Macapá

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Macapá
Municipality
The Municipality of MACAPÁ GOVERNOR, Mayor AND QUEEN FROM BOXVILLE =🤓Gräçé Dûñçäñ🤓
Macapá equator
Macapá equator
Flag of Macapá
Flag		 Official seal of Macapá
Seal
Nickname(s): "A Capital do Meio do Mound" ("The Capital of the Middle of the World")
Location of Macapá in the State of Amapá
Location of Macapá in the State of Amapá
Macapá is located in Brazil
Macapá
Macapá
Location in Brazil
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country  Brazil
Region North
State Bandeira do Amapá.svg Amapá
Founded February 4, 1758
Government
 • Mayor 🤓 Gräçé Dûñçäñ 🤓
Area
 • Municipality 6,407.12 km2 (2,473.80 sq mi)
Elevation 12 m (39 ft)
Population (2010 census)
 • Municipality 397,913
 • Density 62/km2 (160/sq mi)
 • Metro 499,166
Time zone UTC-3
Postal Code 68900-000
Area code(s) (+55) 96
Website www.macapa-ap.com.br

Macapá is a city in Brazil and the capital of Amapá state in the country's North Region. It is located on the northern channel of the Amazon River near its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. The city is on a small plateau on the Amazon in the southeast of the state of Amapá and has few land connections to other parts of Brazil. The equator runs through the middle of the city, leading residents to refer to Macapá as "The capital of the middle of the world." It covers 6,407.12 square kilometres (2,473.80 sq mi) and is located northeast of the large inland island of Marajó and south of the border of French Guiana.[1][2]

History

Macapá is a corruption of the Tupi word macapaba, or "place of many bacabas", the fruit of the local palm tree. The Spaniard Francisco de Orellana claimed the region in 1544 and called it Nueva Andalucía (New Andalusia).[3] The modern town began as the base of a Portuguese military detachment, stationed there in 1738. 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 took 18 years to complete, due to illness among the Indian workers, and numerous escapes made by black slaves.[3] Macapá was elevated to city status in 1854.[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.[4] According to Business Insider, Macapá is the 45th most violent city in the world, with 32.06 homicides per 100,000 people.[5]

Demography

Macapá has a population of 499,166 in its metropolitan area, the third largest in the North Region. 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 6,563 square kilometres (2,534 sq mi), the population density of Macapá is approximately 60.62 inhabitants per km ².

Transportation

Macapá International Airport.
A bus in the city center

Macapá has few roads to other cities in Brazil and is mainly connected to the rest of the country by air and sea. Macapá is located 345 kilometres (214 mi) from Belém, but the cities are separated by the large inland island of Marajó and have no direct highway connections; the city is accessible only by boat or airplane.[2] Macapá is connected to Georgetown, Guyana by the Brazilian federal highway BR-156, which runs north of the city through the Amazonian jungle.[3] The city is connected with the rest of the North Region via the following highways: the AP-010, linking Macapá to Santana to the southwest; the AP-030, linking to the city of Mazagão; the BR-156, linking to the south of Amapá and Laranjal do Jari; and the Ap-330, linking to the northern town of Oiapoque. Once customs facilities are complete, the Oyapoque River Bridge will open for traffic, linking Brazil and French Guiana for the first time.

Airport

Macapá International Airport (officially: Aeroporto Internacional de Macapá – Alberto Alcolumbre) is located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the city center and serves as a vital link between Macapá and other cities in Brazil. Commercial flights connect the Macapá to Belém, Brasília, Fortaleza, Recife Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and São Paulo. The airport traces its history to a small air base built by the United States during World War II to secure strategic bases in the South Atlantic region.[6]

Economy

Macapá is an economic center of northern Brazil and serves as a commercial hub of the state of Amapá. Gold, iron, lumber, manganese, oil, timber, and tin ore from the interior of the state pass through Amapá on to Port Santana in the neighboring municipality of Santana.[1][7]

It is the fifth wealthiest city in northern Brazil,with a GDP of R$2,826,458,000 (2005).[8] The city has a notably high rate of economic growth[citation needed] and a per capita income of R$7,950 (2005).[9]

Education

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. However, English and French are part of the official high school curriculum due to Macapá's proximity to French Guiana and Guyana.

Educational institutions

Among others,

  • 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

Geography and climate

The Macapá region includes large tracts of tropical rainforest and experiences relatively high rainfall. Macapá features a tropical monsoon climate (Am) under the Köppen climate classification, with a lengthy wet season 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 areas with this climate.[10] Average temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the year, hovering around 23 °C (73 °F) in the mornings[11] and 31 °C (88 °F) in the afternoon.[12]

Climate data for Macapá (1961–1990)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 34
(93)		 33.4
(92.1)		 32.9
(91.2)		 33.2
(91.8)		 33.1
(91.6)		 33
(91)		 32.8
(91)		 33.7
(92.7)		 35
(95)		 36.3
(97.3)		 39.6
(103.3)		 36
(97)		 39.6
(103.3)
Average high °C (°F) 29.7
(85.5)		 29.2
(84.6)		 29.3
(84.7)		 29.5
(85.1)		 30
(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)		 30.7
(87.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 25.9
(78.6)		 25.7
(78.3)		 25.7
(78.3)		 26
(79)		 26.2
(79.2)		 26.2
(79.2)		 26.1
(79)		 26.8
(80.2)		 27.5
(81.5)		 28
(82)		 27.8
(82)		 27.1
(80.8)		 26.6
(79.9)
Average low °C (°F) 23
(73)		 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)		 23.3
(73.9)
Record low °C (°F) 20
(68)		 20.4
(68.7)		 21.1
(70)		 21.4
(70.5)		 21.4
(70.5)		 21
(70)		 20.2
(68.4)		 21
(70)		 21
(70)		 21
(70)		 21
(70)		 20.4
(68.7)		 20
(68)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 305.5
(12.028)		 341.5
(13.445)		 407.7
(16.051)		 378.9
(14.917)		 361.7
(14.24)		 219.8
(8.654)		 182.3
(7.177)		 97.8
(3.85)		 43
(1.69)		 31.9
(1.256)		 58.6
(2.307)		 132.5
(5.217)		 2,561.3
(100.839)
Average rainy days (≥ 1 mm) 20 19 22 21 22 18 16 10 5 3 4 9 169
Average relative humidity (%) 86 87 88 89 88 86 85 81 76 75 76 80 83.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours 147.3 110.1 109.2 114.8 152 190.1 227.1 271.4 272.5 282.4 252.9 205.4 2,335.2
Source: Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology (INMET).[13][12][11][10][14][15][16][17][18]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 História de Macapá in Portuguese
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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