.

Cities with touristical interest
NamePopulation
Caldas Novas65,637
Cristalina39,867
Ipameri22,600
Pirenópolis21,241
Goiás14,173
Paraúna10,900
Corumbá de Goiás9,915
Aruanã5,212

Sports

Goiânia is one of the 18 remaining candidates to host games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil is the host.

Flag

The green bars in the flag symbolize the spring and the yellow bars gold. The blue rectangle in the topleft corner symbolizes the sky, with the five stars forming the constellation of the Southern Cross. The flag was adopted on July 30, 1919. It is a toned down version of the original Republican flag of Brazil, in itself not original.

Notable people

Wanessa Camargo, an important Brazilian singer, born in Goiás.

References

  1. ^ The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese variant spoken in Goiás. Other possible variations in Brazil are [goˈjajʃ] (Rio de Janeiro), [goˈjas] (São Paulo and Southern Region), [gɔˈjajs] (most of Northeast) and [gɔˈjajx] (state of Ceará). The European Portuguese pronunciation is: [goˈjaʃ].
  2. ^ Source: PNAD.
  3. ^ Síntese de Indicadores Sociais 2007 (PDF) (in Portuguese). Goiás, Brazil: IBGE. 2007. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
  4. ^ Source: IBGE.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Goiás.
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