Camalaú is a village in the state of Paraíba

Paraíba

Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...

 (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...

) in the mesoregion of Borborema and the West Cariri microregion. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 5,492. It has an area of 603 km².

History

The village was founded on June 21, 1895, when Domingos Ferreira Brito and his wife Rosa Maria da Conceição officially donated more than sixteen hectares of land to the Catholic Church in order to found the Hermitage of San Jose. They did so on the instigation of Jose Cardoso da Silva, who is now considered the founder of the city. On March 19, 1962, Camalaú officially became a city.

The name is of indigenous origin. It may have been the name of the leader of a group of indigenous inhabitants who lived in the vicinity of where the city is now located. Alternatively, it may simply have been the name of the area where they resided.

Another theory holds that the name is a corruption of a Tupi phrase.

Location

Located in West Cariri, Camalaú borders on the state of Pernambuco

Pernambuco

Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...

. Nearby cities are: São João do Tigre

São João do Tigre

São João do Tigre is a town and municipality in the state of Paraíba in the Northeast Region of Brazil.-References:...

 (22km), São Sebastião do Umbuzeiro

São Sebastião do Umbuzeiro

São Sebastião do Umbuzeiro is the southernmost town in the Brazilian state of Paraíba....

 (37 km), Monteiro

Monteiro

Monteiro is a town and municipality in the state of Paraíba in the Northeast Region of Brazil.-References:...

 (35 km), Sumé

Sumé

Sumé is a town and municipality in the state of Paraíba in the Northeast Region of Brazil.-References:...

 (26 km), and Congo (20 km). The distance to the capital is 331.7 km

Camalaú's temperature averages around 25 °C.

Rivers

The municipality of Camalaú is on the Sierra and Paraíba rivers. There is a weir and a dam. Some other important streams include Raposa, Ipueira, Aguazinha, Craibeira, Lamarão, and Pinheiro.