Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

GOYAZ

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V12, Page 304 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

GOYAZ , an inland See also:

state of See also:Brazil, bounded by Matto Grosso and See also:Para on the W., See also:Maranhao, See also:Bahia and See also:Minas Geraes on the E., and Minas Geraes and Matto Grosso on the S. Pop. (189o) 227,572; (1900) 255,284, including many See also:half-civilized See also:Indians and many half-breeds. See also:Area, 288,549 sq. m. The outline of the state is that of a roughly-shaped See also:wedge with the thin edge extending northward between and up to the junction of the See also:rivers See also:Araguaya and Upper Tocantins, and its length is nearly 150 of See also:latitude. The state lies wholly within the See also:great Brazilian See also:plateau region, but its See also:surface is much broken towards the N. by the deeply eroded valleys of the Araguaya and Upper Tocantins rivers and their tributaries. The See also:general slope of the plateau is toward the N., and the drainage of the state is chiefly through the above-named rivers—the See also:principal tributaries of the Araguaya being the Grande and Vermelho, and of the Upper Tocantins, the Manoel Alves Grande, Somno, Paranan and Maranhao. A considerable See also:part of See also:southern Goyaz, however, slopes southward and the drainage is through numerous small streams flowing into the Paranahyba, a large tributary of the See also:Parana. The general See also:elevation of the plateau is estimated to be about 2700 ft., and the highest elevation was reported in 1892 to be the Serra dos Pyreneos (5250 ft.). See also:Crossing the state N.N.E. to S.S.W. there is a well-defined See also:chain of mountains, of which the Pyreneos, See also:Santa Rita and Santa Martha ranges See also:form parts, but their elevation above the plateau is not great. The surface of the plateau is generally open campo and scrubby arboreal growth called caatingas, but the streams are generally bordered with See also:forest, especially in the deeper valleys. Towards the N. the forest becomes denser and of the See also:character of the See also:Amazon Valley.

The See also:

climate of the plateau is usually described as temperate, but it is essentially sub-tropical. The valley regions are tropical, and malarial fevers are See also:common. The cultivation of the See also:soil is limited to See also:local needs, except in the See also:production of See also:tobacco, which is exported to neighbouring states. The open See also:campos afford See also:good pasturage, and live stock is largely exported. See also:Gold-See also:mining has been carried on in a See also:primitive manner for more than two centuries, but the output has never been large and no very See also:rich mines have been discovered. Diamonds have been found, but only to a very limited extent. There is a considerable export of See also:quartz crystal, commercially known. as " Brazilian pebbles," used in See also:optical See also:work. Although the See also:northern and southern extremities of Goyfiz See also:lie within two great See also:river systems—the Tocantins and Parana—the upper courses of which are navigable, both of them are obstructed by falls. The only outlet for the state has been by means of See also:mule trains to the railway termini of Sao Paulo and Minas Geraes, pending the See also:extension of See also:railways from both of those states, one entering Goyaz by way of Catalao, near the southern boundary, and the other at some point further N. The See also:capital of the state is GoYAZ, or See also:Villa-See also:Boa de Goyaz, a mining See also:town on the Rio Vermelho, a tributary of the Araguaya rising on the northern slopes of the Serra de Santa Rita. Pop. (1890) 6807.

Gold was discovered here in 1682 by Bartholomeu Bueno, the first See also:

European explorer of this region, and the See also:settlement founded by him was called Santa See also:Anna, which is still the name of the See also:parish. The site of the town is a barren, rocky See also:mountain valley, 190o ft. above See also:sea-level, in which the See also:heat is most oppressive at times and the nights are unpleasantly See also:cold. Goyaz is the see of a bishopric founded in 1826, and possesses a small See also:cathedral and some churches.

End of Article: GOYAZ

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
GOYANNA, or GOIANA 		[next]
GOYEN, JAN JOSEPHSZOON VAN (1596-1656)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries