Pernambuco

Located in the Northeast of Brazil, Pernambuco is a State with many destinations. Pernambuco comprises a comparatively narrow coastal zone, a high inland plateau, and an intermediate zone formed by the terraces and slopes between the two. From the coast to the outback, it offers a unique variety of sceneries. Visitors have their choice of beaches with white sand and warm water, lush landscapes with species from the tropical rainforest, the wooded wills, mountains, outback, or the brush lands. The State’s name comes from the indigenous word Paranampuka, meaning where the waves break. It is a reference to the reefs (arrecifes) that baptized the City with the name.

The blessed result from homogenizing ethnic and cultural characteristics of the resident Indians with the dark and light skinned people who arrived, Pernambuco is a very special place thanks in large part to this marvelous cultural diversity. The cuisine, artwork, music, dance, popular culture, literature, and architecture all bring to light the creative soul of the inhabitants. Carnaval, São João festivities, and the many religious and profane celebrations are moments when all elements found in the various cultures mix together in a public display of joy and happiness that is authentically Pernambucan and Brazilian.

Pernambuco has excellent hotels, good roads, and modern air travel facilities. The service sector is growing and getting better every day. The State has the second most important assemblage of medical facilities, and the third most important gastronomy center in Brazil. The Porto Digital has consolidated itself into one of the most significant complexes for Information and Communications Technology in all of Latin America, and Recife is one of the few places in the region with a totally structured Convention Center for the public. The area encloses 20,000 sq. meters (215,000 sq. ft.), with an acclimatized pavilion, heliport, and parking for 2,000 vehicles.

The coastal area is fertile, and was formerly covered by the humid Pernambuco coastal forests, the northern extension of the Atlantic Forests (Mata Atlântica) of eastern Brazil. It is now place to extensive sugar cane plantations. It has a hot, humid climate, relieved to some extent by the south-east trade winds.

The middle zone, called the agreste region, has a drier climate and lighter vegetation, including the semi-deciduous Pernambuco interior forests, where many trees lose their leaves in the dry season.

The inland region, called the sertão is high, stony, and dry, and frequently devastated by prolonged droughts (secas). The climate is characterized by hot days and cool nights. There are two clearly defined seasons, a rainy season from March to June, and a dry season for the remaining months. The interior of the state is covered mostly by the dry thorny scrub vegetation called caatinga. The Rio São Francisco is the main water source for this area.

The climate is more mild in the countryside of the state because of the Borborema Plateau ("Planalto da Borborema", popularly known as "Serra das Russas" or "Russians' Mountain"). Some towns are located more than 1000 meters above sea level, and the temperatures there can descend to 10°C (50°F) and even 5°C (41°F) in some cities (i.e., Triunfo) during the winter.

Sao Francisco River

The rivers of the state include a number of small plateau streams flowing southward to the São Francisco River, and several large streams in the eastern part flowing eastward to the Atlantic. The former are the Moxotó, Ema, Pajeú, Terra Nova, Brigida, Boa Vista and Pontai, and are dry channels the greater part of the year.

The largest of the coastal rivers are the Goiana River, which is formed by the confluence of the Tracunhaem and Capibaribe-mirim, and drains a rich agricultural region in the north-east part of the state; the Capibaribe, which has its source in the Serra de Jacarara and flows eastward to the Atlantic at Recife with a course of nearly 300 miles; the Ipojuca, which rises in the Serra de Aldeia Velha and reaches the coast south of Recife; the Serinhaen; and the Uná. A large tributary of the Uná, the Rio Jacuhipe, forms part of the boundary line with Alagoas.

Estados Brasileiros - Pernambuco