Santa Catarina (state)

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Statistics
Capital:Florianópolis
Area:95,442.9 km²
Inhabitants:5,098,448 (2000)
Pop. density:53.4 inh./km²
Timezone:GMT-3
ISO 3166-2:BR-SC
Map
Image:Brazil Santa Catarina.png

Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil. Its capital is Florianópolis, which lies on the island named Santa Catarina. Its largest city is Joinville - the only state in Brazil where the state capital is not its largest city. Neighboring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. To the west it also borders Argentina.

Contents

Geography

The Atlantic Ocean coast has many beaches, islands, bays and inlets. The centre of the State is covered with groves of Brazilian pines, the southwest has prairies, and the east and west strips of forests.

Santa Catarina is considered the coldest state in the country of Brazil. It's also the only Brazilian state where it snows, occasionally during the winter, because of its highlands. In the mid 90's, during a rigorous winter, it snowed on its countryside about 2 meters of snow, equivalent to the quantity of snow that falls in the winter of Russia or Canada.

History

The state dates from the Spanish settlement of Santa Catarina island in 1542. The Portuguese took control in 1675. The captaincy of Santa Catarina was established in 1738. Large numbers of European immigrants, especially from Germany, began arriving in the early 19th century. Immigrants from Italy, Poland, Russia, and other parts of Europe later arrived, with one result being an abundance of small, family held farms in the state's interior.

In late March 2004, the state was hit by the first ever hurricane recorded in the South Atlantic. Because there is no naming system for such an event, Brazilian meteorologists called it Catarina, after the state.

Economics

Santa Catarina has one of the highest standards of living in Brazil, and is a major agricultural and industrial center.

In the north of state, eletric-mechanical, textile and furniture industry are stronger; in the west, cattle breeding, and in the south, ceramics and shellfishes. The major cities and their respective fields are:

Tourism is also strong in the state: Joinville is the host city of the "Joinville Dance Festival" 3 and several business events in its Convention Center; Blumenau is the site of a major annual beer festival Oktoberfest, which is the 2nd largest beer fest in the world, and Florianópolis the city/island attracts a large numbers of tourists during the summer months lured by its 42 beaches and great life style.

Santa Catarina has one of the most beautiful coastlines in Brasil, with one very busy beach resort Balneário Camboriú.

There are also some resort towns, including ,Itapema, Piçarras, Barra Velha and Penha, home to the famous amusement park "Beto Carrero World".

Flag

Image:Br-SC.png

The central shield in the flag shows the coat of arms of the state. It is located on a green lozenge, which itself is located on red-white-red horizontal stripes. The flag was adopted on October 29 1953 by law no. 975.

Minority languages

The minority languages of the state of Santa Catarina can be divided into two distinct groups:

The Autoctone Languages or Indigenous Languages: Kaingang; Guaraní; others...

The Extoctone Languages or Immigration Languages: German (Hunsrückisch, Pomeranian/Plautdietsch); Italian (Italian or veneto), Ukrainian (Ukrainian ; others (Polish, etc.)

In some cities and villages, German and Ukrainian are still the first spoken language.

Cities

External links


States of Brazil Image:Flag of Brazil.svg
Acre | Alagoas | Amapá | Amazonas | Bahia | Ceará | Espírito Santo | Goiás | Maranhão | Mato Grosso | Mato Grosso do Sul | Minas Gerais | Pará | Paraíba | Paraná | Pernambuco | Piauí | Rio de Janeiro | Rio Grande do Norte | Rio Grande do Sul | Rondônia | Roraima | Santa Catarina | São Paulo | Sergipe | Tocantins
Federal District: Brazilian Federal District

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