Santa Catarina

Santa Catarina State

Area: 96,000sq.km/37,000sq.mi

Population: 4,096,000

Capital: Florianópolis

Situation and Characteristics

The state of Santa Catarina lies in the deep south of Brazil, rising in stages from a narrow coastal plain into an upland region at around 900m/3000ft. Itis bordered on the north by Paraná, on the south, beyond the Rio Pelotas and Rio Uruguai, by Rio Grande do Sul and on the west by Argentina. The main pillars of the economy are intensive agriculture and the extraction of coal and other minerals.

History

The region was colonized only in the late 17th century, and in 1808 Santa Catarina became an independent province. In the second half of the 19th century there was a