Rio Branco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rio Branco
Joaquim Macedo Footbridge in Rio Branco
Joaquim Macedo Footbridge in Rio Branco
Flag of Rio Branco
Flag
Official seal of Rio Branco
Seal
Nickname: Nature Capital
Location of Rio Branco in Acre
Location of Rio Branco in Acre
Coordinates: 9°58′29″S 67°48′36″W / -9.97472, -67.81
Country Flag of Brazil Brazil
Region North
State Acre
Founded 28 December 1882
Government
 - Mayor Raimundo Angelim (PT)
Area
 - Total 9,233 km² (3,564.9 sq mi)
Elevation 41 m (136 ft)
Population (2005)
 - Total 305,731
 - Density 33.11/km² (85.8/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-5 (UTC-5)
HDI (2000) 0.754 – medium
Website: Rio Branco, Acre

Rio Branco (lit. White River) is the biggest city and the capital of the Brazilian state of Acre. The city of Rio Branco has gone by a number of names throughout its history. It originated when the seringalista Neutel Maia arrived with his family and workers in the region of Acre in end of 1882 in order to produce rubber. It established its first seringal at the right edge of the Rio Acre, initiating there the constructions of large cabins and tents, giving the name of Seringal Volta da Empresa. After that, Maia opened another seringal at the left edge of the Rio Acre, where today sits the Palace of the Government of the Acre, with the name of Seringal Empresa. Rio Branco has a strategic location, about 2 hours from Manaus by air and has borders with Peru and is the only city (State) close to the important eco touristic centers of Cuzco, Pucalpa and Puerto Maldonado.

Contents

[edit] Geography

White River in Rio Branco.
White River in Rio Branco.

Acre has a territory covered mostly by jungle of the Amazon Rainforest. The state is a well-known producer and exporter of rubber. The Acre River runs along the southern boundary of the state, forming the border with Bolivia.

[edit] Climate

An equatorial climate is a type of tropical climate in which there is no dry season – all months have mean precipitation values of at least 60mm. It is usually found at latitudes within five degrees of the equator – which are dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The equatorial climate is denoted Af in the Köppen climate classification. Tropical rainforest is the natural vegetation in equatorial regions.

River in the Amazon Rainforest.
River in the Amazon Rainforest.

[edit] Vegetation

The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world. Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome, and tropical forests in the Americas are consistently more species rich than the wet forests in Africa and Asia.[1] As the largest tract of tropical rainforest in the Americas, the Amazonian rainforests have unparalleled biodiversity. More than 1/3 of all species in the world live in the Amazon Rainforest.[2]

[edit] Economy

The GDP for the city was R$ 2,371,307,000 (2005).[3]

The per capita income for the city was R$ 7,756 (2005).[4]

[edit] Education

Rio Branco is the most important educational centre of the state.
Rio Branco 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.

[edit] Colleges and Universities

  • Universidade Federal do Acre (Ufac);
  • Faculdade da Amazônia Ocidental (Faao);
  • Faculdade de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais Aplicadas Rio Branco (Firb);
  • Instituto de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Vale do Juruá (Ieval);
  • Instituto de Ensino Superior do Acre (Iesacre);
  • União Educacional do Norte (Uninorte).
Rio Branco in the afternoon.
Rio Branco in the afternoon.

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] International Airport

Rio Branco International Airport.
Rio Branco International Airport.

Rio Branco International Airport is located in a rural zone of the municipality of Rio Branco, in the state of Acre. It was opened on November 2, 1999 with a unique characteristic: it moved 22 kilometers from the previous airport site into a site northwest of the city.

Rio Branco Airport serves domestic and international flights (by scheduled carriers and air taxi firms) along with general and military aviation.

The terminal can receive 270 thousand passengers a year and serves an average of 14 daily operations.

[edit] Sports

Arena da Floresta Stadium.
Arena da Floresta Stadium.

Rio Branco provides visitors and residents with various sport activities.

  • Stadiums
  • Arena da Floresta stadium;
  • José de Melo stadium;
  • Federação Acreana de Futebol stadium;
  • Dom Giocondo Maria Grotti stadium;
  • Adauto de Brito stadium;
  • and many others.

Rio Branco is one of the 18 remaining candidates to host games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil is the only South American bidder.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Turner, I.M. 2001. The ecology of trees in the tropical rain forest. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-80183-4
  2. ^ Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Plants, Amazon River Animals
  3. ^ (2005) GDP (PDF) (in Portuguese), Rio Branco, Brazil: IBGE. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. Retrieved on 2007-07-18. 
  4. ^ (2005) per capita income (PDF) (in Portuguese), Rio Branco, Brazil: IBGE. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. Retrieved on 2007-07-18. 

[edit] External links

Find more about Rio Branco on Wikipedia's sister projects:
Dictionary definitions
Textbooks
Quotations
Source texts
Images and media
News stories
Learning resources