Bananal Island ( pt, Ilha do Bananal, ) is a large

river island River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online. Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isla ...

formed from the bisection of the Araguaia River, in southwestern

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The island is formed by a fork in a very flat section of the Araguaia River. Bananal Island is the second largest river island in the world and the largest without an ocean coastline, at long and wide.Island Superlatives
/ref> Its total area is . The rivers within the island flow parallel to the Araguaia, and the Jaburu do Bananal is the longest river within a river.

Environmental and cultural protection

Bananal Island is a nature and culture preserve. In accordance with Article 28 of the Statute of Indian Law (Artigo 28 do Estatuto do Indío-lei) No. 6001 laid out on 19 December 1973, an area of is preserved as Araguaia National Park and further as cultural preserve for

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. The northern third of the island, which is designated as a national park, is a popular destination for

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

. The southern two-thirds are indigenous territories.

Inhabitants

Although Brazilians of non-native descent lived on the island in the past, today only indigenous people populate the island. At least four tribes live on Bananal Island: the Javaés,

Karajá The Karajá, also known as Iny, are an indigenous tribe located in Brazil.Karaja Indians.
''Hands Aro ...

, Ava-Canoeiro, and Tuxá. There are sixteen ''aldeias'' or villages on the island: Barra do Rio, Barreira Branca, Boa Esperança, Boto Velho,

Cachoeirinha Cachoeirinha (lit. "Little Waterfall") is a city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Cachoeirinha is an alternative for the people who want to be near Porto Alegre (capital of Rio Grande do Sul). The city is situated at a strategic point ...

, Fontoura, JK, Kanoanã, Kaxiwe, Macaúba, Santa Isabel, São João, Txoude, Txuiri, Wari-Wari, Watau. There are no bridges to the island from the states of Tocantins to the east nor from

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

to the west. For the greater majority of the year, the only transport to the island is by boat. However, for a few weeks during the dry season (June - August) the river is low enough that the island can be reached by car. The villages have roads wide enough for cars and tractors even though the main forms of transport are by horse, bicycle, and foot.

Image gallery

Statuette Karajà MHNT.ETH.2010.24.01.jpg, Ceramic statuette - MHNT

Municipalities

From north to south, the island forms the western portions of the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Pium Pium is a municipality in the state of Tocantins in the Northern region of Brazil. The municipality contains the Cantão State Park, created in 1998. It contains 21.56% of the Ilha do Bananal / Cantão Environmental Protection Area, created in ...

, Lagoa da Confusão, and Formoso do Araguaia, in southwestern Tocantins.

References

{{Coord, 11, 20, S, 50, 41, W, scale:2500000, display=title Ramsar sites in Brazil Indigenous Territories (Brazil) Landforms of Tocantins River islands of Brazil