Paraná (state)
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| Flag of Paraná | ||
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| See other Brazilian States | ||
| Capital | Curitiba | |
| Largest City | Curitiba | |
| Area | 199,544 km² | |
| Population - Total - Density |
9,150,000 48 inh./km² |
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| Governor | Roberto Requião (PMDB) | |
| Demonym | Paranaense | |
| HDI (2000) | 0.787 – medium | |
| Timezone | GMT-3 | |
| ISO 3166-2 | BR-PR | |
- Other meanings: Paraná, Argentina, Paraná River
Paraná (pron. IPA: [pa.ɾa.'na] [1]) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the southern part of the country, bordering Paraguay and Argentina. The territory was set apart from the province of São Paulo in 1853, as a punishment for the latter's support in the insurrection of 1842. It is in the Southern region of Brazil.
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[edit] Geography
Paraná is bounded on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso and the republic of Paraguay, with the Paraná River as its western boundary line.
It state includes two geographic regions, a narrow coastal zone that that is home to the Serra do Mar coastal forests, and a high plateau (2500 to 3000 ft.) whose precipitous, deeply eroded eastern escarpments are known as the Serra do Mar or Serra do Cubatão. The southern and central portions of the state is covered by the Araucaria moist forests, and has large tracts of Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguayensis), known in Brazil as erva mate, used to make a tea called Chimarrão. The plateau slopes westward to the Paraná river, is well watered and moderately fertile, and has a remarkably uniform climate of a mild temperate character; the lower western and northern portions of the state are covered by the Paraná-Paraíba interior forests ecoregion.
The larger rivers of the state comprise the Paranapanema and its tributaries the Cinza and Tibaji, the Ivaí, Piquiri, Jejuy-guassu, and the Iguaçu with its principal tributary the Rio Negro. The Paranapanema and a small tributary, the Itarare, form the boundary line with São Paulo west of the Serra do Mar, and the Iguaçu and Negro, the boundary line with Santa Catarina and Argentina - both streams having their sources in the Serra do Mar and flowing westward to the Parana. The other streams have shorter courses, and all are obstructed by falls and rapids. Twenty miles above the mouth of the Iguaçu are the Iguaçu Falls, 215 ft. high, broken into twenty or more falls separated by rocks and islands, and surrounded by a wild, unsettled and wooded country. The surface of the plateau is undulating and the greater part is adapted to agricultural and pastoral purposes.
The main cities of the state are:
- Curitiba (Capital and largest, east)
- Londrina (2nd largest, north)
- Maringá (3rd largest, north)
- Foz do Iguaçu (4th largest, west)
- Ponta Grossa (5th largest, center-east)
- Cascavel (6th largest, center-west)
- Guarapuava (9th largest, center)
- Paranaguá (10th largest, east-coast)
See also:
- List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
[edit] History
Parana was settled by gold prospectors from São Paulo and formed part of that captaincy and province down to 1853, when it was made an independent province. The first missions of the Jesuits on the Paraná were situated just above the Guayra Falls in this state and had reached a highly prosperous condition when the Indian slave hunters of São Paulo (called Mamelucos) compelled them to leave their settlements and emigrate in mass to what is now the Argentine territory of Misiones. Their principal mission was known as Ciudad Real. The development of the state is closely linked to the immigrants, who came in the 19th(after the creation of the state) and 20th ceturies (before 2nd WorldWar). Actually, before 2WW many people spoke german, italian or other languages.
By the early 20th century, the state had two railway systems: the Paranagua to Curitiba (69 miles) with an extension to Ponta Grossa (118 miles) and branches to Rio Negro (55 miles), Porto Amazonas (6 miles) and Antonina (10 miles); and the São Paulo & Rio Grande, which crosses the state from northeast to south-west from Porto Uniao da Victoria, on the Iguaçu, to a junction with the Sorocabana line of São Paulo at Itarare. The junction of the two systems was at Ponta Grossa, north-west of Curitiba.
[edit] Ethnic groups
Whites make up 75% of the population. Waves of European immigrants started arriving in the late 19th century, mainly from Portugal, Poland, Italy, Germany and Ukraine. In the early 20th century more immigrants arrived from Japan, Lebanon and Syria. Among all Brazilian states, Paraná has the largest number of inhabitants of Eastern European descent and the second (to São Paulo) largest number of inhabitants of Japanese descent. Paraná also has some small Jewish communities in Curitiba and Londrina.
[edit] Social care
Paraná has one of the highest standards of living in Brazil (though it is the least developed state of the South-Southeast regions, which comprise the richest Brazilian states) with relatively low criminality levels, a special attention given to education and health and a HDI of ~0.785, the 5th highest in Brazil.
In October 2003 Paraná banned both the cultivation and transportation of genetically modified crops. This is stricter than the national standard, which prohibits commercial cultivation of such crops, but allows experimental cultivation and permits transport. Paraná, Brazil's largest grain producing state, is now also Brazil's largest exporter of organically-grown crops.
[edit] References
- ^ The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese. The European Portuguese pronunciation is: /pɐ.ɾɐ.'na/.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] External links
- Paraná; info from its local government.
- Paraná; Official Hotel Guide.
- Curitiba.
- Brazil Pictures;
- Fundação Cultural de Curitiba
