Ceará

Ceará (CE)

Area: 150,600sq.km/58,150sq.mi

Population: 5,893,000

Capital: Fortaleza

Situation and Characteristics

The state of Ceará lies on the north-eastern coast of Brazil. The interior of the state, like that of the neighboring states of Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte, consists of the arid tropical terrain of the sertão, largely desertic in character, which provided a refuge for the cangaceiros, the bandits who are now often given a romantic aura. Such meteorological extremes as periods of severe drought at one end of the scale and violent floods at the other limit the possibilities of agricultural development - for the most part cotton-growing and cattle-rearing.