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RIO DE JANEIRO
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RIO DE JANEIRO , a maritime See also:state of See also:Brazil, bounded N. by See also:Minas Geraes, a by Espirito Santo and the See also:Atlantic, S. by the Atlantic, and W. by Sao Paulo. It is one of the smaller states of the See also:republic and has an See also:area of 26,635 sq.m.; pop. (1900) 926,585. The state is traversed longitudinally by the Serra do See also:Mar, which divides it into a See also:low, narrow, irregular coastal See also:zone, and a broad elevated See also:river valley through which the See also:Parahyba flows eastward to the Atlantic. The eastern See also:part of this valley widens out into a See also:great alluvial See also:plain on which are to be found some of the richest See also:sugar estates of Brazil. The central mountainous region is heavily wooded, the See also:coast region is hot and in places malarial, but the valleys are fertile and well watered. The Parahyba valley has See also:long been celebrated for its fertility, and was for many years the centre of the See also:coffee-producing See also:industry. The exhaustion of the See also:soil and antiquated methods of cultivation have caused a great decline in this industry, and many of its coffee plantations are now either abandoned or are producing but a fraction of earlier crops. Stock-raising has been slowly developing since the abolition of See also:slavery (1888) and the decline in coffee See also:pro duction, and the state now possesses large herds of See also:cattle and droves of See also:swine. The state's agricultural and See also:pastoral products are coffee, sugar, See also:rum, See also:Indian See also:corn, mandioca (both See also:bitter and sweet), See also:cotton, tropical fruits, cattle, hogs, See also:butter, See also:cheese, fresh See also:milk and See also:lard. The state is well watered by the Parahyba (q.v.) and its tributaries and by numerous See also:short streams flowing from the Serra do Mar to the coast. Manufacturing has been See also:developed Iargely because of the See also:fine See also:water See also:power supplied by the See also:mountain streams, and among the manufactures are cotton, woollen, See also:silk and jute fabrics, See also:brick, See also:tile and rough pottery, sugar, rum, vehicles, See also:furniture, See also:beer and See also:fruit conserves. The state is well provided with See also:railways, which include the Central do Brazil, Leopoldina, Melhoramentos and Rio do Ouro. The Central See also:line runs from the See also:city of Rio de Janeiro N.N.W. across the Serra do Mar to the Parahyba valley, where it divides into two branches at the station of See also:Barra do Pirahy, one See also:running westward to Sao Paulo, and the other eastward and northward into Minas Geraes. Besides these there are a number of short railways called the Theresopolis, Uniao Valenciana, Rio das See also:Flores, See also:Banana], and Vassourense lines. The See also:total See also:extension of these railways in the state in 1907 was 1445 m. Other than See also:Nictheroy, the ports of the state are Sao Joao da Barra, Macahe or Imbetiba, Cabo Frio and Paraty, but they are visited only by the smaller See also:coasting vessels. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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