State of Maranhão
Capital (and largest city)		São Luís
Demonym		Maranhense
Government
-	Governor	Jackson Lago
-	Vice Governor	Luiz Porto
Area
-	Total	331.983,293 km² (8th)
Population
-	2006 estimate	6,184,538 (10th)
-	2005 census	6,109,684
-	Density	18. São Luís is the capital of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a People or the inhabitants of a place For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions  Areas between 10000 km² and 100000 km² are listed here There are 27 States of Brazil, or Estados in Portuguese which are the federal states of Brazil, plus the Federal District which holds the capital city In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. There are 26 States of Brazil, or Estados in Portuguese which are the federal states of Brazil, plus the Federal District which holds the capital city Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 6/km² (16th)
GDP		2005 estimate
-	Total	R$ 25,326,000,000 (16th)
-	Per capita	R$ 4,150 (26th)
HDI (2000)		0. There are 27 States of Brazil, or Estados in Portuguese which are the federal states of Brazil, plus the Federal District which holds the capital city Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article lists Brazilian states by Gross Domestic Product. Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head with Per meaning 'through' or 'by' This article lists Brazilian states by Gross Domestic Product. The Human Development Index ( HDI) is an index combining normalized measures of Life expectancy, Literacy, Educational attainment, and GDP 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. 636 (medium) (27th)
Abbreviation		BR-MA
Time zone		BRT (UTC-3)
-	Summer (DST)	BRST (UTC-2)

Maranhão (pronounced [maɾaˈɲɐ̃w̃]^[1]) is one of the states of Brazil in the north-eastern region. This is a list of Brazilian states by Human Development Index as included in the 2008 United Nations Development Program 's Report compiled on the basis of 2005 data and published ISO 3166-2 is the second part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO ISO 3166-2BR is an ISO standard which defines Geocodes it is the subset of ISO 3166-2 which applies to Brazil. Brazil has three Time zones It also observes summer time; however not only do the starting and ending dates often change from year to year it is also not followed Areas using UTC−3 Single zone countries without DST Suriname Single zone countries with DST Summer is one of the four Temperate Seasons Summer marks the warmest time of year with the longest days Daylight saving time ( DST Brazil has three Time zones It also observes summer time; however not only do the starting and ending dates often change from year to year it is also not followed UTC−2 is used as offset for Argentina (DST only except for San Luis Province) Brazil: Ocean Islands - The Federative Republic of Brazil is a union of twenty-six estados ("states" singular estado) and formed by the states and one district the Distrito |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld To the north is the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Neighboring states are (from east clockwise) Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. Piauí (piaw'i is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country Tocantins (tokɐ̃ˈtĩs is one of the states of Brazil.The state was formed in 1988 out of the northern part of Goiás, and construction began on Pará (pa'ɾa is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northern part of the country Maranhão has a different accent, and not without reasons. Before the Portuguese settled there, there had already been French and Dutch settlers. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The marks of these many invasions remain until today. Books such as The Land of the Palm Trees, by Gonçalves Dias, Casas de Pensão by Aluísio de Azevedo, the play by Arthur de Azevedo, Maranhão shines on the dunes of Lençóis, an important area of environment preservation, and even in the tiles of the big houses of São Luís, Historic site of Humanity. In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes. The Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses is located in Maranhão state in northeastern Brazil, just east of the House generally refers to a Shelter or Building that is a Dwelling or place for Habitation by Human beings. São Luís is the capital of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. Another important area of conservation is the delta of Parnaíba, between the states of Maranhão and Piauí, with its lagoons, desert dunes and deserted beaches or islands, such as the Caju island, that shelters rare birds. Piauí (piaw'i is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country A lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow salt or Brackish water separated from the deeper Sea by a shallow or exposed sandbank, coral A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs.

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 4 Economy 5 Interesting facts 6 Education 6.1 Educational institutions 7 Infrastructure 7.1 International Airport 7.2 National airport 7.3 Highways 8 Flag 9 Portrayals in film 10 References 11 Notes 12 See also

Geography

The northern portion of the state is a heavily forested plain traversed by numerous rivers, occupied by the eastern extension of the tropical moist forests of Amazonia. Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF also known as tropical moist forests, are a Tropical and Subtropical Forest The Amazon Rainforest (Brazilian Portuguese: Floresta Amazônica or Amazônia; Spanish: Selva Amazónica or Amazonía The Tocantins-Araguaia-Maranhão moist forests occupy the northwestern portion of the state, extending from the Pindaré River west into neighboring Pará state. The Pindaré River is a river in Maranhão state of north-central Brazil. The north-central and northeastern portion of the state, extending eastward into northern Piauí, is home to the Maranhão Babaçu forests, a degraded tropical moist forest ecoregion dominated by the Babaçu palm. The Maranhão Babaçu forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest Ecoregion of north-central Brazil. Attalea speciosa ( Babassu, Babassu palm, Babaçu, Cusi; Syn Orbignya phalerata, Orbignya martiana Much of the forest has been cleared for cattle grazing and agriculture, and the Babaçu palm produces edible oil which is extracted commercially.

The southern portion of the state belong to the lower terraces of the great Brazilian Highlands, occupied by the Cerrado savannas. The Brazilian Highlands (or Planalto Brasileiro) are an extensive geographical region covering most of the eastern southern and central portions of Brazil The Cerrado ( English: "closed" or "inaccessible" is a vast Tropical savanna Ecoregion of Brazil. Several plateau escarpments, including the Chapada das Mangabeiras, Serra do Tiracambu, and Serra das Alpercatas, mark the state's northern margin and the outlines of river valleys. In Geomorphology, an escarpment is a transition zone between different physiogeographic provinces that involves a sharp steep Elevation differential characterized The Chapada das Mangabeiras is a mountain range in central Brazil. The Serra do Tiracambu is a mountain range in Maranhão state of north-central Brazil.

The climate is hot, and the year is divided into a wet and dry season, extreme humidity being characteristic of the former. The heat, however, is greatly modified on the coast by the south-east trade winds.

The rivers of the state all flow northward to the Atlantic and a majority of them have navigable channels. The Gurupi River forms the northwestern boundary of the state, separating Maranhão from neighboring Pará, and the Tocantins River forms part the state's southwestern boundary with Tocantins state. The Gurupí River is a river in north-central Brazil which forms the boundary between Maranhão and Pará states The Tocantins is a River, the central fluvial artery of Brazil. Tocantins (tokɐ̃ˈtĩs is one of the states of Brazil.The state was formed in 1988 out of the northern part of Goiás, and construction began on The Parnaíba River forms the eastern boundary of Maranhão, but it has one large tributary, the Balsas, entirely within the state. The Parnaíba River is a river in Brazil, which forms the border between the states of Maranhão and Piauí. Other rivers in the state include the Turiassu (or Turiaçu) which runs just east of the Gurupi, emptying into the Baía de Turiassu; the Mearim, Pindaré, and Grajaú, which empty into the Baía de São Marcos; and the Itapecuru and Munim which discharge into the Baía de São José. The Mearim River is a river in Maranhão state of northern Brazil. The Pindaré River is a river in Maranhão state of north-central Brazil. The Baía de São Marcos is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Maranhão state of northeastern Brazil. The Itapecuru River, also known as the Itapicuru River, is a river in Maranhão state of northern Brazil. The Baía de São José is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Maranhão state of northeastern Brazil. Like the Amazon, the Mearim has a pororoca or tidal bore in its lower channel, which greatly interferes with navigation. The pororoca is a Tidal bore, with waves up to 4 meters high that travel as much as 13 kilometers inland upstream on the Amazon River. A tidal bore (or just bore, or eagre) is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves of water that travel

The western coastline has many small indentations, which are usually masked by islands or shoals. The largest of these are the Baía de Turiassu, facing which is São João Island, and the contiguous bays of São Marcos and São José, between which is the large island of São Luís. São Luís Island is an Island in Brazil, located between the Baía de São Marcos and the Baía de São José in Maranhão state This indented shoreline is home to the Maranhão mangroves, the tallest mangrove forests in the world. The Maranhão mangroves is a Mangrove Ecoregion of northern Brazil. The coastline east of Baía de São José is less indented and characterized by sand dunes, including the stark dune fields of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, as well as restinga forests that form on stabilized dunes. The Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses is located in Maranhão state in northeastern Brazil, just east of the for the municipality in Brazil's São Paulo state see Restinga São Paulo.

History

The first known European to explore Maranhão was the Spanish explorer Vicente Yáñez Pinzón in 1500, but was granted to João de Barros in 1534 as a Portuguese hereditary captaincy. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Vicente Yáñez Pinzón ( Palos de la Frontera ( Spain) c 1460 &ndash after 1523 was a Spanish Navigator, explorer, and Conquistador João de Barros (ʒuˈɐ̃w̃ dɨ ˈbaʁuʃ (1496&ndash October 20, 1570) called the Portuguese Livy, is one of the first great Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. A captaincy is a historical Administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese Colonial empires Each was governed by a Captain The first European settlement, however, was made by a French trading expedition under Jacques Riffault, of Dieppe, in 1594, who lost two of his three vessels in the vicinity of São Luís Island, and left a part of his men on that island when he returned home. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Dieppe is a town and commune in the Seine-Maritime department and Haute-Normandie region of France. São Luís Island is an Island in Brazil, located between the Baía de São Marcos and the Baía de São José in Maranhão state Subsequently Daniel de La Touche, Seigneur de La Rividière was sent to report on the place, and was then commissioned by the French crown to found a colony on the island; this was done in 1612. The French were expelled by the Portuguese in 1615, and the Dutch held the island from 1641 to 1644. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands In 1621 Ceara, Maranhão and Pará were united and called the "Estado do Maranhao," which was made independent of the southern captaincies. Very successful Indian missions were soon begun by the Jesuits, who were temporarily expelled as a result of a civil war in 1684 for their opposition to the enslavement of the Indians. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order Ceara was subsequently detached, but the "state" of Maranhao remained independent until 1774, when it again became subject to the colonial administration of Brazil.

Maranhão did not join in the Brazilian declaration of independence of 1822, but in the following year the Portuguese were driven out by Admiral Lord Cochrane and it became part of the Empire of Brazil. Admiral Lord Sir Thomas Alexander Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Marquês do Maranhão GCB, RN (14 December The Empire of Brazil was a political entity that comprised present-day Brazil under the rule of Emperors Pedro I and his son Pedro II.

São Luís is the Brazilian state capital which most closely resembles a Portuguese city. By the early 20th century São Luís has about 30,000 inhabitants, and contained several convents, charitable institutes, the episcopal palace, a fine Carmelite church, and an ecclesiastical seminary. The historic city center was declared a world heritage site in 1997. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex

Demographics

According to the IBGE of 2007, there were 6,199,000 people residing in the state. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro de Gehjgygmmliografia e Estatística is the agency responsible for Statistical The population density was 18. 6 inh. /km².

Urbanization: 68. Urbanizationn (also spelled urbanisation) is the physical growth of Urban areas into rural or natural land as a result of population in-migration to an existing 1% (2004); Population growth: 1. Population growth is the change in Population over time and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals in a population using "per unit time" for 5% (1991-2000); Houses: 1,442,500 (2005). House generally refers to a Shelter or Building that is a Dwelling or place for Habitation by Human beings. ^[2]

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 4,060,345 Multiracial people (65. Brazil does not have a category for multiracial people but a Pardo (brown one which may include people of mixed European, African and Amerindian 5%), 1,549,750 White people (25. According to the 2006 census White Brazilians make up 497% of Brazil's population or around 93 million people 0%), 539,000 Black people (8. Afro-Brazilian, or Black Brazilian, is the term used to racially categorize Brazilian citizens who are black or Multiracial 7%), 49,000 Asian or Amerindian people (0. An Asian Brazilian is a Brazilian born person of Asian ancestry The Indigenous peoples in Brazil ( Portuguese: povos indígenas) comprise a large number of distinct Ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to 8%). ^[3]

Economy

The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 54. 5%, followed by the industrial sector at 25. 4%. Agriculture represents 20. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture 1%, of GDP (2004). Maranhão exports: aluminium 50%, iron 23. WikipediaNaming Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 7%, soybean 13. 1% (2002).

Share of the Brazilian economy: 0. 9% (2004). ^[4]

This State is also known as the land of the palm trees, as the various species of this tree provide its major source of income. The most important of them, from an economic point of view, is the babassu. The agribusiness, the aluminium and alumina transformation industries, and the food and timber industries complement the state economy.

Interesting facts

Vehicles: 366,681 (jan. Vehicles, derived from the Latin word vehiculum, are non-living Means of transport. /2006); Mobile phones: 1. 2 million (2006); Telephones: 519 thousand (2006); Cities: 217 (2006). Basic principle A traditional landline telephone system also known as "plain old telephone service" (POTS, commonly handles both signaling and audio information A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status ^[5]

Education

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution

Educational institutions

• Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA) (Federal University of Maranhão) www. ufma. br;
• Universidade Estadual do Maranhão (UEMA) (State University of Maranhão) www. uema. br;
• Centro Universitário do Maranhão (UNICEUMA) (University Center of Maranhão) www. ceuma. br;
• Unidade de Ensino Superior do Sul do Maranhão (UNISULMA);
• Unidade de Ensino Superior Dom Bosco (UNDB);
• Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do Maranhão (CEFET-MA);
• and many others.

Infrastructure

International Airport

• São Luís

Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport. With a covered area of 8,100 square meters and capacity of up to a million passengers a year, the airport is located 13 kilometers from the city center. In October 2004 it began receiving international flights, in response to a longstanding request from tour operators in the region. The Maranhão State Extraordinary Secretariat of Tourism has been working to attract charter flights from European countries, such as Portugal, Italy, Germany and Spain. This is a list of countries in Europe with their English and domestic language long and short names and associated capital cities Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

National airport

• Caxias

Imperatriz- Prefeito Renato Moreira Airport. Infraero has administered the airport since November 3, 1980. Infraero is a Brazilian Government corporation created in 1970 and responsible for administering the main Brazilian commercial airports Exactly one year later it was officially opened to traffic. The passenger terminal structure, initially built by COMARA, was modified and expanded in 1998, receiving improvements such as new arrival and departure areas, an expanded main concourse and air conditioning of the entire terminal. This article is about passengers in commercial transportation for other uses see Passenger (disambiguation A passenger is a term broadly used

Highways

BR-010 and BR-230.

Flag

The flag of Maranhão was designed by the poet Joaquim de Souza Andrade, and was adopted by decree nr. 6, of December 21, 1889. Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian Year 1889 ( MDCCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

The colored strips symbolize the different ethnic groups which make up the population, and their mixing and living together. The white star in the upper left corner symbolizes Maranhão itself, and is supposed to be Beta Scorpii, as the constellation Scorpius is also depicted on the national flag of Brazil. Beta Scorpii (β Sco / β Scorpii is a Star system in the Constellation Scorpius. Scorpius ( Latin for Scorpion, symbol, Unicode ♏ is one of the Constellations of the Zodiac. The flag of Brazil has a Green field on which a large Yellow Rhombus is centered The flag has a ratio of 2:3.

Portrayals in film

• Andrucha Waddington's The House of Sand (Casa de Areia, 2005) prominently features the sand dunes of Maranhão. The House of Sand ( Casa de Areia in Portuguese) is a 2006 Brazilian film directed by Andrucha Waddington. The Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses is located in Maranhão state in northeastern Brazil, just east of the

References

Notes

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
• This article incorporates text from the Catholic Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain. The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia

See also

• (English) Brazil
• (Portuguese) Official Website
• (English) Brazilian Tourism Portal
• (English) Maranhao's location on a 3D globe (Java)
• (Portuguese) Tourism website
• (Portuguese) Caxias city historic

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