São Carlos
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| São Carlos | |||
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| Nickname(s): The Capital of Technology, Weather City and Sanca |
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| Motto: "A bandeirantibvs venio" (Latin) "Proceed from bandeirantes" |
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| Coordinates: 22°01′04″S 47°53′27″W / 22.01778°S 47.89083°W | |||
| Country | Brazil | ||
| Region | Southeast | ||
| State | São Paulo | ||
| Founded | 4 November 1857 | ||
| Incorporated | 1880 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Oswaldo Barba (PT) | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 1,140.92 km2 (440.5 sq mi) | ||
| - Urban | 67.25 km2 (26 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 856 m (2,808.4 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - City | 218,702 | ||
| - Density | 191.7/km2 (496.5/sq mi) | ||
| - Metro | 265,000 | ||
| Time zone | UTC-3 (UTC-3) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | UTC-2 (UTC-2) | ||
| Website | São Carlos | ||
| HDI (2000) 0.841 – high | |||
Coordinates: 22°01′04″S 47°53′27″W / 22.01778°S 47.89083°W
São Carlos (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w̃ ˈkaʁlus] (
listen); named after Saint Charles Borromeo) is a city of 220,000 inhabitants in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is located at 22°01′04″S 47°53′27″W / 22.01778°S 47.89083°W
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[edit] History
The city was founded during the "Golden Age of Coffee", in the year of 1857, by Antônio Carlos de Arruda Botelho, the "Count of Pinhal" (Conde do Pinhal), and was originally called "São Carlos do Pinhal" (pinhal is the Portuguese name, in Brazil, of the woodlands of Araucaria angustifolia). Eventually, the name was shortened to "São Carlos". Nowadays most of the region's agricultural production has shifted from coffee to sugar cane and dairy products, but the mainstay of the city's economy is industrialized and technological products.
[edit] Geography
São Carlos is located in the geographic center of the state of São Paulo, approximately 231 km (143 miles) from the City of São Paulo. Its altitude is over 856 m, offering a mild altitude climate. Most of the year the city is windy, sunny and with mild temperatures at night. For this reason the city is nicknamed "Cidade do Clima" (Weather City) and celebrates once a year an event called "Festa do Clima" (Portuguese for 'Weather Party'). The city has a total area of 1.141 km², which includes two districts to the north (Santa Eudóxia and Água Vermelha), one district to the west (Bela Vista São-carlense), and one district to the east (Vila Nery).
[edit] Economy and culture
The city has an active industrial profile and certain agricultural importance, backed by technologies developed by Embrapa, owner of two research complexes in the city. Due to the relatively high number of high technology industries situated in the city, it was nicknamed "The Capital of Technology".
The city hosts several locally-grown technology-based companies, such as Opto Eletrônicos, and factories of multinational corporations such as Faber Castell, Electrolux, Husqvarna, Tecumseh and the Brazilian factory of Volkswagen engines, and companies national corporations such as Toalhas São Carlos, Tapetes São Carlos, Papel São Carlos, Prominas Brasil and Latina.
São Carlos is home to two University of São Paulo (www.saocarlos.usp.br) campi and Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), two of the most important universities in Brazil. Moreover, other minor and private universities are also based in São Carlos. Because of this, São Carlos has a very high relative number of students, and that fact is reflected on the abundance of student-focused commercial establishments and the high number of student parties.
The cultural life is marked by the large number of college students that form a good audience for musical concerts of Brazilian contemporary alternative artists that usually include the city in their tours. There are many cafes where graduate students and professors socialize.
[edit] Sister cities
[edit] See also
- USP
- Rodovia Washington Luís
- São Carlos Airport
- São Carlos FC
- Estádio Luisão
- São Carlos Clube
- Estádio Paulista
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: São Carlos |
- (Portuguese) Aeronautical Engineering Students Website
- (Portuguese) Fundação Sistema Estadual de Análise de Dados has further demographic data for São Carlos.
- (Portuguese) Official Web Site of São Carlos City Hall
- (Portuguese) Official Web Site Aeronautical Museum
- (Portuguese) Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação (USP)
- (Portuguese) Instituto de Fisica de São Carlos (USP
- (Portuguese) Instituto de Química de São Carlos (USP)
- (English) Density Functional Theory Research Group
