A state with a flat landscape that alternates between vastchapadas and plain areas, Mato Grosso contains three main ecosystems: theCerrado, thePantanal and theAmazon rainforest. TheChapada dos Guimarães National Park, with its caves, grottoes, tracks, and waterfalls, is one of its tourist attractions. The extreme northwest of the state has a small part of the Amazonian forest. TheXingu Indigenous Park and theAraguaia River are in Mato Grosso. Farther south, thePantanal, the world's largestwetland, is the habitat for nearly one thousand species of animals and many aquatic birds.
The varied terrain of Mato Grosso includes cliffs, canyons, and waterfalls. It is home to theChapada dos Guimarães National Park, itssandstone mountains have eroded into a remarkably varied vistas.
The biologically richPantanal, one of the world's largest wetland/prairie ecosystems, is also located within this state. The Paraguay basin is rich in the number and diversity offish (around 230 species), a fascinating place for fishermen and scholars. In this basin are numerous species classified as "noble" insport fishing, others, including ornamental species, are of great interest to aquarists and still others whose rarity has led to detailed research. The fishing industry in the Pantanal plays an important role in the region's economy and, for local people, fish is a staple food.[4] The Pantanal has a habitat similar to theEverglades in Florida in the United States, although the Pantanal is much larger.
TheBororo Indians live in the Mato Grosso area. As late as 1880, soldiers patrolled lands on the outskirts ofCuiabá, Mato Grosso's capital and largest city, to protect settlers from Bororo raids.
By the end of the 19th century, although severely reduced by disease and by warfare with explorers,slave traders,prospectors,settlers, and otherindigenous groups, as many as five to 10 thousand Bororo continued to occupy central and eastern Mato Grosso, as well as westernGoiás.[5] The southwestern part of this state was ceded by Brazil toBolivia in exchange for the then-Bolivian territory ofAcre, according to theTreaty of Petrópolis in 1903.
This historically remote area attracted expeditions of exploration in the early 20th century that sought to find lost civilizations. A notable example was British CaptainPercy Fawcett's expedition to find theLost City of Z which he believed existed in the jungles of Brazil. Certain proponents of theHollow Earth hypothesis speculated that the region had sites of access to the interior of the earth and its settlements.
In 1977, the state was split into two halves, and the neighboring state ofMato Grosso do Sul was created from the other part of its territory.
Mato Grosso had a high rate of population growth in the 20th century due to timber, ranching and agricultural development. The state as a whole has one of the lowest population densities of any Brazilian state. According to theBrazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), 3,441,998 people resided in the state as of 2018. The population density was 3.8 inhabitants/km2.
Ethnically, the state includes a relatively high proportion ofcaboclos (persons of mixed European and Indian ancestry), as do other areas of interior Brazil. The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 2,048,782Brown (Mixed) people (56%); 1,181,590White people (32.3%); 360,698Black people (9.9%); 56,687Amerindian people (1.5%); and 10,813Asian people (0.3%).[8]At the 2022 census, the most commonly nominated ethnic groups as a proportion of the total population were:[citation needed]
Portuguese is the official national language and the primary language taught in schools. English and Spanish are also taught as part of the officialhigh school curriculum.
More than 58 universities are located in the state of Mato Grosso.[11]
The state's share of the Brazilian economy is 1.8% (2014).In 2020, Mato Grosso was the leader in national grain production, with 28.0%.[12] It's the largest producer ofsoy in Brazil, with 26.9% of the total produced in 2020 (33.0 million tons); the largest producer ofmaize in the country;[13] the largest producer ofcotton in Brazil, with around 65% of national production (1.8 out of the 2.8 million tons harvested in the country).;[14][15] the sixth largest producer ofsugarcane in the country, 16 million tons harvested in the 2019/20 harvest.;[16][12] and the third largest producer ofbeans, with 10.5% of Brazilian production.[12] Insunflowers, the state was the largest national producer in 2019, with 60,000 tons.[17] Incassava production, Brazil produced a total of 17.6 million tons in 2018. Mato Grosso produced 287,000 tons that year.[18]
In 2009, the cattle herd from Mato Grosso reached the mark of 30 million cattle, the largest cattle herd in the country, representing almost 14% of national production alone. In 2018, Mato Grosso was the fifth largest pork producer in the country, with a herd of around 2.5 million animals.[19][20][21][22]
In 2017, Mato Grosso had 1.15% of the national mineral participation (fifth place in the country). Mato Grosso had production ofgold (8.3 tons at a value of R$1 billion) andtin (536 tons at a value of R$16 million).[23] In addition, in gemstones, the state is the second largest national producer ofdiamond, having extracted 49,000 carats in the year 2017. The city ofJuína is the main one in this activity in the state. The state also has a small production ofsapphire andjasper.[24][25]
Mato Grosso had an industrial GDP of R$17.0 billion in 2017, equivalent to 1.4% of the national industry. It employs 141,121 workers in the industry. The main industrial sectors are: Construction (32.0%), Food (27.9%), Industrial Services of Public Utility, such as Electricity and Water (18.6%), Beverages (4.5%) and Oil Products Oil and Biofuels (3.9%). These five sectors concentrate 86.9% of the state's industry.[26]
Mato Grosso had, in 2020, 141,171 km of municipal roads; on the roads of the state of Mato Grosso there were 22,399 km of unpaved roads, 7,281 km of paved roads and 81 km ofduplicated highways. In the federal road network, there were 3,649 km of roads, including 330 km ofduplicated highways. Mato Grosso, despite being a more recently occupied state, already has a 2-lane highway in each direction connecting the capitalCuiabá to one of the largest cities in the state,Rondonópolis, then to the border withMato Grosso do Sul.[28][29][30][31][32]
Marechal Rondon International Airport, located 10 km (6.2 mi) from the city center ofCuiabá, in the suburb ofVárzea Grande, started receiving international flights in 1996. It now serves more than half a million passengers a year.
The runway at Marechal Rondon was opened to traffic in 1956. In February 1975,Infraero took over the airport's administration and began various upgrades to meet the needs of the airport complex.
The state flag has similar colors to theflag of Brazil, with blue symbolizing the sky, green vegetation, and white standing for peace. The star is yellow to symbolize thegold which attracted the first settlers. The flag was adopted by Decree No. 2 of January 31, 1890, just a few days after the adoption of the national flag. The Mato Grosso state flag was abolished by Law No. 1.046 of October 8, 1929, but reinstated by Article 140 of the Constitution of the State of Mato Grosso on July 11, 1947.
ThePantanal's backbone is theParaguay River, which cuts through the region from north to south. TheMiranda,Aquidauna,Taquari, andCuiabá rivers flow into the Paraguay River. From October to April, the high waters reveal outsized lakes, bays, river branches, and outlets.
The Transpantaneira Highway connects the town ofPoconé to Jofre Port, along theCuiabá River bank. It is a dirt road with 126 wooden bridges, and extends for 149 km (93 mi). On the way, it is possible to observe wild animals, especiallyalligators,capybaras, and birds, among other wild animals.
The 1,487 ha (3,670 acres)Águas Quentes State Park, the first protected area in Mato Grosso, is known for the healing powers of its thermal waters.[35]
TheGruta da Lagoa Azul State Park (Portuguese:Parque Estadual Gruta da Lagoa Azul) is a state park in the municipality ofNobres, Mato Grosso, with an area of 12,513 ha (30,920 acres).[36] Its primary attraction is a limestone cave with a pool of blue water and unusual cave formations. These have suffered from vandalism, causing the cave to be closed until measures to protect it could be implemented.The blue lagoon cave holds a pool of blue water formed from underground water of the Saloba River.[37]The main entrance is filled in part by the water.The hall contains columns over 5 m (16 ft) in size and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in diameter.There may be archaeological remains in the cave.The park has several other limestone caves.It is covered with deciduous forests, and is home tohowler monkeys,tapirs,jaguars, andmacaws.[38]
^Note: also once spelled "Matto Grosso". Thetown of Matto Grosso was formerly called Villa Bella." Source: Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, vol.2, by Lieut. USN.Lardner Gibbon 1853; chapter 11. p. 275
^PES Águas Quentes (in Portuguese), ISA: Instituto Socioambiental,archived from the original on 2022-02-08, retrieved2016-08-01{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
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