Mossoró () is the second most populous city in the state of

Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", re ...

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 ...

, and also the largest municipality of that state. It is equidistant (four hours' drive) from

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

(approximately 277 km or 172 miles), the state capital of Rio Grande do Norte, and from Fortaleza (approximately 260 km or 161.5 miles), the capital of the state of Ceará. It is also in the heart of Brazil's salt production area. Situated in the Oeste Potiguar mesoregion, Mossoró is the country's largest land-based

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

producer.

History

To Brazilians, the main historical distinctions of the city are the driving off an attack by

Lampião "Captain" Virgulino Ferreira da Silva (), better known as Lampião (older spelling: ''Lampeão'', , meaning "lantern" or "oil lamp"), was probably the twentieth century's most successful traditional bandit leader. The banditry endemic to the Brazi ...

and his gang of "social bandits" (see

Cangaço ''Cangaço'' () was a phenomenon of Northeast Brazil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This region of Brazil is known for its aridness and hard way of life, and in a form of "social banditry" against the government, many men and women d ...

) that plundered entire towns in the ''

sertão The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of " outback" with Australia in Englis ...

'' during the 1920s and 1930s; and also the fact that the city freed its slaves five years before the

Lei Áurea The (; from Portuguese: Golden Law), adopted on May 13, 1888, was the law that abolished slavery in Brazil. It was signed by Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846–1921), an opponent of slavery, who acted as regent to Emperor Pedro ...

abolished slavery in the rest of the country in 1888. Mossoró was also the first city to give women the right to vote in Brazil (Professor Celina Guimarães Viana cast the first vote in 1928), sparking a movement among other cities and states in Brazil that culminated in the official recognition of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

by the national government in 1934.

Climate

Mossoró is one of the hottest cities in all of Brazil. It has

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

with a temperature range of mean lows around and mean highs around throughout the year. However, it is not uncommon for temperatures to exceed throughout the year, with temperatures approaching unexceptional. The sultriest temperatures are registered from October to January. A fairly short

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

spans from January to May, while the scorching

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

spans the remainder of the year.

Demographics

( 96th largest municipality in Brazil).

Culture and recreation

Although it does not have beaches within its city limits, there are several magnificent beaches in the surrounding area of th
Costa Branca Pole
such as the desert beaches of the city of Areia Branca. World-famous

Canoa Quebrada Canoa Quebrada (meaning ''broken canoe'' in Portuguese), known as the pearl of the east coast of Ceará, Brazil, is an international tourist beach resort 164 km from Fortaleza, in the municipality of Aracati. This small fishing village, am ...

beach is a short drive away in the neighboring state of Ceará. The Resistance Museum tells the story of the city and the city's native sons. However, the most famous attraction is the ''Mossoró Cidade Junina'' (Mossoró Junina City Festival), a winter festival (

festa junina ''Festas Juninas'' (, ''June Festivals'', "festivities that occur in the month of June"), also known as ''festas de São João'' for their part in celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24), are the annual Brazilian celebrations ...

) that attracts more than a million people during the month of June. The city has a beautiful historic town, a hub of fascinating stories of the region's development. Main attractions include the Museu Municipal Jornalista Lauro da Escóssia (Journalist Lauro da Escóssia Municipal Museum), also known as the

Museum, the Station Arts old railway station museum, the Oil Museum, St. Vincent Church, and the Cathedral of Santa Luzia. Other attractions include the famous Palace of Resistance, former residence of mayor Rodolfo Fernandes who was the leader of the resistance against the "Lamp band" (

) and served as a rampart against attacks from those notorious bandits. There is also the Bode Market, an

ovine Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

and caprine trading center where traders and buyers of sheep and goats continue the long-held rural traditions of the northeast, as well as the famous Central Market and the Railway Bridge. In September, the city stages what could be the largest play in the world, th
Auto Da Liberdade (The Procession of Liberty)
with an all-paid cast of 2,000 and a 600-member chorus as part of its ''Festa da Liberdade'' (

Brazilian independence The Independence of Brazil comprised a series of political and military events that led to the independence of the Kingdom of Brazil from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves as the Brazilian Empire. Most of the events occurre ...

celebrations). Mossoró also has a

shopping center A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

Mossoró West Shopping
which includes a 5-screen

multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...

cinema,

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

internet connectivity, children's recreation and diaper changing area, ATMs,

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

, and food court among its many amenities. Mossoró is also home to th
Hotel Thermas

Resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

which is the largest thermal

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...

in Brazil. The heated water used in the resort arises from a zone of geothermal

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

located in the vicinity of the city. The city is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Mossoró The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mossoró ( la, Dioecesis Mossorensis) is a diocese located in the city of Mossoró in the Ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Natal, Natal in Brazil. History * July 28, 1934: Established as Dioce ...

. File:Canoa Quebrada 7.jpg, Canoa Quebrada Beach File:Pontadomel.jpg, Ponta do Mel, Areia Branca File:Mossoró-Antiga-Prefeitura.jpg, Mossoró Old City Hall File:Praça-Rodolfo-Fernandes-Mossoró.jpg, Rodolfo Fernandes Square

Education

Colleges and Universities

Th
Federal University of the Semi-Arid
is located in Mossoró. The following have campuses in the city:
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia Mater Christi

Faculdade de Enfermagem Nova Esperança de Mossoró - FACENE/RN

Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte

Grade schools and high schools

You can see a listing of public and private elementary, junior, and senior high schools in Mossor�
HERE
''(In

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

.)'' UNP universidade Potiguar

Regional transportation

Airports

Mossoró is served by the following airports: *

Mossoró Airport Gov. Dix-Sept Rosado Municipal Airport is the airport serving Mossoró, Brazil. Since May 27, 1953 the airport is named after Jerônimo Dix-Sept Rosado Maia (1911-1951), former Mayor of Mossoró and Governor of Rio Grande do Norte, who died on a ...

(Dix-Sept Rosado Airport) - 2.7 km away * Aeroporto Internacional de Fortaleza (

Pinto Martins International Airport Fortaleza-Pinto Martins International Airport is the international airport serving Fortaleza, Brazil. It is named after ''Euclides Pinto Martins'' (1892–1924) a Ceará-born aviator, who in 1922 was one of the pioneers of the air-link between ...

) - 205.2 km away

( Wikipedia page) - 245.8 km away (handed over to the

Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...

at the end of 2013, only for military use) * Aeroporto Internacional da Grande Natal or

Greater Natal International Airport Rio Grande do Norte/São Gonçalo do Amarante–Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport is an airport in São Gonçalo do Amarante, Brazil serving Natal and its metropolitan area. The airport is managed by Consortium Inframérica. His ...

(Opened to replace the old airport, the only airport that handles civil aviation in the area).

Highways

*BR-304 *BR-110 *BR-405 *BR-437

Distances to other Brazilian cities

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

: *

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

: *

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

: * Salvador: *

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

: *

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...

: *

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

: *

Manaus Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...

Images

Memorial da Resistência.jpg, Memorial da Resistência (Resistance Memorial) Chuva de Bala no país de Mossoró.jpg, Mossoró Cidade Junina (Mossoró City Junina Festival) Cavalo mecanico Mossoró.jpg, Petroleum Extraction Catedral de Santa Luzia de Mossoró (RN).jpg, Cathedral of Santa Luzia Cinejornal Informativo n. 28-56 - Agência Nacional - Imagens da cidade de Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, em 1956.webm, Mossoró, 1956. National Archives of Brazil.