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Sunset in Chapada dos Guimarães - Brazil. by monsieurlazarophotographies.

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GO TO VISIT BRAZIL.

CHAPADA DOS GUIMARÃES.

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Located in the Mato Grosso is the Chapada dos Guimarães, a unique and beautiful environment made from sandstone mountains and their subsequent erosion. The terrain of the Mato Grosso is varied and includes cliffs, canyons, and beautiful waterfalls.

The biologically rich Pantanal, one of the world's largest wetland/prairie ecosystems, is also located within this state. Much environmental degradation has occurred to the Pantanal within the past few decades, and it shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. The Pantanal can be compared to the Everglades in Florida, as both share much in common, habitat wise, although the Pantanal is of much larger scale.

Guaporé River in Mato Grosso

History

Skyline in Cuiabá

In 1977, the state was split into two halves, with Mato Grosso do Sul becoming a new state. The Bororo Indians live in the Mato Grosso area. As late as 1880, soldiers patrolled lands on the outskirts of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso's capital and largest city, to protect settlers from Bororo raids.

By the end of the 19th century, although severely reduced by disease and by warfare with explorers, slave traders, prospectors, settlers, and other indigenous groups, as many as five to ten thousand Bororo continued to occupy central and eastern Mato Grosso, as well as western Goiás.[3] The southwestern part of it was ceded to Bolivia in exchange for Acre, according to Treaty of Petrópolis in 1903.

The historic remoteness of this area led it to be the subject of exploration, most notably by Captain Percy Fawcett, in the quest for lost cities. It was also the rumored location of access to the interior of the earth in various Hollow Earth theories.

Demographics

Rondonópolis at night

Mato Grosso had a high rate of population growth in the 20th century. Despite this, the state as a whole has one of the lowest population densities of any Brazilian state. Ethnically, the state includes a relatively high proportion of caboclos (persons of mixed European and Indian ancestry), as do other areas of the interior. According to the IBGE of 2008, 3,010,000 people resided in the state. The population density was 3.2 inh./km².

Urbanization: 76.6% (2006); Population growth: 2.4% (1991–2000); Houses: 836,000 (2006).

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 1,532,000 Brown (Mixed) people (50.92%), 1,179,000 White people (39.16%), 239,000 Black people (7.93%), 41,000 Amerindian people (1.37%), 14,000 Asian people (0.45%).

Economy

Agriculture is the largest component of GDP at 40.8%, followed by the service sector at 40.2%. The industrial sector represents 19% of GDP (2004). Mato Grosso exports: soybeans 83%, wood 5.6%, meats 4.8%, and cotton 3.3% (2002).

The state's share of the Brazilian economy is 1.7% (2005).

Statistics

Vehicles: 745,810 (March/2007); Mobile phones: 323,000 (April/2007); Telephones: 527,000 (April/2007); Cities: 141 (2007).

Education

Federal University of Mato Grosso in Cuiabá

Portuguese is the official national language, as well as the primary language taught in schools. However, English and Spanish are part of the official high school CURRICULUM.

There are more than 58 universities in state of Mato Grosso.

Cuiabá is home to the following universities:

Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT);

State University of Mato Grosso (Unemat);

Universidade de Cuiabá (Unic)

Culture

The local culture is very rich, due to the influences of and encounters with various cultures, such as Native Americans, the original settlers, the Africans enslaved originally by the Portuguese, and Europeans, beginning with the Portuguese settlers and other European immigrants who arrived later. Two long periods of isolation also contributed to its differentiation, which has been somewhat diluted by recent immigration. Cuiabá has an interesting cuisine influenced by natives, with their typical dances, craftwork, and music.

Dance and music were traditionally connected to the worship of Catholic saints and their festivals, Saint Benedict (the city's patron), being one of the favorite.

Theatre of Federal University of Mato Grosso

Carnival

The four-day period before Lent leading up to Ash Wednesday, known as Carnival is well celebrated. As with every state in Brazil, Mato Grosso celebrates this holiday in a typical fashion - including parades, music, and dance - with wide participation.

Wikipédia informations.

Straight from the Banana Republic by Abel Balbo

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