Vale do Itajaí also known as Vale Europeu (or "European Valley") is a mesoregion

Mesoregion (Brazil)

Mesoregions are subdivisions of Brazilian states, grouping together various municipalities in proximity and with common characteristics. They were created by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics for statistical purposes and do not, therefore, constitute an administrative area....

 located in the Northeastern part of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina

Santa Catarina (state)

Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...

. It has about 1.3 million inhabitants and comprises four smaller regions: Blumenau

Blumenau

Blumenau is a city in Vale do Itajaí, state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil. It was founded on September 2, 1850 by Dr. Hermann Bruno Otto Blumenau along with 17 German immigrants. A few years later Fritz Müller migrated to Blumenau as well....

, Itajaí

Itajaí

Itajaí is a Brazilian city in the state of Santa Catarina.-History:The city was founded on June 15, 1860, but the colonization of Itajaí started in 1658, when the Paulista João Dias D’Arzão arrived in the region. In 1750, Portuguese colonists coming from Madeira and the Azores made this region...

, Ituporanga and Rio do Sul. Most of the population is of German

German Brazilian

A German Brazilian is a Brazilian person of ethnic German ancestry or origin...

 and Italian

Italian Brazilian

-Italian immigration to Brazil:The Italian government claims there are 25 million Brazilians of Italian descent, which would be the largest population of Italian background outside of Italy itself. There are no actual surveys, or even verifiable calculations supporting such claims. According to...

 ancestry.

Geography

Climate

Vale do Itajaí has a humid subtropical climate

Humid subtropical climate

A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...

. The seasons of the year are distinct, with a well-defined summer and winter, and characteristic weather

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...

 for fall

Autumn

Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....

 and spring. Frost is infrequent, but occurs occasionally in winter. Because it is close the sea, relative humidity

Relative humidity

Relative humidity is a term used to describe the amount of water vapor in a mixture of air and water vapor. It is defined as the partial pressure of water vapor in the air-water mixture, given as a percentage of the saturated vapor pressure under those conditions...

 is 80% on average. There is significant precipitation which is well distributed throughout the year.
The region is subject to floods. A major flood in 2008

2008 Santa Catarina floods

The 2008 Santa Catarina floods were floods in the Santa Catarina, Brazil in November 2008. It occurred after a period of heavy rainfall during late November 2008, most significantly during days 20, 21, 22 and 23 of November...

 caused over 100 deaths.

Economy

See also Blumenau - Economy.

The most significant period for tourism is during Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest, or Wiesn, is a 16–18 day beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The...

, a traditional Bavarian beer festival. In 2005, 365,288 tickets were sold and 266811 litres (70,484 US gal) of beer were drunk at its pavilions. The record for public attendance was set in 1992, when over one million tickets were sold.