Rio de Janeiro, capital of the state with the same name

Rio de Janeiro is the name of both a city and a state in southeastern Brazil. The city is famous for the Sugar Loaf (Pão-de-Açúcar), the statue of Christ located on top of the Corcovado mountain, its beautiful beaches and for its yearly carnival celebration. It is also the home of the biggest forest inside an urban area in the whole world: Floresta da Tijuca - Tijuca's Forest. Rio de Janeiro is Brazil's second largest city, São Paulo is the first. The city was the country's second capital (the first one was Salvador, in Bahia) until the year 1960, when the capital was moved to Brasília.

Rio de Janeiro

Area: State: 43.910 Km2 City: 1.261 Km2

Population: State: 14.367.225 City: 5.850.544

This is the state's flag. It has an eagle in the middle, symbolizing a strong, honest and just government and God's Finger Rock (Dedo de Deus), which resembles a hand with its index finger pointing to the sky and is the most famous formation of the Serra dos Órgãos (the Organ Hills, a reference to the pipes of an organ), a national park in Brazil. The park is part of the larger Serra do Mar chain of mountains. The outer part of the coat of arms represents its agricultural richness: sugarcane (left) and coffee (right). The crest is the star Delta crucis in silver, which represents the State of Rio in the national flag.

The city was founded at the foot of the Sugar Loaf. After its growth along the years, the city was divided into downtown (Centro), with its historical buildings; the tourist South Zone (Zona Sul), with its world-famous beaches; the industrial North Zone (Zona Norte) and the West Zone (Zona Oeste).

The Southern Zone of Rio de Janeiro is composed of several districts, amongst them are São Conrado, Leblon, Ipanema, Arpoador, Copacabana, Leme, Botafogo and Flamengo which composes Rio's famous beach coastline.

The Sugar Loaf lies on the district of Urca. Access to the top is made via cable car. A beautiful and breathtaking view of the Sugar Loaf is possible from the top of the Corcovado mountain. One of the world's most spectacular New Year's Eve parties happens every year in Copacabana. Fireworks are launched from boats at midnight to welcome the new year.

The mountain Pedra da Gávea, located in São Conrado, is one of the highest mountains in Rio de Janeiro. Its nearby peak, Pedra Bonita, is considered the best spot in the world for tandem flights. Rio is also the perfect place to experience hang gliding. After taking off from Pedra Bonita, hang gliders land on the Pepino beach in São Conrado. Pedra Bonita's take off ramp is located inside Tijuca's National Park.

Far away on the left of the picture is the Corcovado and the statue of Christ on top. On the right the Sugarloaf. The heart shaped lagoon in the middle is the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon. The beach line in the front is Ipanema to the right and Leblon to the left. The other one in the right of the picture, next to the Sugarloaf is Copacabana.

The North Zone of Rio is home to the Maracanã stadium, the world's highest capacity football venue, able to hold nearly 200,000 people. The Maracanã stadium will be the site for the opening and closing ceremonies and soccer competition of the 2007 Pan American Games. Among some of the districts located in the North Zone are: Tijuca, Maracanã, Andaraí and Méier.

The West Zone includes Barra da Tijuca, Jacarepaguá, Campo Grande, Santa Cruz and Bangu. Barra da Tijuca remains an area of accelerated growth, attracting mainly the richer sector of the population. A formerly undeveloped coastal land, Barra da Tijuca experienced a large growth along the past years. It has high rise apartments and great shopping malls and a very beautiful beach.

Rio de Janeiro is host to four traditional Brazilian soccer clubs: Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo and Vasco. The most popular is Flamengo and a Flamengo x Fluminense soccer game in the Maracanã stadium is always crowded.

Rio the Janeiro has two airports: the Galeão, later renamed Antônio Carlos Jobim, is Rio de Janeiro's international airport. It was built in 1952 on Governador Island and is located thirty kilometres from the city center. Santos Dumont Airport is located only 2 km from the city's downtown. The name of the airport honours aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont, known as the Father of Aviation. The airport was Rio de Janeiro's first airport. It was built on the coast, with no space for expansion. The airport is used only for domestic flights.

:: Pictures of Rio taken by me ::
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Click HERE to listen to the state's anthem and read its lyrics.

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