Macapá
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| Macapá | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
| The Municipality of Macapá | |||
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| Nickname(s): "A Capital do Meio do Mundo" ("The Capital of the Middle of the World") | |||
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| Coordinates: 0°2′2″N 51°3′59″W / 0.03389°N 51.06639°W | |||
| Country |  Brazil |
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| Region | North | ||
| State |  Amapá |
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| Founded | February 9, 1758 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Roberto Goés (PDT) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 6.563 km2 (2.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| • Total | 368,397 | ||
| • Density | 56.1/km2 (145.3/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | UTC-3 | ||
| Postal Code | 68900-000 | ||
Macapá is a Brazilian city, 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.
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[edit] Regional Statistics
It is the fifth wealthiest city in northern Brazil, the municipality stands alone, 2.85% of the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the region, and with a population of 499,166 in its metropolitan area, Macapá is the third largest urban area in the North. 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 surveys conducted by IBGE in 2010, 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 "Macpaba", 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.
[edit] 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.[1] In 1738 a Portuguese military detachment was stationed in Macapá, and on 4 February 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.[1]
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.
[edit] Geography
[edit] Location
Macapá is located 345 km from Belém, but is accessible only by boat or airplane. There are no through roads [1] to "mainland Brazil", although it is possible to drive to Georgetown, Guyana.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Climate
Macapá has a tropical monsoon climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city features 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 precipitation 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 Macapá, with average daily temperatures hovering around 27 C.
| 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 (86.0) |
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 (82.0) |
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) |
| Precipitation 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) |
98.00 (3.8583) |
42.60 (1.6772) |
35.50 (1.3976) |
58.40 (2.2992) |
142.5 (5.61) |
2,571.5 (101.24) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 23 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 203 |
| 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),[2] Hong Kong Observatory[3] | |||||||||||||
[edit] Economy
The GDP for the city was R$ 2,826,458,000 (2005).[4]
The per capita income for the city was R$ 7,950 (2005).[5]
[edit] Education
The 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.
[edit] Educational institutions
- Universidade Federal do Amapá (Unifap);
- Universidade Estadual do Amapá (UEAP);
- Faculdade de Macapá (Fama);
- Faculdade de Tecnologia do Amapá (META);
- and many others.
[edit] Transportation
[edit] International airport
The city is served by Alberto Alcolumbre International Airport.
[edit] Highways
The city is connected with the rest of the country through 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.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c História de Macapá in Portuguese
- ^ "Weather Information for Macapa". http://www.worldweather.org/136/c01071.htm.
- ^ Climatological Information for Macapa, Brazil - Hong Kong Observatory
- ^ (in Portuguese) (PDF) GDP. Macapá, Brazil: IBGE. 2005. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/economia/pibmunicipios/2005/tab01.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
- ^ (in Portuguese) (PDF) per capita income. Macapá, Brazil: IBGE. 2005. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/economia/pibmunicipios/2005/tab01.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
[edit] External links
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- Cidade de Macapá in Portuguese
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