Corumbá
Encyclopedia
Corumbá is a municipality in the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian state of Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states of Brazil.Neighboring Brazilian states are Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay and Bolivia to the west. The economy of the state is largely based on agriculture and cattle-raising...
, 425 km northwest of Campo Grande
Campo Grande
-Climate:Campo Grande has a highland tropical climate, semi-humid, hot, and notably seasonal, with a dry winter season from May through September or October. Under the Koppen climate classification Campo Grande features a tropical wet and dry climate, albeit a noticeably cooler version of the...
, the state's capital. It has a population of approximately 96,000 inhabitants, and its economy is based mainly on agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
, mineral extraction, and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, being the gateway to the biggest wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s of the world, the Pantanal
Pantanal
The Pantanal is a tropical wetland and one of the world's largest wetland of any kind. Most of it lies within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay, sprawling over an area estimated at between and...
.
Corumbá International Airport
Corumbá International Airport
Corumbá International Airport is the airport serving Corumbá, Brazil.It is operated by Infraero.-History:Corumbá International Airport the second most important airport of Mato Grosso do Sul, just behind Campo Grande International Airport...
connects it to many Brazilian cities and also operates some international flights. There is also another airport serving Corumbá indirectly: the Puerto Suárez International Airport
Puerto Suárez International Airport
Puerto Suárez International Airport is an airport in Puerto Suárez, Bolivia.-Airlines and destinations:...
, 20 km away from the center of the city of Corumbá. The city is one of the few Brazilian cities to be served by two international airports
Corumbá is the westernmost and northernmost city in Mato Gosso do Sul, and it is by far the largest municipality in that state, composing 18% of its territory.
The municipality located in Corumba has another county enclave within it, that of Ladário
Ladário
Ladário is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The municipality of Ladário is surrounded by the municipality of Corumbá in all directions....
.
History
Founded as a military outpost and colony in 1778, it became strategically important with the opening of the Paraguay RiverParaguay River
The Paraguay River is a major river in south central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina...
to international trade after the War of the Triple Alliance
War of the Triple Alliance
The Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...
(1865–70). Nearby are the buttes of Urucum Mount, which contain vast mineral deposits. In 1878 it was raised to the category of city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
.
Pantanal
The ecoregion PantanalPantanal
The Pantanal is a tropical wetland and one of the world's largest wetland of any kind. Most of it lies within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay, sprawling over an area estimated at between and...
is the most important plain of all humid areas in South America. Its large territory meets in the Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states of Brazil.Neighboring Brazilian states are Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay and Bolivia to the west. The economy of the state is largely based on agriculture and cattle-raising...
, is known as South Pantanal and the city of Corumbá serves as its entrance door. The Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul is recognized as one of most exuberant and diversified natural reserves on the planet.
The great diversity of the fauna is one of its great attractions: caiman, anacondas, fish, capybaras, tapirs, hart-of-pantanal, garça, plough-blue, tuiuiú, among others. The Pantanal received the recognition as National Patrimony in the Constitution of 1988 and as Patrimony of the Humanity and Reserve of the Biosfera from UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
.
According to World Wide Fund for Nature
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
(1999), there exist in the Pantanal 650 species of birds, 80 of mammals, 260 of fish and 50 of reptiles. It is a region of great importance for preservation of biodiversity, considered one of the biggest centers of reproduction of fauna of America. Already more than 263 species of fish, 122 species of mammals, 93 species of reptiles, 1,132 species of butterflies, 656 species of birds and 1,700 species of plants have been cataloged there.
Border
The municipality of Corumbá is bordered simultaneously by Bolivia and Paraguay, a situation that is known as tríplice border.Its urban area borders on the Bolivian cities of Puerto Suárez
Puerto Suárez
Puerto Suárez is an important inland river port and municipality in Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. It is located 10 km west of the border with Brazil.-Location:...
and Puerto Quijarro
Puerto Quijarro
Puerto Quijarro is an inland river port and municipality situated on theTamengo Canal in Bolivia by the border with Brazil. It is part of the province of Germán Busch in the Santa Cruz Department. The Tamengo Canal connects it to the important Paraguay/Paraná waterway. It is Bolivia's only...
, that together make up a Free Zone for purchases of imported products and Bolivian crafts, the limit of which is the end of Ramon Gomes Road. The border with Paraguay is at the south extremity of the municipality in the agricultural zone.
Urbanization
Corumbá consists of two areas. The lower area is where the old village of notable architectureArchitecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
lies, close to the port. The upper area, newer and much bigger, is chessboard-shaped. Its architecture is not like other old Brazilian cities, where the predominant architectural style is the colonial romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Its architecture is Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
, the same as central Asunción
Asunción
Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...
, the old suburbs of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, the towns of the countryside of the Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, and the majority of the southwestern Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
. Its urbanization rate is very high, reaching around 90%. In recent years, due to a better quality of life, the population is aging and the fertility rate is decreasing.
| Population growth | |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 48,600 |
| 1980 | 67,500 |
| 1991 | 88,360 |
| 1993 | 89,585 |
| 1996 | 89,083 |
| 2000 | 95,700 |
| 2004 | 99,441 |
| 2005 | 100,268 |
| 2006 | 101,089 |
Sister cities
PisaPisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Dunkirk, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...