This article is about a city in São Paulo state. For the national park in Amazonas, see Jaú National Park

Jaú National Park

The Jaú National Park is located in the Amazonas state in Brazil, between 1º00’—3º00’S and 61º30’—64º00’W....

.

Jaú is a municipality in the center of the state of São Paulo

São Paulo (state)

São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...

, in 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...

. The population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 in 2008 was 133,333 and the area is 690.18 km². The elevation

Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 is 522 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language; in fact, the town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 was formerly known as Jahu, named after a fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 species which was found in the only river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 that runs through the town center.

History

The history of the city goes back to 1853, when a group of people decided to settle and found a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

. Not until 1889, however, did it achieve the status of town. Its most widely known inhabitant is João Ribeiro de Barros

João Ribeiro de Barros

João Ribeiro de Barros was the first aviator of the three Americas to make an air crossing from Europe to America, on April 28, 1927, crossing the Atlantic Ocean with the Savoia-Marchetti S.55 hydroplane Jahú. On his flight, he had the company of three others: João Negrão , Newton Braga and Vasco...

, the first man to travel from Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 to South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 by plane, in 1927, 23 days before Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...

's flight.

Economy

Jaú is located in a tropical weather region, known for its very fertile

Fertile

The term fertile describes a condition whereby organisms are able to produce physically healthy offspring.Fertile may also refer to:...

 lands, which were once called "terra roxa" (purple land). The city is known as the national capital of female shoes, which are exported to the whole world.

Sports

Esporte Clube XV de Novembro

Esporte Clube XV de Novembro (Jaú)

Esporte Clube XV de Novembro, usually known as XV de Jaú, is a Brazilian football club from Jaú, São Paulo state.The club is also known as Galo da Comarca, roughly meaning "County's Rooster".-History:...

 is a traditional sport club of the town, founded in 1924. The club plays its home matches at Estádio Zezinho Magalhães. Jaú is also the birthplace of freestyle swimmer Renata Burgos

Renata Burgos

Renata de Oliveira Burgos is a freestyle swimmer from Brazil. She represented her native country in the women's 4×100 m freestyle relay at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece...

, who represented Brazil at the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 in Athens, Greece.