Altamira, Pará
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Altamira is one of one hundred and forty-four
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 ...
in the state of
Pará Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...
, in northern
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 ...
. It has an area of , making it the largest municipality by area both in Pará state and Brazil, and until 2009 it was the world's largest municipal subdivision. It occupies 12.8% of the state's territory, 1.8% of Brazil's territory and 0.8% of South America. It also covers a more extensive area than 104 countries, and is comparable to the US state of
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
or
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. Altamira Municipality encompasses the Altamira city and district, the seat of local government, whose majority population lives in urban area, and nine other mostly rural districts (most of those covered by the
Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
), whose urban populations are minorities, and live in inhabited areas spaced by tens or hundreds of kilometers. According to the 2010 Brazilian National Census the municipality had 99,075 inhabitants which grew to 115,969 at the 2020 Census, making a density of only 0.73 inhabitants per square kilometer at the same year. It is home to hundreds of indigenous communities and environmental protection areas. The infamous
Belo Monte Dam The Belo Monte Dam (''formerly known as'' Kararaô) is a hydroelectric dam complex on the northern part of the Xingu River in the state of Pará, Brazil. After its completion, with the installation of its 18th turbine, in November 2019, the inst ...
, a
hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
complex is currently under construction in the area of the Xingu River in the municipality.


History

The history of Altamira traditionally includes the period from the installation of the Jesuit mission of the city to the present day. However, the municipal territory has been inhabited since time immemorial by nomadic and semi-nomadic indigenous peoples. Kuben-Kran-Keñ, an extinct
Jê language Jê or Gê may refer to: *Jê languages *Jê peoples Jê or Gê are the people who spoke Jê languages of the northern South American Caribbean coast and Brazil. In Brazil, the Jê were found in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Piaui, Mato Gr ...
belonging to the
Kayapó The Kayapo (Portuguese: Caiapó ) people are the indigenous people in Brazil who inhabit a vast area spreading across the states of Pará and Mato Grosso, south of the Amazon River and along Xingu River and its tributaries. This pattern has given ...
group, was once spoken in the municipality.


Mission Tavaquara

Although it is well known that even before the eighteenth century former Jesuit Missions already inhabited the Xingu region, it was not until the 1750s that Father Roque Hunderfund entered the Xingu River until the Tucuruí Igarapé, later called Vitória. There, he made contacts with indigenous Xipaia and Kuruaya, who guided him towards Volta Grande do Xingu. There, near the mouth of the Panelas stream, they chose the foundation of the Tavaquara Mission, whose settlement formed the city of Altamira. The policies of the Portuguese Prime Minister
Marquês de Pombal Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government. Later, through another roya ...
, still in the eighteenth century, shut down all Jesuit missions in the colonies, causing the Tavaquara Mission to close its activities. The parish of Souzel continued to assist the village, but only in 1841 did Fr. Antonio Torquato de Souza reopen the sting that linked the Victoria stream on the lower Xingu ground to the Tavaquara Mission, higher up. crossing the waterfalls, making the work in Tavaquara more accessible.


Administrative recognition

The first administrative elevation took place on April 14, 1874, when the municipality of Souzel (now Senator José Porfírio ) was created, where the Tavaquara Mission (Altamira) was elevated to the status of village. During this period the village survived from the extraction and commercialization of rubber and other drugs from the backlands, as well as communicating with Souzel and Moz Port by steam navigation. On April 2, 1883, under the influence of Colonel Francisco Gayoso, the town of Tavaquara was elevated to the town of Souzel, receiving the name of Altamira. Also under the influence of Colonel Gayoso, a bite was opened, linking the bass to the middle Xingu, with the objective of turning it into a road, employing African slave labor. In 1880, Agrarian Cavalgante resumed the works of Col. Gayoso, rectifying the layout of the road, starting from where today is the headquarters of the municipality of Vitória do Xingu and arriving at the mouth of the Ambé stream, there building Fort Ambé, which no longer exists.


Economy

The municipal GDP is around US$450 million and is mainly linked to agricultural activities, trade and since 2010 has been driven by the construction of the
Belo Monte Dam The Belo Monte Dam (''formerly known as'' Kararaô) is a hydroelectric dam complex on the northern part of the Xingu River in the state of Pará, Brazil. After its completion, with the installation of its 18th turbine, in November 2019, the inst ...
. The municipality is served by
Altamira Airport Altamira Airport is the airport serving Altamira, Brazil. During a transitional period, the airport is jointly operated by Infraero and AENA. History The airport was commissioned in 1979. Due to the construction of nearby Belo Monte Dam, Altam ...
.


Belo Monte Dam

In Altamira the third-largest dam in the world by generating capacity (behind the Three Gorges Dam and Itaipu Dam), with a capacity of 11.233 GW, is being built. As of October 2019 all turbines at Pimental and 17 turbines in main power powerhouse are online with total installed capacity of 10,388.87 MW at Belo Monte site, totaling 10,621.97 with the Pimental site.


Geography

Altamira is located in a transition area between the
Brazilian Highlands The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau ( pt, Planalto Brasileiro) are an extensive geographical region, covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all approximately half of the country's land area, or some 4,5 ...
and Amazonian Lowlands, is situated on the shores of the Xingu River a tributary of the
Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...
, with average elevation of 109 meters. The municipality contains part of the
Altamira National Forest Altamira National Forest ( pt, Floresta Nacional Altamira) is a national forest in the state of Pará Brazil. Location The Altamira National Forest is in the Amazon biome. It has an area of . It covers parts of the municipalities of Altamira, I ...
, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1998. The municipality contains part of the
Jamanxim National Park The Jamanxim National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional do Jamanxim) is a national park in the state of Pará, Brazil. Location The Jamanxim National Park covers of Amazon rainforest. It is in parts of the municipalities of Altamira, Itaituba and Tr ...
, a protected area. It contains part of the
Terra do Meio Ecological Station Terra do Meio Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica da Terra do Meio) is an ecological station (ESEC) in the state of Pará, Brazil. Location The Terra do Meio Ecological Station has an area of . It covers parts of the municipalities of ...
, a strictly protected conservation unit created in 2005. It also contains part of the
Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve The Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo) is a biological reserve in the state of Pará, Brazil. The reserve protects an area in the transition between the Cerrado and Amazon bi ...
, a strictly protected conservation unit established in 2005. The municipality contains 49% of the
Serra do Pardo National Park The Serra do Pardo National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional da Serra do Pardo) is a National park in the state of Pará, Brazil. Location The Serra do Pardo National Park is divided between the municipalities of São Félix do Xingu (51.28%) and Altam ...
, established at the same time.


Climate

The climate of Altamira is tropical monsoon ( Köppen ''Am''), with high temperatures all year and average rainfall of annually. The seasons are undefined by temperature, but there is a distinct
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 ...
from November/December to May/June and a
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 ...
from July to October, although some rain does occur during this dry season.


Media

Altamira is an important destination in the 1979 movie '' Bye Bye Brasil''.


See also

*
Belo Monte Dam The Belo Monte Dam (''formerly known as'' Kararaô) is a hydroelectric dam complex on the northern part of the Xingu River in the state of Pará, Brazil. After its completion, with the installation of its 18th turbine, in November 2019, the inst ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altamira, Para Municipalities in Pará Populated places established in the 1750s