Guarapari
Encyclopedia
Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...
, 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...
. It is a part of Greater Vitoria. A municipal capital , it is located 47 km south of Vitória, of the state capital. Its population is 105,116 (2005) and its area is 592 km².
Overview
Vila Velha
Vila Velha is a coastal town in Espírito Santo, Brazil. It lies across from Vitória, the state capital. Its population was 396,323 and its area is 208.82 km².Vila Velha forms part of the Greater Vitória metropolitan area...
and Vitória, it caters heavily to seasonal tourists, and consequently has quite a dramatic seasonal population fluctuation.
Within the municipality there is the Setiba nature reserve, a pristine example of a coastal ecosystem and important for local turtle and bird populations.
History
The municipality has had European presence since 1585 when Jesuit missionaries built a small chapel and dug a well. Guarapari has an extremely high level of background radiationBackground radiation
Background radiation is the ionizing radiation constantly present in the natural environment of the Earth, which is emitted by natural and artificial sources.-Overview:Both Natural and human-made background radiation varies by location....
, some 175 mSv per year.