| Manaus | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |||
| The Municipality of Manaus | |||
| Manaus center | |||
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| Nickname(s): "A Paris dos Trópicos" ("The Paris of the Tropics") | |||
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Manaus
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Brazil | ||
| Region | North | ||
| State | Amazonas | ||
| Founded | 1669 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Amazonino Mendes (PTB) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Municipality | 11,401 km2 (4,402 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 92 m (302 ft) | ||
| Population (2009) | |||
| • Municipality | 1,738,641 (8th) | ||
| • Density | 144.2/km2 (373.5/sq mi) | ||
| • Metro | 2,042,185 | ||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | DST no longer used (UTC-4) | ||
| Postal Code | 69000-000 | ||
| Area code(s) | +55 92 | ||
| Website | Manaus, Amazonas | ||
Manaus (Portuguese pronunciation: [maˈnaws]) is a city in Brazil, the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers. It is the most populous city of Amazonas, according to the statistics of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and is a popular ecotourist destination. Manaus belongs to mesoregion Center Amazonense and microregion Manaus. It is located in northern Brazil, 1,936 kilometers (1,203 mi) from the federal capital, Brasília.
The city was founded in 1669 as the Fort of São José do Rio Negro.[1] It was elevated to a town in 1832 with the name of "Manaus", which means "mother of the gods" in tribute to the indigenous nation of Manaós, and legally transformed into a city on October 24 of 1848 with the name of Cidade da Barra do Rio Negro, Portuguese for "The City of the Margins of Black River". Only on September 4 of 1856 did it revert to its current name.[2]
It was known at the beginning of the century, as Heart of the Amazon and City of the Forest.[3] Currently its main economic engine is the Industrial Pool of Manaus.
It is the largest metropolitan area in Northern Brazil and the twelfth in all of Brazil, with 2,006,870 inhabitants (IBGE/2008). The population in 2008 was 1.71 million people; it is the eighth most populous city of Brazil according to data from Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, the IBGE. The city gradually increased its participation in the GDP of Brazil in recent years, rising to account for 1.4% of the economy of the country. Currently, the city is one of 12 most influential cities of the country. Manaus alone represents 10.89% of the population of the whole of Northern Brazil and 49.9% of the population of the Amazon.[4]
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The history of the European colonization of Manaus began in 1669 with the building of a fort in rock and clay, with four cannon guarding the curtains. The Fort of São José da Barra do Rio Negro was built to ensure the predominance of Portugal in the region, especially against the invasion of the Dutch, at that time headquartered in what is today Suriname. The fort held that function for more than 114 years. Next to the fort there were many indigenous mestizos, who helped in its construction and began to live in the vicinity.
The population grew so much that in 1695, to aid catechism, the missionaries (Carmelite, Jesuit, Franciscan) resolved to erect near the fort a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception, which in time became the patron saint of the city.[5]
The Royal Charter of March 3 of 1755, created the Capitania of Sao Jose do Rio Negro, with headquarters in Mariuá (now Barcelos), but the governor Lobo D'Almada, fearing Spanish invasions, the seat went back to the bar in place of 1791, being located at the confluence of the rivers Black and Amazon it was a strategic point. On November 13 of 1832, the place of the bar became the category of town with the name of the town of Manaus and on October 24 of 1848, with Law 145 of the Provincial Assembly Paraense, acquired the name of the Bar of the City of Rio Negro. On September 4 of 1856 the governor Herculano Ferreira Pena finally gave him the name "Manaus".
The Cabanagem was the revolt in which blacks, Indians and mestizos protested against the political elite and took power in 1835. The entry of the High Amazonas (Manaus today, which was the cradle of the city in the Western Amazon) in Cabanagem was crucial for the birth of the current state of the Amazon. During the period of revolution, the Cabanos of the High Amazon, bands of rebels, roamed throughout the region, and in most settlements their arrival was greeted by the non-white population's spontaneously joining their ranks and there was a greater number of adherents to the movement. With that there was an integration of people surrounding thus forming the state, thanks to Cabanagem.[6] the city was built because of the rubber trees.
Manaus was at the center of the Amazon region's rubber boom during the late 19th century. For a time, it was "one of the gaudiest cities of the world"[7] One historian has written, "No extravagance, however absurd, deterred" the rubber barons. "If one rubber baron bought a vast yacht, another would install a tame lion in his villa, and a third would water his horse on champagne."[8] The decadence extended to a grand opera house, vast domes and gilded balconies, and marble, glass, and crystal, from around Europe. The opera house cost ten million (public-funded) dollars, but its foolhardiness was demonstrated by the death by yellow fever of half the members of one visiting opera troupe.[9] The opera house, called the Teatro Amazonas, still exists today; it has been restored, was used in the Werner Herzog film Fitzcarraldo, and after a type of interlude lasting almost 90 years, presents operas once again.[10]
When the seeds of the rubber tree were smuggled out of the Amazon region, Brazil lost its monopoly on the product and Manaus fell into poverty. The rubber boom had brought electricity to the city before it arrived in many European cities, but the end of the rubber boom made the generators too expensive to run, and the city lost artificial lighting for years.[11] Today's sprawling city of 2 million inhabitants has been generated, so to speak, to a large extent by the duty-free policy that began in the 1950s.
The declaration of a duty free zone in Manaus added to the economic prosperity of the city.[12]
Largest city in northern Brazil, Manaus occupies an area of 11,401.058 square kilometers, with a density of 144.4 inhabitants/km ². It is the neighboring city of Presidente Figueiredo, Careiro, Iranduba, Rio Preto da Eva, Itacoatiara and Novo Airão.
Manaus has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification "Am"). Rainfall intensity is somewhat seasonal, with one half of the year (coinciding with the Southern winter) being half as rainy as the other. Manaus technically has a dry season month, August, where less than 60 mm (2 in) of precipitation falls. Because of this dry season month, the city’s climate falls under the tropical monsoon climate category instead of the tropical rainforest climate category. Average annual temperature is 26.6C (80F), with more or less consistent temperatures all year round.
| Climate data for Manaus, Brazil (1961-1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 30.5 (86.9) |
30.4 (86.7) |
30.6 (87.1) |
30.7 (87.3) |
30.8 (87.4) |
31.0 (87.8) |
31.3 (88.3) |
32.6 (90.7) |
32.9 (91.2) |
32.8 (91.0) |
32.1 (89.8) |
31.3 (88.3) |
31.42 (88.55) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.1 (79.0) |
26.0 (78.8) |
26.1 (79.0) |
26.3 (79.3) |
26.3 (79.3) |
26.4 (79.5) |
26.5 (79.7) |
27.0 (80.6) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.6 (81.7) |
27.3 (81.1) |
26.7 (80.1) |
26.65 (79.97) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23.1 (73.6) |
23.1 (73.6) |
23.2 (73.8) |
23.3 (73.9) |
23.3 (73.9) |
23.0 (73.4) |
22.7 (72.9) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.7 (74.7) |
23.7 (74.7) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.26 (73.86) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 260.1 (10.24) |
288.3 (11.35) |
313.5 (12.343) |
300.1 (11.815) |
256.3 (10.091) |
113.6 (4.472) |
87.5 (3.445) |
57.9 (2.28) |
83.3 (3.28) |
125.7 (4.949) |
183.0 (7.205) |
216.9 (8.539) |
2,286.2 (90.008) |
| Sunshine hours | 114.7 | 86.8 | 99.2 | 111.0 | 148.8 | 186.0 | 213.9 | 226.3 | 156.0 | 170.5 | 141.0 | 130.2 | 1,784.4 |
| Source: Hong Kong Observatory,[13] | |||||||||||||
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.[14] 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.[15]
Despite being located in the Amazon, Manaus has few green areas. The city's stock has been frequent in recent years. The largest green areas of the city:
According to the IBGE of 2010, there were 1,802,525 people residing in the city, and 2,210,825 people residing in the Metropolitan Region of Manaus. The population density was 149.9 inhabitants per square kilometre (388 /sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 63.93% Caboclo, 31.88% White, 2.43% Black, 0.87% Asian or Amerindian.[16]
The population of Manaus is 1,709,010 inhabitants (as performed by counting IBGE in 2008), making it the eighth largest city in Brazil, after São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte and Curitiba. The city's population growth is above the national average, and 10% above the average for the capital of the country. Most of the population is located in the North and East regions of the city, and the New Town (northern area) the neighborhood is the most populous, with more than 260,000 residents. According to the results of the last census, the city's population increased from 343,038 inhabitants in 1960 to 622,733 inhabitants in 1970. Hence by 1990 the population grew to 1,025,979 inhabitants, increasing its density to 90.0 inhabitants / km ².
Although it has been developed along a predominantly Catholic social matrix, both because of colonization and immigration - even today the majority of Manauenses is Catholic, one can find dozens of different Protestant denominations in the city, as well as the practice of Judaism, Candomblé, Islam and spiritualism, among others. The city is the seat fo the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manaus.
The city has a very diverse presence of Protestant or Reformed faiths, such as the Presbyterian Church, Calvary Chapel, For Christ International Church of Grace of God, Pentecostal Church of God in Brazil, Methodist Church, the Episcopal Anglican Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Baptist Church, an Assembly of God Church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, the Jehovah's Witnesses among others. These churches are experiencing considerable growth, mainly in the outskirts of the city. A Mormon temple has been built in the city, the 6th in Brazil.[17]
The Metropolitan Region of Manaus (RMM), which has 2,006,870 inhabitants (counting the population IBGE in 2008) is a metropolitan area of Brazil that comprises eight cities of the Amazonas state, but without conurbation.
Manaus is divided into seven regions: North, Southern, Central-South, East, West, Mid-West and Rural area. The eastern region of the city is the most populated, with approximately 600,000 inhabitants (2007).[18] The northern region of the city that has the highest rate of population growth in recent years, and has the largest neighborhood of the city, the New Town. The Center-South region has the highest per capita income.[19]
The first neighborhood established in Manaus was Educandos. From there, other areas of the city began receiving human occupation, with the arrival of migrants from other regions of Brazil.
Manaus has the largest neighborhood of Latin America, the neighborhood New Town, which has 264,449 inhabitants, but it is estimated that the population exceeds 300,000 inhabitants. The New Town is larger than all the cities inside the Amazonas state.
With the permanence and the strengthening of Free Economic Zone of Manaus, the city began to receive investments and constant migration of people from various regions of the Brazil. Many neighborhoods appeared in the city in a disorganized manner, and those are called invasions.
Although the main industry of Manaus through much of the 20th century was rubber, its importance has declined. Given its location, timber and Brazil-nuts make up important trades, as do petroleum refining, soap manufacturing, and chemical industries. Over the last decades, a system of federal investments and tax incentives have turned the surrounding region into a major industrial center (the Free Economic Zone of Manaus).
Manaus sprawls, but the center of town, the Centro where most of the hotels and attractions are located, rises above the river on a slight hill. As the largest city and a major port on the river, Manaus is commercial. Local industries include brewing, shipbuilding, soap manufacturing, the production of chemicals, computers, motorcycles and petroleum refining of oil brought in by barge and tourism.[20][21]
The mobile phone companies Nokia, Siemens, Sagem, Gradiente and BenQ-Siemens operate mobile phone manufacturing plants in Manaus.[22][23] Plastic lens manufacturer Essilor also has a plant here. The Brazilian sport utility vehicle manufacturer Amazon Veiculos is headquartered in Manaus.[24] Two airlines, Rico Linhas Aéreas and Manaus Aerotáxi, have headquarters on the grounds of Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus.[25][26]
The GDP for the city was R$ 31,916,257,000 (2006).[27]
The per capita income for the city was R$ 18,902 (2006) or about US$10,661.[28]
The Free Economic Zone of Manaus (Portuguese: Zona Franca de Manaus - ZFN) is located in the city of Manaus, the capital of the State of Amazonas, Northern Brazil. The initial idea, a Free Trade Port in Manaus, came from Deputy Francisco Pereira da Silva and was subsequently formalized by Law No. 3.173 on June 6, 1957. The project was approved by the National Congress on October 23, 1951 under No. 1.310 and regulated by Decree No. 47.757 on February 2, 1960. It was then amended by rapporteur Maurcio Jopper, engineer, who by agreement with the original author, justified the creation of a Free Trade Zone instead of a Free Trade Port.[1] For the first ten years the ZFM (Manaus Free Trade Zone) was located in a warehouse rented from Manaus Harbour, in the Port of Manaus, and relied on federal funds. It was perhaps due to this lack of its own resources that there was little credibility in the project. On February 28, 1967, President Castello Branco signed Decree-Law No. 288, whose draft accompanied the Exposition of Motives. Decree-Law No. 288 amended the provisions of Law No. 3.173/57 and redefined the Manaus Free Trade Zone in more concrete terms. The new Decree-Law stipulated that the Manaus Free Trade Zone would have a radius of 10,000 km (6,200 mi) with an industrial centre as well as an agricultural center and that these would be given the economic means to allow for regional development in order to lift the Amazon out of the economic isolation that it had fallen into at that time. Decree No. 61.244 of August 28, 1967 created the Manaus Free Trade Zone Superintendence, SUFRAMA, an autarchy with its own legal status and assets and having financial and administrative autonomy. Tax incentives and the subsequent complementary legislation created comparative advantages in the region with respect to other parts of the country and as a result the Manaus Free Trade Zone attracted new investment to the area. These incentives constituted tax exemptions administered federally by SUFRAMA and SUDAM.
The city has several universities:
Eduardo Gomes International Airport is the airport serving Manaus. The airport has two passenger terminals, one for scheduled flights and the other for regional aviation. It also has three cargo terminals
Eduardo Gomes International Airport is Brazil's third largest in freight movement,[29] handling the import and export demand from the Manaus Industrial Complex. For this reason, Infraero invested in construction of the third cargo terminal, opened on December 14, 2004.
Manaus Air Force Base, a base of the Brazilian Air Force is at the former Ponta Pelada Airport.
There are two federal highways connecting the city to the rest of the country. There is a paved road going North (BR-174) connecting Manaus to Boa Vista, capital of the State of Roraima, and to Venezuela. The BR-319 goes South connecting Manaus to Porto Velho, Rondônia.
Ships dock at the main port in Manaus directly downtown. Lying on the banks of the Negro River, it is 1,450 kilometers (900 mi) inland in the heart of the Amazon rain forest. The terraced city is home to a network of bridged channels that divide it into several compartments. Several mobile phone companies have manufacturing plants in the Port of Manaus, and other major electronics manufacturers have plants there. Major exports include Brazil nuts, chemicals, petroleum, electrical equipment, and forest products, and eco-tourism is an increasingly important source of income for the city. The recent discovery of petroleum in the area brings great promise of further wealth and commerce to the Port of Manaus.
Today, the Port of Manaus is an important commercial center for ocean-going vessels traveling the Amazon. In fact, it is the main transport hub for the entire upper Amazon Basin. It imports beef from the hinterlands and exports hides and leather. Important industries in the Port of Manaus include manufacturing of soap, chemicals, electronics equipment as well as shipbuilding, brewing, and petroleum refining. With so much industry and commerce, the Port of Manaus has become a sophisticated cosmopolitan center. Located next to the Amazon rain forest, it also attracts crowds of tourists who find a variety of land and boat trips into the jungle. Wildlife is plentiful, even within the city, and it is home to the Pied Tamarin, one of Brazil's most endangered primates. Tour boats take visitors to see the point where the black waters of the Rio Negro meet the Solimões River's brown waters, flowing together without mixing for nine kilometers (5.5 miles).[30]
Manaus is a cosmopolitan city, and, because of its location next to the Amazon rain forest, it attracts a substantial number of Brazilian and foreign tourists, who can find plenty of boat and land trips into the surrounding jungle. A great diversity of wildlife can be found even in the surroundings of Manaus. It is also home to one of the most endangered primates in Brazil, the Pied tamarin.
Tour boats leave Manaus to see the Meeting of the Waters, where the black waters of the Negro River meet the brown waters of the Solimoes River, flowing side by side without mixing for about 9 km. Visitors can also explore river banks and "igarapes", swim and canoe in placid lakes or simply walk in the lush forest or stay at hotels in the jungle.
About 18 km (11 mi) from downtown is Ponta Negra beach, a neighbourhood that has a beachfront and popular nightlife area. A luxurious hotel is located at the west end of Ponta Negra; its small but very interesting zoo and orchid greenhouse as well as preserved woods and beach are open for public visits.
The Mercado Adolpho Lisboa, founded in 1882, is the city's oldest marketplace, trading in fruit, vegetables, and especially fish. It is a copy of the Les Halles market of Paris. Other interesting historical sites include the customs building, of mixed styles and medieval inspiration; the Rio Negro Palace cultural center; and the Justice Palace, right next to the Amazonas Opera House.
Manaus has also many large parks with native forest preservation areas, such as the Bosque da Ciência and Parque do Mindú. The largest urban forest in the world is located within Federal University of Amazonas, which was founded on January 17, 1909 and is the oldest federal university of Brazil.
The city has a busy cultural calendar throughout the year, including the Opera, Theater, Jazz and Cinema festivals, as well as Boi Manaus (usually held around Manaus' anniversary on the 24th of October), which is a great celebration of Northern Brazilian culture through Boi-Bumbá music.
The Amazonas Opera House has 700 seats and was constructed with bricks brought over from Europe, French glass and Italian marble. Several important opera and theater companies, as well as international orchestras, have already performed there.[31]
Ponta Negra Cultural, Sport and Leisure Park
Ponta Negra beach, located 13 km (8.1 mi) from downtown Manaus, is one of the city's most important tourist attctions. It also has an amphitheater with capacity for 15.000 people.
Adolpho Ducke Botanical Garden
The Adolpho Ducke Botanical Garden, inside a 100 km² ecological reserve, holds a huge number of plant and animal species.[32]
Municipal Park of Mindú
It is located in an urban area, in the November 10 Park district. It was created in 1992 to be an area of ecological interest. It covers an area of 330,000 m2 (3,552,090 sq ft) of forest remaining from the Township, and is used for scientific, educational, cultural and tourist activities. It is one of the last habitats for the sauim-de-coleira, a species of monkey that only exists in the Manaus region and is threatened with extinction. It is possible to walk through four distinct ecosystems in the park: land covered by secondary growth, firm ground brush, sandbanks and degraded areas that were illegally cleared in 1989. It also has an amphitheater for 600 people, gardens planted with medicinal and aromatic herbs, orchid nursery, aerial trails and signs aiming to develop environmental education programs.[33]
The Tarumã, Tarumãzinho and Cachoeira das Almas bayous (branches of rivers), located near the city, are leisure spots for the population on weekends. Manaus has several public swimming areas that are being remodeled and urbanized lately. There are also many private clubs that can be visited.
This natural phenomenon is caused by the confluence of the Negro River's dark water and the Solimões River's muddy brown water that come together to form the Amazonas River. For 6 km (3.7 mi), both rivers waters run side by side, without mixing. This phenomenon is caused by the great difference between the water temperatures and current speeds. The Negro River flows approximately 2 km/h (1.2 mi/h) at 28 °C (82 °F), while the Solimões River flows 4 to 6 km/h (2.4 to 3.7 mi/h) at 22 °C (72 °F).[34]
The zoo is open to the public. It is managed by the Brazilian Army and has approximately 300 species of animals from the Amazon fauna.[35]
For outings to beaches and parks situated near the city, it is often necessary to use boats. The beaches are formed right after the river water level starts dropping, which lasts from August to November. Starting in December, as the river rises, the waters invade the sand and the woods on the banks. The Paricatuba Waterfall, located on the right bank of the Negro River, along a small tributary, is formed by sedimentary rocks, surrounded by abundant vegetation. Access is by boat. The best time to visit is from August to February. Love Cascade located in the Guedes bayou, with cold and crystal clear water, is accessible only by boat and, then, hiking through the forest.
Tupé Beach is approximately 34 km (21 mi) from Manaus, this beach is well frequented by bathers on holidays and weekends. It is accessible only by boat. Moon Beach is located on the left bank of the Negro River, 23 km (14 mi) from Manaus. It is accessed only by boat. The beach is shaped like a crescent moon and is surrounded by rare vegetation. Lion waterfall is located on km 34 of the AM-010 highway (Manaus-Itacoatiara).
In football, the leading club in Manaus is the San Raimundo Sports Club – the Typhoon Hill (Tufão da Colina), founded on November 18, 1918, participant of the Series B (2nd division) of the Brazilian Championship until 2006, when it was demoted. It is a 7-times states champion, 3-times North Cup champion. Due to its rise to the second division, there was a big increase in attendance, and thus São Raimundo became the largest among the crowd attendance in the state of Amazonas. It participated in a Conmebol Cup and thus its name is remembered outside the country.
There is also Nacional Football Club, founded on January 9, 1913, and called "Leão da Colina" (Lion Hill) the Athletic Club Rio Negro, called "Galo da Praça da Saudade" (Saudade Square Rooster) or "Barriga Preta" club (Black Belly), also founded in 1913, but in November, which is the second largest holder of state titles, and the National Fast Club, the Tricolor of the Boulevard" or "roll", founded in the early 40 years from a dissident's National Football Club, which has won six state championships, in addition to being Northern Region champion and North-Northeast Championshio runner-up in 1970.
Besides the "Colina" stadium, which has a capacity for 18.000 people, the largest stadium of Manaus is Vivaldo Lima (Vivaldão), which was inaugurated in 1970 by the Brazilian National Team in their last game in the country before the conquest of the thrice-world championship Mexico. It can hold up to 38,000 fans. Manaus is one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Manaus is the origin of several world-champion Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, mixed martial artists and submission grapplers. Champions such as Wallid Ismail, Saulo Ribeiro, Alexandre Ribeiro, Ronaldo Souza,and Bibiano Fernandes hail from Manaus. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a major component of MMA (mixed martial arts). Jose Aldo (born September 9, 1986) is the current UFC World Featherweight Champion and a black-belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Aldo defeated Mike Brown at WEC 44 to win the title and has since successfully defended his title against Urijah Faber , Manvel Gamburyan , Mark Hominick and Kenny Florian.
Manaus has the following twin cities:
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