Amapá () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

located in the easternmost portion of the homonymous state of

Amapá Amapá () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is in the northern region of Brazil. It is the second least populous state and the eighteenth largest by area. Located in the far northern part of the country, Amapá is bordered clockwise by Fr ...

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 ...

. Its population is 9,187 and its area is .

History

The borders between

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

and

were not clear. Attempts at negotiations failed, and in 1862 it was decided that the area between the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

and the

Oyapock The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the French overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian state of Amapá. Course The Oyapock runs through the Guianan moist for ...

was a neutral territory. In 1894 gold was discovered in the

Calçoene River Calçoene River is a river of Amapá state in north-eastern Brazil. In 1894, the river was at the heart of gold rush with there were 6,000 to 10,000 gold miners active in and around the river. See also *List of rivers of Amapá List of rivers ...

, which resulted in a declaration of an autonomous state under Brazilian protection by general Francisco Cabral. In May 1895, Camille Charvein, the Governor of French Guiana, sent troops to Mapá (nowadays: Amapá). During the battle, six French, and 30 Brazilian soldiers and civilians were killed . In 1897, France and Brazil asked Switzerland to settle the dispute, and most of the territory was given to Brazil in what is nowadays the state of

. The municipality was founded in 1911 as Montenegro. In 1930, the name was changed to Amapá after the Amapá tree. The municipality contains two districts: the town of Amapá and

Sucuriju Sucuriju is a fishing village and district in the Brazilian municipality of Amapá, in the state of Amapá. The village is located on the Sucuriju River near the Atlantic Ocean. History Sucuriju is on the South American continent, however it is s ...

. The municipality is home to a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

airbase built by the Americans which has been turned into a museum.

Nature

Imagem da Cachoeira Grande do Estado de Amapá

The municipality is home to part of the

Lago Piratuba Biological Reserve Lago Piratuba Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica do Lago Piratuba) is a biological reserve in the state of Amapá, Brazil. Location The Lago Piratuba Biological Reserve, which covers , was established by decree of 16 July 1980. It is adm ...

. It also contains the Maracá-Jipioca Ecological Station, which covers two very low-lying islands just off the coast with rich biodiversity. It contains 6.32% of the Amapá State Forest, a sustainable use conservation unit established in 2006. It contains 3.08% of the

Amapá National Forest The Amapá National Forest ( pt, Floresta Nacional do Amapá) is a national forest in the state of Amapá, Brazil. It supports sustainable exploitation of the natural resources in an area of Amazon rainforest in the Guiana Shield. Location The A ...

, a sustainable use conservation unit created in 1989. From Amapá you can access Cachoeira Grande, a series of waterfalls in the

Amapá Grande River Amapá Grande River is a river of Amapá state in eastern Brazil. See also *List of rivers of Amapá List of rivers in Amapá (Brazilian State). The list is arranged by drainage basin from north to south, with respective tributaries indented ...

. The site is technically located in the Calçoene municipality. Near the falls, is a sandbank and a holiday resort with restaurants.

References

External links

Official site
(in Portuguese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Amapa (city) Populated places in Amapá Municipalities in Amapá