Santa Catarina (state) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

State of Santa Catarina

Flag	Coat of arms

Location of State of Santa Catarina in Brazil

Brazil

Former seat

Area

• Total

95,346.181 km² (36,813.366 sq mi)

Area rank

20th

Population

(2010 census)

• Total

6,249,682

• Rank

11th

• Density

65.547271/km² (169.766654/sq mi)

• Density rank

9th

Demonym(s)

Catarinense or Barriga-Verde (Green Belly)

GDP

• Year

2006 estimate

• Total

R$ 93,173,000,000 (7th)

• Per capita

R$ 20,369 (4th)

HDI

• Year

2005

• Category

0.840 – high (2nd)

Time zone

UTC-3 (BRT)

• Summer (DST)

UTC-2 (BRST)

Postal Code

87000-000 to 89990-000

ISO 3166 code

BR-SC

Website

sc.gov.br

Santa Catarina is a state in Southern Brazil. It has with one of the highest standards of living in the country. Its capital is Florianópolis, which partly lies on the Santa Catarina Island.

Santa Catarina shares borders with the states of Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west it borders the province of Misiones, Argentina.

Santa Catarina is the most European state of Brazil. Most of the people that live there are descendants of Portuguese, German and Italian immigrants.

Its largest city is Joinville.

History
Ethnic groups
European settlement
Main cities
Images for kids
See also

History

European colonies began with the Spanish settlement of Santa Catarina island in 1542. The Portuguese took control in 1675. The captaincy of Santa Catarina was created in 1738. Large numbers of European immigrants, especially from Germany, began arriving in the early 19th century. Immigrants from Italy, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Japan and other parts of Europe later came. This led to many small, family held farms in the state.

In late March 2004, the state was hit by the first ever hurricane recorded in the South Atlantic. Because there is no naming system for such an event in Brazil, Brazilian meteorologists called it Catarina, after the state.

Ethnic groups

92% white
- German (35%);
- Italian (30%);
- Portuguese (22%);
- 5% others (Polish, Russian, Norwegian, etc.)
8% other

European settlement

Santa Catarina is one of the Brazilian states that shows the most signs of recent European colonization. Most of the population are descendants of European settlers.

Portuguese

The Portuguese started arriving in the 1750s. The came mainly from the Azores islands, and colonized the coast. In the late 18th century, half of Santa Catarina's population was Portuguese-born. These Portuguese created many important towns of the State, such as Florianópolis, the capital.

Germans

Germans started arriving in 1828. They were peasants that came to Brazil to get their own lands. They did this since Germany had many people and many people had no lands to work. German immigration was very low, until the 1850s, when many Germans started arriving in Southern Brazil. To create more German colonization in Southern Brazil, the Brazilian government created many German colonies. Many of these German colonies became big towns, such as Blumenau and Joinville, the largest city in Santa Catarina.

Germans had kept to themselves in these communities for decades. They did not have much contact with other people of Brazil. For generations they were able to speak German and keep their German traditions in Brazil. This changed in the 1930s, when Brazil declared war against Germany in 1942. The German immigrants learned Portuguese and followed a Brazilian way of life.

Nowadays, the German influence in the State of Santa Catarina is still very strong. Many towns still have many parts of the German culture. For example, Pomerode is a small town where 90% of the people are German-Brazilian. Most of the people speak German fluently. Another example is the Oktoberfest of Blumenau and many other towns in the region. The architecture and food also show German influence.

Italians

Italian settlers started arriving in Santa Catarina in 1875. They came in large numbers until the 1910s. They were peasants from Northern Italy. They created Italian colonies close to the coast. In the beginning, the Italian settlement had failed. This was because many Italians died of tropical diseases or left the colonies to find better conditions. However, in southern Santa Catarina, they found cooler weather and better lands, and the colonies did very well. Many Italians worked in the coal industry.

Main cities

Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina.

States of Brazil
Acre \| Alagoas \| Amapá \| Amazonas \| Bahia \| Ceará \| Espírito Santo \| Goiás \| Maranhão \| Mato Grosso \| Mato Grosso do Sul \| Minas Gerais \| Pará \| Paraíba \| Paraná \| Pernambuco \| Piauí \| Rio de Janeiro \| Rio Grande do Norte \| Rio Grande do Sul \| Rondônia \| Roraima \| Santa Catarina \| São Paulo \| Sergipe \| Tocantins
Federal District: Brazilian Federal District

Images for kids

Aerial view of Florianópolis
Fort of São José da Ponta Grossa.
German architecture in Blumenau
Joinville, the largest city of Santa Catarina, settled by Germans in 1851.
View of Treze Tílias founded by Austrian immigrants, the large majority from Tyrol and Vorarlberg. The city exhibits in its buildings an Alpine-influenced timber framing style of architecture
Chapecó is the main city in the West of Santa Catarina
Rice plantation near Rio do Sul.
Family farm in Urubici
Cattle in Santa Catarina.
Poultry in Campos Novos.
Wind farm in Bom Jardim da Serra
BR 101 highway in Barra Velha, Santa Catarina.
Sunset in Criciúma.
Hering headquarters, in Blumenau
Perdigão Headquarters, in Videira
The Port of Itajaí is one of the main ports of Brazil.
Beto Carrero World is the largest theme park in Latin America.
View of Itajaí
Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianópolis.
Catarinense Academy of Letters.
Oktoberfest of Blumenau.
Balneário Camboriú.
Snow in the Alps of Santa Catarina.
The roads of Serra do Rio do Rastro.
A party in Jurerê Internacional.
Sandboarder on Florianópolis dunes.
In the region of Pomerode, Hunsrückisch and East Pomeranian are two of the minor languages.

Santa Catarina (state) facts for kids

Contents

History

Ethnic groups

European settlement

Portuguese

Germans

Italians

Main cities

Images for kids

See also