Manaus
Encyclopedia
Manaus is a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 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 capital of the state of Amazonas. It is situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões
Solimões
Solimões is the name often given to early stretches of the Amazon River from the border of Brazil and Peru to its confluence with the Rio Negro.Further upstream from the border, the name of the river seems to depend on the speaker...

 rivers. It is the most populous city of Amazonas, according to the statistics of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and is a popular ecotourist destination. Manaus belongs to mesoregion Center Amazonense and microregion Manaus. It is located in northern 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...

, 1936 kilometres (1,203 mi) from the federal capital, Brasília
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...

.

The city was founded in 1669 as the Fort of São José do Rio Negro. It was elevated to a 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...

 in 1832 with the name of "Manaus", which means "mother of the gods" in tribute to the indigenous nation of Manaós, and legally transformed into a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 on October 24 of 1848 with the name of Cidade da Barra do Rio Negro, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 for "The City of the Margins of Black River". Only on September 4 of 1856 did it revert to its current name.

It was known at the beginning of the century, as Heart of the Amazon and City of the Forest. Currently its main economic engine is the Industrial Pool of Manaus.

It is the largest metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

 in Northern Brazil and the twelfth in all of Brazil, with 2,006,870 inhabitants (IBGE
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...

/2008). The population in 2008 was 1.71 million people; it is the eighth most populous city of 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...

 according to data from Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, the IBGE. The city gradually increased its participation in the GDP
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....

 of Brazil in recent years, rising to account for 1.4% of the economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...

 of the country. Currently, the city is one of 12 most influential cities of the country. Manaus alone represents 10.89% of 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...

 of the whole of Northern Brazil and 49.9% of the population of the Amazon
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...

.

Early settlement

The history of the European colonization of Manaus began in 1669 with the building of a fort in rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...

 and clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

, with four cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

 guarding the curtains. The Fort of São José da Barra do Rio Negro was built to ensure the predominance of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 in the region, especially against the invasion
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...

 of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, at that time headquartered in what is today Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...

. The fort held that function for more than 114 years. Next to the fort there were many indigenous mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...

s, who helped in its construction and began to live in the vicinity.

The population grew so much that in 1695, to aid catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...

, the missionaries (Carmelite, Jesuit, Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

) resolved to erect near the fort a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

 dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception, which in time became the patron saint of the city.
The Royal Charter of March 3 of 1755, created the Capitania of Sao Jose do Rio Negro, with headquarters in Mariuá
Barcelos, Portugal
Barcelos is a city in Barcelos Municipality in Braga District. The city has a population of 20,625.-History:Originally a Roman settlement, it expanded and became the seat of the First Duke of Bragança in the 15th century...

 (now Barcelos
Barcelos, Portugal
Barcelos is a city in Barcelos Municipality in Braga District. The city has a population of 20,625.-History:Originally a Roman settlement, it expanded and became the seat of the First Duke of Bragança in the 15th century...

), but the governor Lobo D'Almada, fearing Spanish invasions, the seat went back to the bar in place of 1791, being located at the confluence of the rivers Black and Amazon it was a strategic point. On November 13 of 1832, the place of the bar became the category of 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...

 with the name of the town of Manaus and on October 24 of 1848, with Law 145 of the Provincial Assembly Paraense, acquired the name of the Bar of the City of Rio Negro. On September 4 of 1856 the governor Herculano Ferreira Pena finally gave him the name "Manaus".

Cabanagem

The Cabanagem
Cabanagem
The Cabanagem was a social revolt that occurred in the then-province of Grão-Pará, Brazil.Among the causes for this revolt were the extreme poverty of the Paraense people and the political irrelevance to which the province was relegated after the independence of Brazil.The name "Cabanagem" refers...

 was the revolt in which blacks, Indians and mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...

s protested against the political elite and took power in 1835. The entry of the High Amazonas (Manaus today, which was the cradle of the city in the Western Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...

) in Cabanagem was crucial for the birth of the current state of the Amazon. During the period of revolution, the Cabanos of the High Amazon, bands of rebels, roamed throughout the region, and in most settlements their arrival was greeted by the non-white population's spontaneously joining their ranks and there was a greater number of adherents to the movement. With that there was an integration of people surrounding thus forming the state, thanks to Cabanagem. the city was built because of the rubber trees.

The rubber boom

Manaus was at the center of the Amazon region's rubber boom
Rubber boom
The rubber boom was an important part of the economic and social history of Brazil and Amazonian regions of neighboring countries, being related with the extraction and commercialization of rubber...

 during the late 19th century. For a time, it was "one of the gaudiest cities of the world" One historian has written, "No extravagance, however absurd, deterred" the rubber barons. "If one rubber baron bought a vast yacht, another would install a tame lion in his villa, and a third would water his horse on champagne." The decadence extended to a grand opera house, vast domes and gilded balconies, and marble, glass, and crystal, from around Europe. The opera house cost ten million (public-funded) dollars, but its foolhardiness was demonstrated by the death by yellow fever of half the members of one visiting opera troupe. The opera house, called the Teatro Amazonas, still exists today; it has been restored, was used in the Werner Herzog film Fitzcarraldo
Fitzcarraldo
Fitzcarraldo is a 1982 film written and directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski as the title character. It portrays would-be rubber baron Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an Irishman known as Fitzcarraldo in Peru, who has to pull a steamship over a steep hill in order to access a rich rubber...

, and after a type of interlude lasting almost 90 years, presents operas once again.
When the seeds of the rubber tree were smuggled out of the Amazon region, Brazil lost its monopoly on the product and Manaus fell into poverty. The rubber boom had brought electricity to the city before it arrived in many European cities, but the end of the rubber boom made the generators too expensive to run, and the city lost artificial lighting for years. Today's sprawling city of 2 million inhabitants has been generated, so to speak, to a large extent by the duty-free policy that began in the 1950s.

The declaration of a duty free zone in Manaus added to the economic prosperity of the city.

Geography

Largest city in northern Brazil, Manaus occupies an area of 11,401.058 square kilometers, with a density of 144.4 inhabitants/km ². It is the neighboring city of Presidente Figueiredo
Presidente Figueiredo
Presidente Figueiredo is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 23,636 and its area is 25,422 km²....

, Careiro
Careiro
Careiro is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 24,972 and its area is 6,092 km²....

, Iranduba
Iranduba
Iranduba is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 40,436 and its area is 2,215 km², making it one of the smallest municipalities in terms of size. It is located directly south of Manaus....

, Rio Preto da Eva
Rio Preto da Eva
Rio Preto da Eva is a municipality located just east of Manaus in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 24,283 and its area is ....

, Itacoatiara and Novo Airão
Novo Airão
Novo Airão is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 15,915 and its area is 37,771 km².- Sights and attractions :...

.

Climate

Manaus has a tropical monsoon climate
Tropical monsoon climate
Tropical monsoon climate, occasionally also known as a tropical wet climate or tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate in climate classification, is a relatively rare type of climate that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category "Am."Tropical monsoon climates have monthly...

 (Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

 "Am"). Rainfall intensity is somewhat seasonal, with one half of the year (coinciding with the Southern
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...

 winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...

) being half as rainy as the other. Manaus technically has a dry season
Dry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...

 month, August, where less than 60 mm (2 in) of precipitation falls. Because of this dry season month, the city’s climate falls under the tropical monsoon climate category instead of the tropical rainforest climate
Tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest climate, also known as an equatorial climate, is a tropical climate usually found along the equator...

 category. Average annual temperature is 26.6C (80F), with more or less consistent temperatures all year round.

Vegetation

The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

s and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...

 in the world
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....

. Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome
Biome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...

, and tropical forests in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

 are consistently more species rich than the wet forests in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. As the largest tract of tropical rainforest in the Americas, the Amazonian rainforests have unparalleled biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

. More than 1/3 of all species in the world live in the Amazon Rainforest.

Green areas

Despite being located in the Amazon, Manaus has few green areas. The city's stock has been frequent in recent years. The largest green areas of the city:
  • Park of Mindu: Located in the Center-South of the city, the district Park 10, the Park of Mindú is now one of the largest and most visited parks of the city Amazon. It was created in 1989, through a popular manifesto initiated by the residents of the neighborhood Park on November 10.
  • Park of Bilhares: Established in 2005-06, the Park of Bilhares is located in south-central region of Manaus, in the neighborhood of Plateau
    Plateau
    In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

     in the direction neighborhood-Center. The park is one of the attractions of the city.
  • Area of the green hill of Aleixo: Created in the 1980s, the green area of the Hill Aleixo is located in the east of the city and is one of the largest urban green areas. It is not open to visits by constant invasions of landless.
  • Park Sumaúma: It is a state park located in the north of Manaus, in the district New Town
    New Town
    New Town may refer to:*New town, a generic name for a planned city development or expansion*In the United Kingdom, any of a specific set of towns created under various Acts of Parliament for population moved out of overcrowded conurbations-Places:...

    . It is the smallest state park of the Amazon.
  • The Adolfo Ducke Forest Reserve
    Ducke Adolfo Ducke Forest Reserve
    Adolfo Ducke Forest Reserve is 10,000 ha protected area on the outskirts of Manaus, Brazil. It is a member of the Long Term Ecological Research Network. The reserve sits at the intersection of two major drainage areas, the Amazon River and the Rio Negro...

     is nearby.

Demographics

According to the IBGE
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...

 of 2010, there were 1,802,525 people residing in the city, and 2,210,825 people residing in the Metropolitan Region of Manaus. The population density was 149.9 PD/sqkm. The racial makeup of the city was 63.93% Caboclo
Caboclo
A caboclo or caboco is a person of a mixed Brazilian Indian and European ancestry. In Brazil, a caboclo is a specific type of mestiço as is the mulato, a person of a mixed Afro-Brazilian and European ancestry....

, 31.88% White
White Brazilian
White Brazilians make up 48.4% of Brazil's population, or around 92 million people, according to the IBGE's 2008 PNAD . Whites are present in the entire territory of Brazil, although the main concentrations are found in the South and Southeastern parts of the country...

, 2.43% Black
Afro-Brazilian
In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"...

, 0.87% Asian
Asian Brazilian
An Asian Brazilian is is a Brazilian citizen of full or partial Asian ancestry, who remains culturally connected to Asia, or an Asian-born person permanently residing in Brazil. Brazil received many immigrants from Asia, both from Middle East and East Asia...

 or Amerindian
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...

.
  • Total 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...

    : 1,709,010 inhabitants (87% urban, 13% rural, women 52.07% and 47.93% men)
  • Population density
    Population density
    Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

    : 144.4 inhabitants per square km


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...

 of Manaus is 1,709,010 inhabitants (as performed by counting IBGE in 2008), making it the eighth largest city 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...

, after São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Brasilia
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...

, Fortaleza
Fortaleza
Fortaleza is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. With a population close to 2.5 million , Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in Brazil. It has an area of and one of the highest demographic densities in the country...

, Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...

 and Curitiba
Curitiba
Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Paraná. It is the largest city with the biggest economy of both Paraná and southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.75 million people and the latest GDP figures for the city surpass US$61 billion according to...

. The city's population growth is above the national average, and 10% above the average for the capital of the country. Most of the population is located in the North and East regions of the city, and the New Town
New Town
New Town may refer to:*New town, a generic name for a planned city development or expansion*In the United Kingdom, any of a specific set of towns created under various Acts of Parliament for population moved out of overcrowded conurbations-Places:...

 (northern area) the neighborhood is the most populous, with more than 260,000 residents. According to the results of the last census, the city's population increased from 343,038 inhabitants in 1960 to 622,733 inhabitants in 1970. Hence by 1990 the population grew to 1,025,979 inhabitants, increasing its density to 90.0 inhabitants / km ².

Religion

Although it has been developed along a predominantly Catholic social matrix, both because of colonization and immigration - even today the majority of Manauenses is Catholic, one can find dozens of different Protestant denominations in the city, as well as the practice of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

, Candomblé
Candomblé
Candomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...

, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 and spiritualism
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...

, among others. The city is the seat fo the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manaus
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manaus
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manaus is an archdiocese located in the city of Manaus in Brazil.-History:* April 27, 1892: Established as Diocese of Amazonas from the Diocese of Belém do Pará...

.

The city has a very diverse presence of Protestant or Reformed faiths, such as the Presbyterian Church, Calvary Chapel
Calvary Chapel
Calvary Chapel is an evangelical association of Christian churches with over one thousand congregations worldwide. Calvary Chapel also maintains a number of radio stations around the world and operates many local Calvary Chapel Bible College programs. It presents itself as a "fellowship of...

, For Christ International Church of Grace of God, Pentecostal Church of God in Brazil, Methodist Church, the Episcopal Anglican Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Baptist Church, an Assembly of God Church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is a Pentecostal Christian organisation established in Brazil on July 9, 1977, with a presence in many countries...

, the Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...

 among others. These churches are experiencing considerable growth, mainly in the outskirts of the city. A Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

 temple
Manaus Brazil Temple
The Manaus Brazil Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, currently under construction in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil...

 has been built in the city, the 6th in Brazil.

Districts and regions

Metropolitan region

The Metropolitan Region of Manaus (RMM), which has 2,006,870 inhabitants (counting the population IBGE
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...

 in 2008) is a metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

 of 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...

 that comprises eight cities of the Amazonas state, but without conurbation.

Regions

Manaus is divided into seven regions: North, Southern, Central-South, East, West, Mid-West and Rural area.
The eastern region of the city is the most populated, with approximately 600,000 inhabitants (2007). The northern region of the city that has the highest rate of population growth in recent years, and has the largest neighborhood of the city, the New Town
New Town
New Town may refer to:*New town, a generic name for a planned city development or expansion*In the United Kingdom, any of a specific set of towns created under various Acts of Parliament for population moved out of overcrowded conurbations-Places:...

. The Center-South region has the highest per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

.

Neighborhoods

The first neighborhood established in Manaus was Educandos. From there, other areas of the city began receiving human occupation, with the arrival of migrants from other regions of Brazil.

Manaus has the largest neighborhood of Latin America, the neighborhood New Town, which has 264,449 inhabitants, but it is estimated that the population exceeds 300,000 inhabitants. The New Town is larger than all the cities
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 inside the Amazonas state.

With the permanence and the strengthening of Free Economic Zone of Manaus
Free Economic Zone of Manaus
The Free Economic Zone of Manaus is located in the city of Manaus, the capital of the State of Amazonas, Northern Brazil. The initial idea, a Free Trade Port in Manaus, came from Deputy Francisco Pereira da Silva and was subsequently formalized by Law No. 3.173 on June 6, 1957...

, the city began to receive investments and constant migration of people from various regions of the Brazil. Many neighborhoods appeared in the city in a disorganized manner, and those are called invasions.

Economy

Although the main industry of Manaus through much of the 20th century was rubber, its importance has declined. Given its location, timber and Brazil-nuts make up important trades, as do petroleum refining, soap manufacturing, and chemical industries. Over the last decades, a system of federal investments and tax incentives have turned the surrounding region into a major industrial center (the Free Economic Zone of Manaus).

Manaus sprawls
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...

, but the center of town, the Centro where most of the hotels and attractions are located, rises above the river on a slight hill. As the largest city and a major port on the river, Manaus is commercial. Local industries include brewing, shipbuilding, soap manufacturing, the production of chemicals, computers, motorcycles and petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 refining of oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

 brought in by barge and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

.

The mobile phone companies Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

, Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...

, Sagem
SAGEM
SAGEM was a major French company involved in defence electronics, consumer electronics and communication systems.In 2005, Sagem merged with SNECMA to form SAFRAN...

, Gradiente
Gradiente
Gradiente is a Brazilian consumer electronics company based in São Paulo. The company designs and markets many product lines, including video , audio, home theater, high end acoustics, office and mobile stereo, and wireless. The company was founded in 1964...

 and BenQ-Siemens
BenQ-Siemens
BenQ-Siemens was the mobile communications subsidiary of Taiwanese BenQ Corp. The division was formed out of BenQ's acquisition of the then struggling Siemens mobile group in 2005. The stated goal of the company was to pull together BenQ's lifestyle experience, their design team and Siemens'...

 operate mobile phone manufacturing plants in Manaus. Plastic lens manufacturer Essilor
Essilor
Essilor International S.A. is a French company that produces ophthalmic lenses along with ophthalmic optical equipment. It is based in Paris, France, and quoted on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange...

 also has a plant here. The Brazilian sport utility vehicle
Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...

 manufacturer Amazon Veiculos is headquartered in Manaus. Two airlines, Rico Linhas Aéreas
Rico Linhas Aereas
Rico Linhas Aéreas S/A was a Brazilian regional airline with its headquarters at Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, authorized to operate scheduled passenger and cargo services in the Amazon region....

 and Manaus Aerotáxi
Manaus Aerotáxi
Manaus Aerotáxi is a passenger airline in Brazil; it operates air taxi services across jungle cities and South America. Its main office is located at Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus.-Accidents and incidents:...

, have headquarters on the grounds of Eduardo Gomes International Airport
Eduardo Gomes International Airport
Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes-Manaus International Airport , is the main airport serving Manaus, Brazil. It is named after the Brazilian politician and military figure Air Marshall Eduardo Gomes ....

 in Manaus.

The GDP for the city was R$ 31,916,257,000 (2006).

The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was R$ 18,902 (2006) or about US$10,661.

Free Economic Zone of Manaus

The Free Economic Zone of Manaus (Portuguese: Zona Franca de Manaus - ZFN) is located in the city of Manaus, the capital of the State of Amazonas, Northern Brazil. The initial idea, a Free Trade Port in Manaus, came from Deputy Francisco Pereira da Silva and was subsequently formalized by Law No. 3.173 on June 6, 1957. The project was approved by the National Congress on October 23, 1951 under No. 1.310 and regulated by Decree No. 47.757 on February 2, 1960. It was then amended by rapporteur Maurcio Jopper, engineer, who by agreement with the original author, justified the creation of a Free Trade Zone instead of a Free Trade Port.[1]
For the first ten years the ZFM (Manaus Free Trade Zone) was located in a warehouse rented from Manaus Harbour, in the Port of Manaus, and relied on federal funds. It was perhaps due to this lack of its own resources that there was little credibility in the project. On February 28, 1967, President Castello Branco signed Decree-Law No. 288, whose draft accompanied the Exposition of Motives. Decree-Law No. 288 amended the provisions of Law No. 3.173/57 and redefined the Manaus Free Trade Zone in more concrete terms. The new Decree-Law stipulated that the Manaus Free Trade Zone would have a radius of 10000 km (6,213.7 mi) with an industrial centre as well as an agricultural center and that these would be given the economic means to allow for regional development in order to lift the Amazon out of the economic isolation that it had fallen into at that time. Decree No. 61.244 of August 28, 1967 created the Manaus Free Trade Zone Superintendence, SUFRAMA, an autarchy with its own legal status and assets and having financial and administrative autonomy.
Tax incentives and the subsequent complementary legislation created comparative advantages in the region with respect to other parts of the country and as a result the Manaus Free Trade Zone attracted new investment to the area. These incentives constituted tax exemptions administered federally by SUFRAMA and SUDAM.

Education

The city has several universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

:
  • Federal University of Amazonas
    Federal University of Amazonas
    The Federal University of Amazonas is a public university located in Manaus, state of Amazonas, Brazil. It offers many degrees, including a Medicine degree, traditional options such as Law and Social Communication, plus a handful of Engineering options, and a wide array of science and art...

     - Universidade Federal do Amazonas;
  • University of the State of Amazonas
    University of the State of Amazonas
    University of the State of Amazonas is a university in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.The university is operated by the state.-External links:*...

     - Universidade do Estado do Amazonas;
  • Federal Center of Technological Education - Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica;
  • Centro Universitário do Norte - UNINORTE;
  • Lutheran University of Brazil - Universidade Luterana do Brasil;
  • Centro de Educação Integrada Martha Falcão;
  • Centro de Ensino Superior Nilton Lins;
  • Centro Universitário de Educação Superior do Amazonas - CIESA;
  • Escola Superior Batista do Amazonas;
  • Faculdade Boas Novas;
  • Faculdade Metropolitana de Manaus;
  • Universidade Paulista.

Airports

Eduardo Gomes International Airport
Eduardo Gomes International Airport
Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes-Manaus International Airport , is the main airport serving Manaus, Brazil. It is named after the Brazilian politician and military figure Air Marshall Eduardo Gomes ....

 is the airport serving Manaus. The airport has two passenger terminals, one for scheduled flights and the other for regional aviation. It also has three cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...

 terminal
Airport terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from aircraft....

s

Eduardo Gomes International Airport is Brazil's third largest in freight movement, handling the import and export demand from the Manaus Industrial Complex
Free Economic Zone of Manaus
The Free Economic Zone of Manaus is located in the city of Manaus, the capital of the State of Amazonas, Northern Brazil. The initial idea, a Free Trade Port in Manaus, came from Deputy Francisco Pereira da Silva and was subsequently formalized by Law No. 3.173 on June 6, 1957...

. For this reason, Infraero invested in construction of the third cargo terminal, opened on December 14, 2004.

Manaus Air Force Base
Manaus Air Force Base
Manaus Air Force Base – BAMN is a base of the Brazilian Air Force located in Manaus, Brazil. It was created in 1970 and between 1970 and 1976 public facilities of Ponta Pelada Airport were shared with the military facilities of Manaus Air Force Base. In 1976, with the opening of Eduardo Gomes...

, a base of the Brazilian Air Force
Brazilian Air Force
The Brazilian Air Force is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces"...

 is at the former Ponta Pelada Airport
Ponta Pelada Airport
Ponta Pelada Airport was until 1976 the main airport of Manaus, Brazil. Between 1970 and 1976 public facilities were shared with the military facilities of Manaus Air Force Base. In 1976, with the opening of Eduardo Gomes International Airport, all public operations were transferred to the new...

.

Highways

There are two federal highways connecting the city to the rest of the country.
There is a paved road going North (BR-174) connecting Manaus to Boa Vista
Boa Vista, Roraima
Boa Vista is the capital of the Brazilian state of Roraima. Situated on the western bank of the River Branco, the city lies 220 km away from Brazil's border with Venezuela. It is the only Brazilian capital located entirely above the Equator...

, capital of the State of Roraima
Roraima
Roraima is the northernmost and least populated state of Brazil, located in the Amazon region. It borders the states of Amazonas and Pará, as well as the nations of Venezuela and Guyana. The population is 400,000 and the capital is Boa Vista...

, and to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

.
The BR-319 goes South connecting Manaus to Porto Velho, Rondônia.

Port

Ships dock at the main port in Manaus directly downtown. Lying on the banks of the Negro River, it is 1450 kilometres (901 mi) inland in the heart of the Amazon rain forest. The terraced city is home to a network of bridged channels that divide it into several compartments. Several mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

 companies have manufacturing plants in the Port of Manaus, and other major electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...

 manufacturers have plants there. Major exports include Brazil nuts, chemicals, petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

, electrical equipment, and forest products, and eco-tourism is an increasingly important source of income for the city. The recent discovery of petroleum in the area brings great promise of further wealth and commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

 to the Port of Manaus.

Today, the Port of Manaus is an important commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

 center for ocean-going vessels traveling the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...

. In fact, it is the main transport hub for the entire upper Amazon Basin
Amazon Basin
The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...

. It imports beef from the hinterlands and exports hides and leather. Important industries in the Port of Manaus include manufacturing of soap, chemicals, electronics equipment as well as shipbuilding, brewing, and petroleum refining. With so much industry and commerce, the Port of Manaus has become a sophisticated cosmopolitan center. Located next to the Amazon rain forest, it also attracts crowds of tourists who find a variety of land and boat trips into the jungle. Wildlife is plentiful, even within the city, and it is home to the Pied Tamarin, one of Brazil's most endangered primates. Tour
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...

s take visitors to see the point where the black waters of the Rio Negro meet the Solimões River's brown waters, flowing together without mixing for nine kilometers (5.5 miles).

Events and holidays

  • February – Amazonas Carnival – samba schools parade at the "sambódromo" in the Convention Center
  • May – Ponta Negra’s Music Festival
  • May - Amazonas Opera Festival
  • June – Amazonas Folklore Festival
  • July - Amazonas Jazz Festival
  • June 29 – São Pedro Fluvial Procession
  • September 5 - Elevation of Amazonas to the category of Brazilian Province
  • October 24 – Anniversary of Manaus
  • November - Amazonas Film Festival
  • December 31 – Ponta Negra's New Year's Eve Party

Sights and attractions

Manaus is a cosmopolitan city, and, because of its location next to the Amazon rain forest, it attracts a substantial number of Brazilian and foreign tourists, who can find plenty of boat and land trips into the surrounding jungle. A great diversity of wildlife can be found even in the surroundings of Manaus. It is also home to one of the most endangered primates in Brazil, the Pied tamarin
Pied Tamarin
The pied tamarin is an endangered primate species found in a restricted area in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest.- Range :...

.

Tour boats leave Manaus to see the Meeting of the Waters, where the black waters of the Negro River meet the brown waters of the Solimoes River, flowing side by side without mixing for about 9 km. Visitors can also explore river banks and "igarapes", swim and canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...

 in placid lakes or simply walk in the lush forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 or stay at hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

s in the jungle.

About 18 km (11.2 mi) from downtown is Ponta Negra
Ponta Negra
Ponta Negra is a famous beach and neighborhood located in the Brazilian city of Natal, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte. Located in the extreme south of the beach is the Morro do Careca , a large dune and an iconic landmark of the city...

 beach, a neighbourhood that has a beachfront and popular nightlife area. A luxurious hotel is located at the west end of Ponta Negra; its small but very interesting zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 and orchid greenhouse as well as preserved woods and beach are open for public visits.

The Mercado Adolpho Lisboa
Mercado Adolpho Lisboa
Mercado Adolpho Lisboa, also called Mercado Municipal, is a central marketplace of Manaus located between Rua dos Barés and Avenida Lourenço da Silva Braga, on the shore of the Negro River....

, founded in 1882, is the city's oldest marketplace, trading in fruit, vegetables, and especially fish. It is a copy of the Les Halles market of Paris. Other interesting historical sites include the customs building, of mixed styles and medieval inspiration; the Rio Negro Palace cultural center; and the Justice Palace, right next to the Amazonas Opera House.

Manaus has also many large parks with native forest preservation areas, such as the Bosque da Ciência and Parque do Mindú. The largest urban forest in the world is located within Federal University of Amazonas, which was founded on January 17, 1909 and is the oldest federal university of Brazil.

The city has a busy cultural calendar throughout the year, including the Opera, Theater, Jazz and Cinema festivals, as well as Boi Manaus (usually held around Manaus' anniversary on the 24th of October), which is a great celebration of Northern Brazilian culture through Boi-Bumbá music.

Amazonas Opera House

The Amazonas Opera House has 700 seats and was constructed with bricks brought over 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...

, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...

 and Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

. Several important opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 and theater companies, as well as international orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

s, have already performed there.

Parks

Ponta Negra Cultural, Sport and Leisure Park

Ponta Negra beach, located 13 km (8.1 mi) from downtown Manaus, is one of the city's most important tourist attctions. It also has an amphitheater with capacity for 15.000 people.

Adolpho Ducke Botanical Garden

The Adolpho Ducke Botanical Garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

, inside a 100 km² ecological reserve, holds a huge number of plant and animal species.

Municipal Park of Mindú

It is located in an urban area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

, in the November 10 Park district. It was created in 1992 to be an area of ecological interest. It covers an area of 330000 m² (394,677 sq yd) of forest remaining from the Township, and is used for scientific, educational, cultural and tourist activities. It is one of the last habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

s for the sauim-de-coleira, a species of monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...

 that only exists in the Manaus region and is threatened with extinction. It is possible to walk through four distinct ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

s in the park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...

: land covered by secondary growth, firm ground brush, sandbanks and degraded areas that were illegally cleared in 1989. It also has an amphitheater for 600 people, garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...

s planted with medicinal and aromatic herbs, orchid nursery, aerial trails and signs aiming to develop environmental education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 programs.

Public Swimming Areas

The Tarumã, Tarumãzinho and Cachoeira das Almas bayous (branches of rivers), located near the city, are leisure spots for the population on weekends. Manaus has several public swimming areas that are being remodeled and urbanized lately. There are also many private clubs that can be visited.

Meeting of the Waters

This natural phenomenon is caused by the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...

 of the Negro River's dark water and the Solimões River's muddy brown water that come together to form the Amazonas River. For 6 km (3.7 mi), both rivers water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

s run side by side, without mixing. This phenomenon is caused by the great difference between the water temperatures and current speeds. The Negro River flows approximately 2 km/h (1.2 mi/h) at 28 °C (82 °F), while the Solimões River flows 4 to 6 km/h (2.4 to 3.7 mi/h) at 22 °C (72 °F).

CIGS Zoo

The zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 is open to the public. It is managed by the Brazilian Army
Brazilian Army
The Brazilian Army is the land arm of the Brazilian Military. The Brazilian Army has fought in several international conflicts, mostly in South America and during the 19th century, such as the Brazilian War of Independence , Argentina-Brazil War , War of the Farrapos , Platine War , Uruguayan War ...

 and has approximately 300 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

s from the Amazon fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

.

Beaches and waterfalls

For outings to beaches and parks situated near the city, it is often necessary to use boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...

s. The beaches are formed right after the river water level starts dropping, which lasts from August to November. Starting in December, as the river rises, the water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

s invade the sand and the woods on the banks. The Paricatuba Waterfall, located on the right bank of the Negro River, along a small tributary, is formed by sedimentary rocks, surrounded by abundant vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...

. Access is by boat. The best time to visit is from August to February. Love Cascade located in the Guedes bayou, with cold and crystal clear water, is accessible only by boat and, then, hiking through the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

.

Tupé Beach is approximately 34 km (21.1 mi) from Manaus, this beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

 is well frequented by bathers on holidays and weekends. It is accessible only by boat. Moon Beach is located on the left bank of the Negro River, 23 km (14.3 mi) from Manaus. It is accessed only by boat. The beach is shaped like a crescent moon and is surrounded by rare
Rare species
A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon or scarce. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and may be distinct from the term "endangered" or "threatened species" but not "extinct"....

 vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...

. Lion waterfall is located on km 34 of the AM-010 highway (Manaus-Itacoatiara).

Football

In football, the leading club in Manaus is the San Raimundo Sports Club – the Typhoon Hill (Tufão da Colina), founded on November 18, 1918, participant of the Series B (2nd division) of the Brazilian Championship until 2006, when it was demoted. It is a 7-times states champion, 3-times North Cup champion. Due to its rise to the second division, there was a big increase in attendance, and thus São Raimundo became the largest among the crowd attendance in the state of Amazonas. It participated in a Conmebol Cup and thus its name is remembered outside the country.

There is also Nacional Football Club, founded on January 9, 1913, and called "Leão da Colina" (Lyon Hill) the Athletic Club Rio Negro, called "Galo da Praça da Saudade" (Saudade Square Rooster) or "Barriga Preta" club (Black Belly), also founded in 1913, but in November, which is the second largest holder of state titles, and the National Fast Club, the Tricolor of the Boulevard" or "roll", founded in the early 40 years from a dissident's National Football Club, which has won six state championships, in addition to being Northern Region champion and North-Northeast Championshio runner-up in 1970.

Besides the "Colina" stadium, which has a capacity for 18.000 people, the largest stadium of Manaus is Vivaldo Lima (Vivaldão), which was inaugurated in 1970 by the Brazilian National Team in their last game in the country before the conquest of the thrice-world championship Mexico. It can hold up to 38,000 fans. Manaus is one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014....

.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Manaus is the origin of several world-champion Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

 black belts, mixed martial artists and submission grapplers. Champions such as Wallid Ismail
Wallid Ismail
Wallid Farid Ismail is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and promoter. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlson Gracie, and is an IVC mixed martial arts world champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion...

, Saulo Ribeiro
Saulo Ribeiro
Saulo Ribeiro, brother of the equally famed Xande Ribeiro, is a 4th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After earning a black belt in Judo, he began his training of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Rio De Janeiro under Royler Gracie, the son of Helio Gracie, at the famous Gracie Humaitá.Saulo received...

, Alexandre Ribeiro, Ronaldo Souza,and Bibiano Fernandes
Bibiano Fernandes
Bibiano Fernandes is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who has competed for K-1, DREAM, and King of the Cage. He was the first DREAM Featherweight Champion.-Early career:...

 hail from Manaus.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a major component of MMA (mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

). Jose Aldo
Jose Aldo
José Aldo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the first and current UFC Featherweight Champion...

 (born September 9, 1986) is the current UFC World Featherweight Champion and a black-belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Aldo defeated Mike Brown at WEC 44
WEC 44
WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting. It took place on November 18, 2009 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada.The event drew an estimated 414,000 viewers on Versus.-Preliminary card:...

 to win the title and has since successfully defended his title against Urijah Faber
Urijah Faber
Urijah Christopher Faber is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization. Faber won the WEC featherweight championship at WEC 19 on March 17, 2006 and held the title for over two years until his loss to Mike Brown at WEC...

 , Manvel Gamburyan
Manvel Gamburyan
Manvel "Manny" Gamburyan is an Armenian American mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter 5. Besides The Ultimate Fighter, Gamburyan has fought for notable promotions such as King of the Cage and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.Gamburyan is fighting in the...

 , Mark Hominick
Mark Hominick
Mark Hominick is a Canadian mixed martial artist, former TKO Featherweight Champion, and current UFC fighter. Hominick is currently ranked as the #4 featherweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.-Mixed martial arts career:...

 and Kenny Florian
Kenny Florian
Kenneth Alan Florian is a Peruvian-American mixed martial artist who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, and is known for his cerebral approach to the sport based on his meticulous game plans and...

.

International relations

Manaus has the following twin cities:
  • Belém
    Belém
    Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...

    , 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...

  • Charlotte
    CHARLOTTE
    - CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...

    , United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

  • Goiânia
    Goiânia
    -Climate:The city has a tropical wet and dry climate with an average temperature of . There's a wet season, from October to April, and a dry one, from May to September. Annual rainfall is around 1,520 mm....

    , 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...

  • Hamamatsu, Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

     Jerusalem, Israel
    Israel
    The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

     Banjarmasin
    Banjarmasin
    Banjarmasin is the capital of South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is located on a delta island near the junction of the Barito and Martapura rivers. As a result, Banjarmasin is sometimes called the "River City"...

    , Indonesia
    Indonesia
    Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

  • Mesa
    Mesa, Arizona
    According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...

    , United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

  • Perugia
    Perugia
    Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....

    , Italy
    Italy
    Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

  • Rio de Janeiro, 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...

  • Salt Lake City, United States
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

  • Santo Domingo
    Santo Domingo
    Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...

    , Dominican Republic
    Dominican Republic
    The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

  • Shanghai
    Shanghai
    Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

    , China
    China
    Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

  • Iquitos
    Iquitos
    Iquitos is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, with a population of 370,962. It is the capital of Loreto Region and Maynas Province.Located on the Amazon River, it is only above sea level, although it is more than from the mouth of the Amazon at Belém on the Atlantic Ocean...

    , Perú
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

  • Sarnia
    Sarnia
    Sarnia is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.Sarnia may also refer to:* Sarnia, the Roman name for the island of Guernsey, Channel Islands** Sarnia Cherie, its national anthem**A piano suite by John Ireland, written about Guernsey....

    , Canada
    Canada
    Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...


Notable people

  • Elisio de Albuquerque - film actor
  • Jose Aldo
    Jose Aldo
    José Aldo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he is the first and current UFC Featherweight Champion...

     - UFC Featherweight Champion
  • Helder Agostini - actor
  • Arthur Autran - screenwriter, producer, director
  • Gabriel Azevedo - television actor
  • Djalma Limongi Batista - director, cinematographer, producer
  • Antonio Calmon - screenwriter
  • Vinicius Cantuaria
    Vinicius Cantuária
    Vinicius Cantuária is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, guitarist, drummer and percussionist. He is associated with Bossa nova and Brazilian jazz. Originally from the Amazonian city of Manaus, Cantuária grew up in Rio and relocated to New York City in the mid-1990s...

     - television soundtrack composer
  • Violeta Cavalcanti - actress
  • Luiz de Miranda Correa - screenwriter, director, producer and composer
  • Bibiano Fernandes
    Bibiano Fernandes
    Bibiano Fernandes is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who has competed for K-1, DREAM, and King of the Cage. He was the first DREAM Featherweight Champion.-Early career:...

     - Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor
  • Oscar Felipe - actor
  • Wallid Ismail
    Wallid Ismail
    Wallid Farid Ismail is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and promoter. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlson Gracie, and is an IVC mixed martial arts world champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion...

     - Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, UFC competitor
  • Darcyana Moreno Izel - film/television director, producer and animator
  • Roberto Kahane - film director
  • Francisco Lima
    Francisco Lima
    Francisco Lima Govinho is a Brazilian retired football player. He was a defensive midfielder.He played for São Paulo Futebol Clube in 1996, and played for Gaziantepspor in 1996/1998. He then played for FC Zürich between 1998 to 2000, and joined Serie A team Lecce during 1999/2000...

     Govinho - Brazilian Football player
  • Cesar Manaus - actor
  • Priscilla Meirelles
    Priscilla Meirelles
    Priscilla Meirelles Almeida , from Brazil, won the 2004 Miss Earth pageant held in the Philippines. In winning Miss Earth, Brazil became the first country to win the "Big Four" in beauty pageants. She is 5'10" tall with a 35"-24"-35" figure also claimed the Most Photogenic Award. She also won the...

     - Miss Earth 2004 and now in the Philippines
    Philippines
    The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

     with her husband John Estrada
    John Estrada
    John Estrada is a Filipino movie and TV actor, starred in a number of roles as a leading man, comedian and villain.He is currently part of ABS-CBN contract actors.-Life and career:...

    , a Filipino actor and host of Happy, Yipee, Yehey
  • Cosme Alves Neto - actor
  • Olga Nobre - actress
  • Cristiano Moraes Oliveira
    Cristiano Moraes Oliveira
    Cristiano Moraes de Oliveira , simply Cristiano, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for S.C. Beira-Mar in Portugal, as an attacking midfielder.-Football career:...

     - Brazilian Football player
  • Fabio Pereira de Oliveira
    Fábio Pereira de Oliveira
    Fábio Pereira de Oliveira more commonly known as Fábio Bala is a professional Brazilian footballer.-Club:*Fluminense*Grêmio-Individual:*Fluminense-External links:***...

     - known as Fabio Bala, Brazilian Football player
  • Jefferson Peres
    Jefferson Peres
    Jefferson Peres was a Brazilian professor and politician, member of the Brazilian Senate from 1995....

     - politician
  • Antônio Pizzonia
    Antônio Pizzonia
    Antônio Reginaldo Pizzonia Júnior is a Brazilian racing driver who has raced in Formula One and the Champ Car World Series.He is nicknamed "Jungle Boy", a reference to his native Amazonas...

     - Formula 1 and Champion Car World Series driver
  • Eliana Printes
    Eliana Printes
    Eliana Printes is a Brazilian singer and composer, born in Manaus in the state of Amazonas , where she began her career, when she was only about 12 years old. Her deep feminine voice has always called the attention of family and friends...

     - MPB
    Música Popular Brasileira
    Música Popular Brasileira or MPB designates a trend in post-Bossa Nova urban popular music. It is not a discrete genre but rather a constellation that combines original songwriting and updated versions of traditional Brazilian urban music styles like samba and samba-canção with contemporary...

     singer and composer
  • Larissa Ramos
    Larissa Ramos
    Larissa Ribeiro Ramos is a Brazilian beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Terra Brasil 2009 and Miss Earth 2009, becoming the 2nd Brazilian to win the title.-Miss Terra Brasil 2009:...

     - Miss Earth 2009
    Miss Earth 2009
    Miss Earth 2009, the 9th edition of Miss Earth beauty pageant, was held at the Boracay Ecovillage Resort and Convention Center, in the Island of Boracay, Malay, Philippines last November 22, 2009....

  • Saulo Ribeiro
    Saulo Ribeiro
    Saulo Ribeiro, brother of the equally famed Xande Ribeiro, is a 4th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After earning a black belt in Judo, he began his training of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Rio De Janeiro under Royler Gracie, the son of Helio Gracie, at the famous Gracie Humaitá.Saulo received...

     - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion
  • Xande Ribeiro - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion
  • Carlos Frederico Rodrigues - screenwriter, director, producer and composer
  • Malvino Salvador
    Malvino Salvador
    Malvino Ramos Salvador is an actor from Brazil of Rede Globo . Malvino moved from his hometown, Manaus, at 18 years of age for a career as a model in São Paulo. His first role in a Novela , Cabocla he played Tobias, one of the main antagonists...

     - actor
  • Cláudio Santoro
    Cláudio Santoro
    Cláudio Franco de Sá Santoro was an internationally renowned Brazilian composer and violinist.-Early life:...

     - conductor and composer of classical music
  • Márcio Souza
    Márcio Souza
    Márcio Souza is a Brazilian writer, recognized for his focus on Amazonia.-Fiction:*Galvez – Imperador do Acre *Operação Silêncio *Mad Maria *A Resistível Ascensão do Boto Tucuxi...

     - writer and novelist
  • Ronaldo Souza - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion, ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship
    ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship
    The ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship is a competition involving professional athletes who have been successful at the highest levels of jiu-jitsu, wrestling, judo, sambo, shooto and mixed martial arts...

     and a MMA
    Mixed martial arts
    Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

    -athlete
  • Ana Lucia Torre - television actress

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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