Macapá

Macapá
—  Municipality  —
The Municipality of Macapá
Macapá equator
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): "A Capital do Meio do Mundo" ("The Capital of the Middle of the World")
Location of Macapá in the State of Amapá
Coordinates: 0°2′2″N 51°3′59″W
Country	Brazil
Region	North
State	Amapá
Founded	February 9, 1758
Government
• Mayor	Clécio Luís (PSOL)
Area
• Total	6.563 km2 (2.534 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	368,397
• Density	56.1/km2 (145/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3
Postal Code	68900-000

Macapá is a city in Brazil. It is the capital of Amapá state. The city is located in the North Region, and is the only state capital that has no highway connections with other capitals. Also of interest is the fact that the north and south sections of the city are divided by the equator.

Regional statistics

Macapá has a population of 499,166 in its metropolitan area, Macapá is the third largest urban area in the North. It is also the fifth wealthiest city in northern Brazil, being responsible for 2.85% of the entire region's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Its area is 6407 km ² representing 4.4863% of the area of the state, 0.1663% and 0.0754% of the Region of the Brazilian territory that total 32.7 km ² are in the urban perimeter. The city alone accounts for 60% of the population of state of Amapá and 3.50% of the population of the entire northern region of Brazil. According to the 2010 census, the city has a population of 397,913, of which 97.92% live in urban areas and 2.08% live in rural districts. With an area of 6563 km ², the population density of Macapá is approximately 60.62 inhabitants per km ². Macapá stands out, among the majority of Brazilian cities, by rapid economic growth seen in its population. The name Macapá is of Tupi origin and is a variation of "Macaba", which means place of many bacabas, a palm tree native to the region, the bacabeira (scientific name 'Oenocarpus bacaba Mart.'). Before being named Macapá, the first name for the city was Nueva Andalucia Adelantado, officially granted by Charles V of Spain in 1544, in a concession to Francisco de Orellana, a Spanish navigator who was in the region.

History

Macapá is a corruption of the Tupi word macapaba, or place of many bacabas. A bacaba is the fruit of the local palm. The Spanish called it Adelantado de Nueva Andalucía when it was claimed for Spain by Francisco de Orellana in 1544. In 1738 a Portuguese military detachment was stationed in Macapá, and on February 4, 1758 Sebastião Veiga Cabral, the illegitimate child of the military governor of Trás-os-Montes, Sebastião Veiga Cabral, founded the town of São José de Macapá, under the authority of the governor of Pará, Francisco Xavier de Mendonça Furtado.

The fortress of São José de Macapá was first laid out in 1764, but it took 18 years to complete, due to illness among the Indian workers, and escapes made by the Black workers.

Macapá gained international notoriety in December 2001 when international yachtsman Peter Blake, from New Zealand, was murdered while anchored on his explorer yacht Seamaster in Macapá port.

Geography

Location

Macapá is located 345 km from Belém, but is accessible only by boat or airplane. There are no through roads to "mainland Brazil", although it is possible to drive to Georgetown, Guyana.

Vegetation

The natural vegetation in the Macapá region is tropical rainforest. This biome is characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 2,000 mm (about 78 inches or 2 meters) and 1700 mm (about 67 inches). The soil can be poor because high rainfall tends to leach out soluble nutrients. There are several common characteristics of tropical rainforest trees. Tropical rainforest species frequently possess one or more of the following attributes not commonly seen in trees of higher latitudes or trees in drier conditions on the same latitude.

Climate

Macapá features a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification with a lengthy wet season which runs from December through August, and a relatively short dry season that covers the remaining three months. However, a noticeable amount of rain is observed even during the dry season, a trait common to a number of other cities with this climate. Average temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the course of the year, hovering around 23 °C (73 °F) in the mornings and 31 °C (88 °F) in the afternoon.

Climate data for Macapá
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	29.7 (85.5)	29.2 (84.6)	29.3 (84.7)	29.5 (85.1)	30.0 (86)	30.3 (86.5)	30.6 (87.1)	31.5 (88.7)	32.1 (89.8)	32.6 (90.7)	32.3 (90.1)	31.4 (88.5)	30.71 (87.28)
Daily mean °C (°F)	26.4 (79.5)	26.2 (79.2)	26.3 (79.3)	26.5 (79.7)	26.8 (80.2)	26.8 (80.2)	26.8 (80.2)	27.4 (81.3)	27.8 (82)	28.1 (82.6)	27.9 (82.2)	27.4 (81.3)	27.03 (80.65)
Average low °C (°F)	23.0 (73.4)	23.1 (73.6)	23.2 (73.8)	23.5 (74.3)	23.5 (74.3)	23.2 (73.8)	22.9 (73.2)	23.3 (73.9)	23.4 (74.1)	23.5 (74.3)	23.5 (74.3)	23.4 (74.1)	23.29 (73.92)
Rainfall mm (inches)	299.6 (11.795)	347.0 (13.661)	407.2 (16.031)	384.3 (15.13)	351.5 (13.839)	220.1 (8.665)	184.8 (7.276)	98.0 (3.858)	42.6 (1.677)	35.5 (1.398)	58.4 (2.299)	142.5 (5.61)	2,571.5 (101.239)
Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm)	23	22	24	24	25	22	19	13	6	5	6	14	203
Mean monthly sunshine hours	148.8	113.1	108.5	114.0	151.9	189.0	226.3	272.8	273.0	282.1	252.0	204.6	2,336.1
Source: World Meteorological Organization (UN), Hong Kong Observatory

Economy

The GDP for the city was R$ 2,826,458,000 (2005).

The per capita income for the city was R$ 7,950 (2005).

Education

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and French (due to the proximity with French Guiana) are part of the official high school curriculum.

Educational institutions

• Universidade Federal do Amapá (Unifap);
• Universidade Estadual do Amapá (UEAP);
• Instituto Federal do Amapá (IFAP)
• Faculdade de Macapá (Fama);
• Faculdade de Tecnologia do Amapá (META);
• Instituto Macapaense do Melhor Ensino Superior (IMMES);
• Faculdade Seama;
• and many others.

Transportation

International airport

Macapá International Airport.

The city is served by Alberto Alcolumbre International Airport.

Highways

The city is connected with the rest of the region via the following highways: AP-010, linking the capital to the city of Santana, southwest of Macapá; AP-030, linking Macapá to the city of Mazagão and BR-156, linking Macapá to the south of Amapá and to Pará, more specifically to the city of Laranjal do Jari, and to the north to the city of Oiapoque. In 2013, the Oyapoque River Bridge will open for traffic, linking Brazil and French Guiana for the first time.

External links

• Cidade de Macapá in Portuguese