São Gabriel da Cachoeira (''Saint Gabriel of the Waterfall'') is a

municipality 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 ...

located on the northern shore of the Rio Negro River, in the region of

Cabeça do Cachorro The region known as Cabeça do Cachorro (''Dog‘s head'') is the area comprising the northwesternmost end of the state of Amazonas, Brazil, bordering on Colombia and Venezuela. This region roughly coincides with the Brazilian municipality of ...

, Amazonas state,

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 ...

Location

São Gabriel da Cachoeira is the third largest municipality in Brazil by territorial area, and the second largest in Amazonas. It is also the northernmost city of Amazonas, and part of its territory is within the

Pico da Neblina National Park Pico da Neblina National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional do Pico da Neblina) is a national park in the state of Amazonas in the north of Brazil, bordering on Venezuela. It overlaps with several indigenous territories, which creates tensions over land ...

. However, the

peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...

itself is located in

Santa Isabel do Rio Negro Santa Isabel do Rio Negro (''Saint Isabel of Black River'') is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. Its population was 25,865 (2020) and its area is . The ...

, and São Gabriel da Cachoeira is in the lowlands. It is not far from the equator, and the climate is correspondingly hot and humid. The city is served by São Gabriel da Cachoeira Airport. The municipality contains the

Morro dos Seis Lagos Biological Reserve The Morro dos Seis Lagos Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica Morro Dos Seis Lagos) is a biological reserve in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It protects an inselberg in the Amazon rainforest that contains valuable minerals. Mining has be ...

, created in 1990. The reserve is within the

Balaio Indigenous Territory The Balaio Indigenous Territory ( pt, Terra Indígena Balaio) is an indigenous territory in the northwest of the state of Amazonas, Brazil. The territory is home to small numbers of people from several different ethnic groups of the Arawak and ...

, approved in 2009. The municipality also contains the

Cué-cué/Marabitanas Indigenous Territory The Cué-cué/Marabitanas Indigenous Territory ( pt, Terra Indígena Cué-Cué/Marabitanas) is an indigenous territory in the northwest of the state of Amazonas, Brazil. There were extended delays while the territory was being identified and form ...

, declared in 2013. It contains the greater part of the

Alto Rio Negro Indigenous Territory The Alto Rio Negro Indigenous Territory ( pt, Terra Indígena Alto Rio Negro) is an indigenous territory in the northwest of the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It is in the Amazon biome, and is mostly covered in forest. A number of different ethnic g ...

, created in 1998.

Demography

Most of the inhabitants of São Gabriel da Cachoeira are indigenous people. The city's population is somewhere around 13,000, but the entire region has 46,303 people (2020), scattered over 109,185 km², mostly indigenous peoples in surrounding tribes and villages. Most of the non-indigenous residents of the city are affiliated with the Brazilian army, usually serving a term of two years or more. ''Source: Census 2010''

History

The City was founded in 1668 as an aldea by Franciscan Friar Teodósio da Veiga and Captain Pedro da Costa Favela on the Rio Negro, near the mouth of the Rio Aruím. In 1761, a fort was built on the location, and the settlement became the town of São Gabriel da Cachoeira. Between 1952 and 1966, it was officially called Uaupés, after the nearby

Vaupés River Vaupés River (Uaupés River) is a tributary of the Rio Negro in South America. It rises in the Guaviare Department of Colombia, flowing east through Guaviare and Vaupés Departments. It forms part of the international border between the Vaupés ...

. In 2003,

Nheengatu The Nheengatu language (Tupi: , nheengatu rionegrino: ''yẽgatu'', nheengatu tradicional: ''nhẽẽgatú'' e nheengatu tapajoawara: ''nheẽgatu''), often written Nhengatu, is an indigenous language of the Tupi-Guarani family, being then der ...

became an official language along with Portuguese in São Gabriel da Cachoeira.

Climate

References

External links