|
Goiás
Located
in the central part Brazil. The most central of the Brazilian
states and most inhabitants of the region, Goiás is
characterized by a Cchapadoes landscape (plateaus). In the
peak of dry season, which goes from about June untill September,
there is not water enough wich makes the water level of the
Araguaia River go down and exposes almost 2 km of beaches,
making it the mayor attraction of the state.
I n the municipality of Mineiros at the Emas National Park
, you can observe the typical fauna and flora from this region.
Bordered states are Tocantins, Bahia,
Minas Gerais, the Federal
District, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso.
At the Chapada dos Veadeiros the attractions are the waterfall,
rapids, canyons and valleys. Other must sees is the historical
city of Goiás, at 132 km from Goiânia, established
in the beginning of eighteenth Century, and Caldas Novas,
with its hot water wells attracting more than one million
visitors per year.
History
|
|
The
first European passing into this interior part of Brazil
was accomplished by expeditions from São Paulo
in the seventeenth century. Gold was discovered in the
gravel of a tributary of the Araguaia River by the explorer
Bartolomeu Bueno de Silva in 1682. The settlement he
founded there, called Santa Anna, became the colonial
town of Goiás Velho, the former state capital.
In 1744 the large inland area, much of it still unexplored
by Europeans, was made a captaincy general, and in 1822
it became a province of the empire of Brazil. It became
a state in 1889. The Brazilian constitution of 1891
specified that the nation's capital should be moved
to the Brazilian Highlands (Planalto Central), and in
1956 Goiás was selected as the site for the federal
district and capital city, Brasília. The seat
of the federal government was officially moved to Brasília
in 1960.
Goiânia,
the largest city and capital was planned in 1933 to
replace the old, inaccessible former state capital of
Goiás, 110 km northwest. In 1937 the state government
moved there, and in 1942 the official inauguration was
held. Goiânia is now one of the fastest growing
cities in Brazil and is regularly voted one of the most
livable cities in the country.
|
Due
to the immense territory of the state, which was over 600,000
km²., communications were obviously very difficult. The
northern part of the state began to feel abandoned by the
southern government and began a movement for separation. Local
political leaders, many of whom were large landowners and
were eager to gain important positions such as governor or
senator and financial gain with the construction of a new
capital, also encouraged the movement. In 1989 the northern
half of Goiás became a separate state called Tocantins
|
