O large northern river is a Brazilian state that makes up the Northeast region. Its capital is the city of Natal, on the east coast. The Atol das Rocas belongs to the Potiguar territory, a unique formation in the South Atlantic and a UNESCO world natural heritage site.
The relief of the state is formed mostly by depressions, and the predominant climate is Tropical, with regional variations. In economic terms, Rio Grande do Norte emerges as the main producer of shrimp and sea salt in Brazil.
Read too: Regions of Brazil - division of the national territory based on similar geographic aspects
General data for Rio Grande do Norte
Region: North East
capital: Christmas
Government: representative democracy
Areatterritorial: 52,809.601 km² (IBGE, 2020)
Population: 3,534,165 inhabitants (IBGE estimate, 2020)
Densitydemographic: 59.99 inhab./km² (IBGE, 2010)
spindle: Brasília Standard Time (GMT -3 hours)
Climate: tropical
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Geography of Rio Grande do Norte
The state of Rio Grande do Norte is part of the Northeast region. It is the sixth smallest federative unit of Brazil, with 52.8 thousand km². The state has an output for the Atlantic Ocean across its coastal strip, which extends over 400 km to the north and east. is limited also with:
O Ceará, to the west
The Paraíba, South
A large part of the west of the state of Rio Grande do Sul makes up the sub-region of the northeastern Sertão. The Zona da Mata covers the east, with a narrow transition strip between them that characterizes the Agreste.
Rio Grande do Norte climate
Two climatic types are predominant in the state. The first is the semiarid climate, which covers the west and is characterized by low relative humidity, high temperatures and periods when there is little or no precipitation. At rains annuals range between 250 mm and 750 mm.
In the east of the state, there is occurrence of climate Ttropical, which is divided into humid, in municipalities located on the coastal strip and surrounding areas, and hot, with dry winter in other areas. It is characterized by high temperatures (above 18 ºC) and rainfall ranging from 750 mm to 1600 mm on the Potiguar coast.
Relief of Rio Grande do Norte
Due to its very old rocky substrate and intensely altered by the action of weathering agents, a large part of the relief of Rio Grande do Norte is composed of shapes characteristics of Sertaneja or São Franci depressionsco.
In the south of the state, on the border with Paraíba, is thePLanalto from Borborema, where the highest elevations are concentrated. The presence of the çApodi's hapada, in the northwest region, extending to the border with Ceará. The coastal zone is marked by plateaus and the coastal plain.
The altimetric average of the state varies between 200 m and 300 m. It is located in the Coqueiro mountain range, in the southwest, the highest point of Rio Grande do Norte, located 868 meters above sea level.
Vegetation of Rio Grande do Norte
Almost all of Rio Grande do Norte is included in the Caatinga, a biome that corresponds to 96% of the state's area. It is characterized by sparse vegetation and adapted to long periods of drought, such as xerophytes. Along the east coast, it extends to Atlantic forest, composed of an ombrophilous forest (dense and open). In the coastal area, it is possible to observe the presence of mangroves and sandbanks.
Rio Grande do Norte hydrography
![Atol das Rocas is considered an environmental protection area.[1]](/f/34c2e15136280efd004963f5cbddb847.jpg)
The state belongs to the North East Atlantic watershed. Its main rivers are: Piranhas-Açu, Apodi-Mossoró, Potengi, Trairi, Curimataú, Seridó and Jacu.
It is located, northeast of the Potiguar coast, approximately 269 km from Natal, the Atoll of Rocas. It is a set of islands in a circular shape made up of corals. It is unique in the South Atlantic and, given its great biodiversity, is characterized as a biological reserve. Since 2001, Atol das Rocas has been listed as a world natural heritage site by Unesco.
Read too: Hydrographic basins - relief unit supplied by rivers and their tributaries
Rio Grande do Norte map
Demographics of Rio Grande do Norte
The population of Rio Grande do Norte is 3,534,165 inhabitants, the 16th among Brazilian states. Considering only the Northeastern federation units, the state has 6.15% of the regional population. Your demographic density it was 59.99 inhab./km² at the time of the 2010 Census. It is estimated that, currently, this value is 66.92 inhab./km², increasing due to the population increase of 366,138 inhabitants between 2010 and 2020, as indicated by the data from IBGE.
The largest portion of the Potiguar population lives in cities. 77.8% urbanization rate. Natal is the most populous city in the state and the 20th in Brazil, with 890,480 inhabitants. Next is Mossoró, which has 300,618 inhabitants. Also noteworthy are Parnamirim and São Gonçalo do Amarante. A little more than half of the Potiguar population (52.48%) declares themselves brown; 41.15%, white; 5.24%, black; and 0.08%, indigenous, according to the 2010 Census.
The Human Development Index (HDI) of Rio Grande do Norte is 0.684, the 16th among Brazilian states. Life expectancy in the state is 76.4 years, the highest in the Northeast region.
Geographical division of Rio Grande do Norte
Rio Grande do Norte has 167 municipalities, which are divided into 11 immediate geographic regions established by the IBGE. These regions, in turn, comprise three intermediate geographic regions as listed below:
-
Christmas:
Canguaretama
João Câmara
Christmas
Holy Cross
Santo Antônio-Passa and Fica-Nova Cruz
-
caicó:
caicó
New Corrals
-
Mossoró:
acu
Mossoró
stick of irons
Economy of Rio Grande do Norte
Rio Grande do Norte has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of R$ 66.96 billion, equivalent to 1% of the Brazilian GDP. With the exception of public administration and related activities, the tertiary represents the main sector of the potiguar economy, with 47.21% of the value added to GDP.
In addition to commerce and services, the tourism plays an important and growing role in the economy of Rio Grande do Norte, with a great contribution from activities linked to ecotourism, not only on the coast but also in the interior of the state.
Industry accounts for 19.09% of the state's GDP. The sector is led by public utilities and civil construction, followed by the extraction of Petroleum and natural gas and by the petrochemical industry. With Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte stands out in the country's onshore oil production. The activities of the Petrobras began in the state in the 1950s.
The importance of the salt industry for the Potiguar economy is also highlighted. Rio Grande do Norte is the Brazil's largest producer of sea salt.
The main agricultural products in the state are sugarcane and various fruits, like banana, pineapple, melon, watermelon and cashew. In animal husbandry, Rio Grande do Norte guarantees itself as the largest shrimp producer in Brazil. Cattle ranching is also developed, as well as poultry and swine, from which the production of milk, eggs and meat is derived.
See too: What is Brazil's GDP?
Government of Rio Grande do Norte
Rio Grande do Norte is a representative democracy. Elections are held periodically, every four years, so that the Potiguar population chooses its governors. The state executive branch is headed by the governor. The Legislative is composed of three federal senators, eight federal deputies and 24 state deputies. The seat of the state government is located in Natal.
Flag of Rio Grande do Norte
Infrastructure of Rio Grande do Norte
The transport network of Rio Grande do Norte is made up of waterway, airway, railroad and road modes, this being the main means of integration between the Potiguares cities and between the state and other regions of the country. Highways are also used to transport cargo. One of them is the BR-101, which connects the entire east coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Sul to Rio Grande do Norte. BR-406 crosses the state connecting Natal to Macau, the city that carries out saline production. Also noteworthy are the BR 226, 304 and 405.
The transport of cargo such as iron ores is carried out through the railways. The flow of production takes place mainly through ports, such as the port of christmas, in the state capital, the Port of Guamaré it's the Salt Terminal of white sand. Air connections, in turn, are mainly made through the airports of Natal, Parnamirim and Mossoró.
Located in an area of the planet where there is a high incidence of wind, the energy matrix of Rio Grande do Norte is predominantly composed of wind energy. Likewise, the state has great potential for generating energy through sunlight. However, currently sources such as biomass and the fossil fuels complete the potiguar energy picture.
![Wind farm in the city of Galinhos (RN).[2]](/f/2ca8c56ca60dfe4710983a43cad1acc0.jpg)
Culture of Rio Grande do Norte
Rio Grande do Norte holds a rich culture which carries with it the influence of the customs and traditions of the indigenous, African and European populations, notably Portuguese, which gave rise to its population. The Potiguar's cultural identity is expressed through popular festivals, music, dances, cuisine and arts in general.
The traditional parties of the state have both religious and folk elements, such as the Feast of the Holy Kings, the Carnival, the Festa de Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes, the Festa do Boi, the Festas Juninas, which take place in different parts of Rio Grande do Norte, and the Festa de Santana de Caicó. Popular throughout the country, bumba-meu-boi also represents the potiguar culture, which includes other dances and rhythms such as coco, fandango and forró.
Potiguar cuisine is represented through a wide menu which includes many preparations based on fruits, which are among the specialties of the state's agriculture, and seafood. Baião de Dois, tapioca, paçoca de carne de sol and rice milk are also some of the delicacies of the cuisine of Rio Grande do Norte.
History of Rio Grande do Norte
The Potiguar territory is located in a strategic position in the country, and, due to its easy access, was the target of several foreign expeditions. As soon as the Portuguese approached Brazilian lands, their domain was determined from Cabo de São Roque, in 1501, in the current coastal municipality of Maxanguarape, in Rio Grande do Norte. This did not prevent, however, the advance of the French through the region in 1535, right after the country was divided into hereditary captaincies and the non-immediate settlement of the Portuguese in Potiguar lands that same year.
The downfall of the French only occurred in 1598, and the resumption of Portuguese rule was marked by the construction of the Fortaleza dos Reis Magos, in the current capital of Rio Grande do Norte. A few decades later, in 1633, the disputes for control of the area started over, this time with the Dutch, that remained in the region until the year 1654. Thirty years later, the Confederação dos Cariris (1683-1713) took place in the interior of the state. between the natives and the Portuguese initiated by the natives with the intention of expelling, without success, the foreign.
In the 18th century, the Potiguar territory was not politically independent. This achievement took place only in 1824, when Rio Grande do Norte became a province. In this period of time, in 1883, the city of Mossoró was the first to decree the end of slavery, five years before the decree of the Golden Law. The Potiguar territory gained the status of state of the federation in 1889.
Image credits
[1] Rodrigo Pereira Barbosa / commons
[2] Caio Flints / Shutterstock
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography teacher
