Rio de Janeiro

capital and largest city of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil. It is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Until April 21, 1960 it was the capital city of Brazil. According to the 2000 Census, the city had 5,473,909 people, and an area of over 1,000 km2. In 2008 Eduardo Paes became Mayor.[1] The city was started in 1565.

Rio de Janeiro's flag
The Coat of Arms of Rio de Janeiro
The city of Rio de Janeiro, viewed from Corcovado mountain

Copacabana Beach, Ipanema Beach, Sugar Loaf Mountain (in Portuguese, Pão de Açúcar), the statue of Christ the Redeemer (in Portuguese, Cristo Redentor), a harbor on Guanabara Bay, and Tom Jobim Airport are in Rio de Janeiro. It has much commerce and many industries, especially textiles, food, chemicals, and metallurgy. Most of these industries are in the northern and western suburbs of the city. Rio de Janeiro also has a small rural area, near the suburb of Campo Grande, where fruits and vegetables are grown.

Other cities near Rio de Janeiro, like Duque de Caxias, Nova Iguaçu, Queimados and São Gonçalo, that form the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro, also have a lot of industries and population.

The city is 420 kilometers (about 261 miles) away from São Paulo, the biggest city in South America. The cities of Rio and São Paulo are linked by the Presidente Dutra Highway (also known as Via Dutra). The region crossed by the Presidente Dutra Highway has been an important industrial zone since the 1950s.

In the city of Rio de Janeiro lies Tijuca National Park, created in 1961. This park contains some 33 km2, between the northern and the southern parts of the city. The district (in Portuguese, bairro) of Santa Tereza can be reached by taking an electric tram (in Portuguese, bonde) from central Rio de Janeiro (near Largo da Carioca subway station), crossing over the Arcos da Lapa, an aqueduct built during the colonial period to provide water to the city.

The city hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 2016.

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References change

  1. "Members of the Global Commission | New Climate Economy | Commission on the Economy and Climate". Archived from the original on 2015-06-07. Retrieved 2015-06-22.

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