Palmas, Tocantins

This article is about the city of Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil. For other uses, see Palmas.

Palmas
—  Municipality  —
Município de Palmas Municipality of Palmas
The Araguaia Palace (Palácio Araguaia) in the Praça dos Girassóis (or Sunflowers Square).
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Capital Ecológica (Ecological Capital)
Motto: Essa terra é nossa (This Land is Ours)
Location of Palmas in the State of Tocantins
Palmas Location of Palmas in Brazil
Coordinates: 10°11′04″S 48°20′01″W
Country	Brazil
Region	North
State	Tocantins
Founded	May 20, 1989
Government
• Mayor	Raul Filho (PT)
Area
• Total	2,218.9 km2 (856.7 sq mi)
Elevation	230 m (755 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	235,315
• Density	106.5/km2 (275.8/sq mi)
Demonym	Palmense
Time zone	UTC-3
Postal Code (CEP)	From 77000-001 to 77249-999
Area code(s)	+55 63
Website	City Hall of Palmas (Portuguese)

Palmas (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpawmɐs], Palm trees) is the capital of the Brazilian state of Tocantins. According to IBGE estimates from 2011, the city had 235,315 inhabitants. It has an area of 2474.95 km².

Palmas is located at the state geographic centre. The average altitude is 230 m (755 ft). The city is located between these hills and the Tocantins River. In the east Palmas is bordered by the Serra do Lajeado. The city is clearly investing in gardens, squares, flower beds and parks. The yearly average temperature variation is between 24°C (75°F) and 28°C (82°F) during the rain season (October-March) and 28°C (82°F) and 35°C (95°F) during the dry season (May-September). There is only little to moderate wind. Humidity: 76%. Palmas has several parks that offer some refreshment and calmness in the city that can be hot and restless.

Palmas was founded in 1990, with the purpose of being the capital of the newest Brazilian state Tocantins, which was established after the promulgation of the new 1988 Brazilian Constitution. The city has a well-designed road system, and its urban zoning is modelled on that of Brasília. It has a symmetrical park in the city centre. In 2002, the Lajeado Hydroelectric Power Plant reservoir was completed, at which point the city gained many river beaches, and also the huge Ponte da Amizade Presidente Fernando Henrique Cardoso, which crosses over 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) over the reservoir, connecting Palmas with the major highway BR-153.

The Palmas Airport connects Palmas with many Brazilian cities.

The city is also home to the Federal University of Tocantins.

Geography

Tocantins form the boundary between the Amazon Rainforest and the coastal savanna. As a result, the state's geography is varied. Many rivers cross through the state (including one of the same name), and there are over 20 archaeologically significant sites found in Tocantins.

Climate

Most of Tocantins, including where Palmas is located, (except the extreme west and northern regions) is situated within a vast Brazilian area known as the cerrado. The cerrado region's typical climate is hot, semi-humid, with pronounced seasonality marked by a dry winter season from May through October. The annual rainfall is around 800 to 1600 mm. The soils are generally very old, deep, and naturally nutrient-poor. Palmas is known as one of Brazil's hottest capitals. During May to October dry season Palmas can be oppressively hot as temperatures clime into high 30's. During October to May rainy season it is not as hot, as during heavy rains and cloud cover it is much cooler. Palmas receives generous rainfall of about 1,500 mm. Contributing to Palmas´ reputation as a hot capital is its situation in a ´bow´ valley of Rio Tocantins and surrounded by mountains from three sides, and low elevation, 195 meters above sea level.

Vegetation

In spite of being technically located in a watershed of Amazon basin, Palmas has no rainforest. Typical are tort shrubland trees common to a cerrado region. While the city layout was being developed, much of the original trees were left intact in green areas of widely spaced avenues. It is common to see much older trees on streets of Palmas than the city's age of only 21 years (as of 2011). Man-planted palms also grace main thoroughfare of Avenida JK.

History

The area where Palmas was built was originally used for agriculture. Before 1990, the only village in the location was Vila Canela (near the river Tocantins, and near the Graciosa beach). The village and the beach were often flooded by the new lake. The flat area of Palmas is right between the river and the Serra do Lajeado hills in the east, and the vegetation is the typical 'cerrado'. In 1989 Miracema was the temporary capital of the state. The new capital was initially designed by the architects Luiz Fernando Cruvinel Teixeira and Walfredo de Oliveira Filho. From 20 May 1989, some of the roads and baracas were built. It was decided to be built on the east side of the river, so the forgotten east side of the state would develop as well. The location may have been chosen because it is the geodesic center of Brazil.

At the time before the lake's formatiom, the Tocantins River made curves, forming what would look like the English letter S when looking at bird's eye view. It is said that Mr. Siquera Campos enjoyed the S-like formation, and that added to the choice of the location for Palmas. When the area was chosen in January 1989, Campos decided he wanted the Palacio (the state headquarter) to be built on the highest place in Palmas. Although the architects said the hill was too soft to build on, it was still built. The temporary Palacinho (said to be the first building in Palmas) still exists close from the new one, and it is kept as a monument. Since 2002, it was used as a museum for Tocantins' history.

Economy

Palmas was designed to be the economic and administrative center of Tocantins, and because of this, the service sector is the main sector of the economy Palmense. The share of agriculture in the economy Palmense is less than the service sector, being based on small farms around the city and the highways that provide access to Palmas, and large farms planting soybeans and livestock in the district of Buritirana.

The economy is mostly formal, consisting primarily of limited partnerships and sole proprietorships. Micro firms are the most common in the city, where they comprise over 80% of companies Palmense 4394. The city has four industrial districts, among them the Industrial District of Palmas, Tocantins Industrial District I Industrial District and Industrial District Tocantins II of Taquaralto. All of them are located along the highways and TO-050 TO-010.

Today Palmas city became a center whose trade and economic influence covers the entire state of Tocantins, in addition to the southeast of Pará, northeastern and southern Mato Grosso do Maranhão. In town, there are branches of the following banks: Bank of Brazil (7 agencies), Banco Bradesco (five agencies, one of Bradesco Prime), Federal Savings Bank (3 branches, 3 more ATMs), Itaú Unibanco (3 agencies), Bank of Amazonia (2 branches), HSBC (1 agency), Santander (an agency), Banco BMG (an agency), Banco Cruzeiro do Sul (an agency), and Triangle Bank (an agency). Moreover, Palmas also has seven self-service terminals of the network bank 24.

Gross Domestic Product

In 2007 the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the sum of wealth produced in Palmas, and had a strong expansion was estimated at $ 2.2 billion, driven by investments of the City of Palms in the economy and also the proper time by which runs the country. The increase in GDP of Palmas was 6% and compared to that of Brazil was very considerable, as the country showed the percentage of 3.5%, and Capital, by the end of 2007, representing 18.4% of the wealth generated Tocantins and 0.08% in the country. Due to this growth, Palms has received major investments, such as the Capim Dourado Shopping (inaugurated in August/2010), the multimodal yard of the North-South (located in the municipality of Porto Nacional, on the banks of the TO-080), plus branches of hypermarket networks: Atacadão, Makro, Extra and Assam.

Education

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus it is primary language taught in schools although English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum.

Educational Institutions

• Universidade Federal do Tocantins (UFT);
• Centro Universitário Luterano de Palmas (Ceulp-Ulbra);
• Faculdade Católica do Tocantins (Católica do Tocantins);
• Fundação Universidade do Tocantins (Unitins);
• Faculdade Objetivo;
• and a few others.

Tourism

Very close to Palmas is located Taquaruçu, an ecotourism resort and village located in the hills, whose microclimate and natural surroundings attract a lot of tourists from Palmas, other regions of Brazil and abroad. Taquaruçu is famous for the many waterfalls (cachoeiras) surrounding it, where tourists can go to swim and practice sports like rappel.

Transport

Palmas has an efficient public bus service. Large fleet of late-model buses carry passengers to all corners of the city. Busfare (as of 2011) was R$1,85 (exchange rate to US dollar as of March 2011 is about R$1,65). Palmas has an interstate bus service. Rodoviaria (central bus station) is located at the edge of city, with connections to all capitals of Brazil.

Airport

Palmas Airport.

The city is served by the Palmas Airport. Planned for a population of one million, Palmas airport is uncrowded, with only a few flights per day, mostly to and from Brasilia. Airport is 30 km from city center, and is served by city bus (2 buses). Taxi ride to the airport is expensive, R$65 (as of March 2011).

Highways

Rodovia Coluna Prestes (TO-050), that connects with Brasília. BR-153 and BR-010. Federal Highway (BR-153) connects Palmas north and south through a 60 km drive west to Paraiso de Tocantins. BR-153 is mostly not twinned. Many accidents occur on this highway. Many state highways connect Palmas to all directions of the state. Paved highways are exception, not the rule. In many remoter locations, roads are unpaved.

Railway

There is no passenger rail service to Palmas. Newly constructed 'North-South Railway' (Ferrovia Norte-Sul), is near Palmas, and is intended to alleviate Brazil's heavy truck traffic and to carry bulk goods to ports in North-Eastern Brazil.

Sports

In sports, the most notable football club in the city is Palmas FR, which plays at the Nilton Santos Stadium. Palmas has several sports and entertainment clubs, with swimming pools, other sports and cultural programs, clubs such as AABB and SESC.

External links

• Tocantins Official Site to.gov.br
• Palmas Official Site palmas.to.gov.br
• Palmas English Site visitpalmas.com
• Taquaruçu Taquarussu.com