Marajó ( ; ) is a large coastal island in Pará, Brazil.

Together with smaller neighboring islands that are separated from Marajó by rivers, they form the Marajó Archipelago, with an aggregate area of .

The island is known for the pororoca, a tidal bore phenomenon in the river that creates large waves reaching in height. It is a tourist destination, especially for surfing of the bore.

Ecology

left|thumb|Water buffalo on Marajó

Marajó is almost entirely flat. The island can be divided into the eastern side with savanna plains at a slightly higher elevation of around , and the western side with rainforest situated around sea level. The western side of the island is characterized by várzea forests and small farms. Lumber and açaí palm are produced there.

The island is in the Marajó várzea ecoregion, an area of seasonally and tidally flooded várzea forest.

To the north of the large savanna area are palm swamps called mondongos, mainly with Buriti Palm (Mauritia flexuosa) and Euterpe oleracea. During the rainy season, the swamps are flooded one meter high. Little is known about the ecology of these swamps.

Hydrology

Itself an island in the delta of the Amazon River, Marajó is crossed by numerous rivers. They form the principal mode of transport for the island's inhabitants. The main ones are listed here:

  • Afuá River
  • Anabiju River
  • Aramá River
  • Arapixi River
  • Arari River
  • Atuá River
  • Cajari River
  • Cajuúna River
  • Camará River
  • Cambu River
  • Canaticu River
  • Furo Charapucu
  • Cururu River
  • Ganhoão River
  • Guajará River
  • Jenipapucu River
  • Mapuá River
  • Marajó-Açu River
  • Marajozinho River
  • Moções River
  • Muaná River
  • Mucutá River
  • Mutuacá River
  • Paracauari River
  • Piriá River
  • Pracuúba River
  • Tartarugas River

Marajó is largely flooded during the rainy season because of higher water levels of the rivers along its coast and heavy rainfall in its interior. During this season, much of the island presents itself as a large lake. This is especially visible in the town of Afuá, where the stilt houses and the reliance on boat transport gave rise to the epithet "The Venice of Marajó".

Municipalities

The most important towns are in the southeastern portion of the island: Soure, Salvaterra, and the largest city, Breves. They feature a basic touristic infrastructure and are popular because of the generous, lightly populated beaches. The city of Soure, on the island's Atlantic coast, serves as an entry point to the island via its ferry link to Belém.

The island is shared by 16 municipalities of three microregions:

  • Microregion of Arari:
  • Cachoeira do Arari
  • Chaves
  • Muaná
  • Ponta de Pedras
  • Salvaterra
  • Santa Cruz do Arari
  • Soure
  • Microregion of Furos de Breves:
  • Afuá
  • Anajás
  • Breves
  • Curralinho
  • São Sebastião da Boa Vista
  • Microregion of Portel:
  • Bagre
  • Gurupá
  • Melgaço
  • Portel

History

The island was the site of an advanced pre-Cabraline society, the Marajoara culture, which existed from approximately 400 BC to 1600 AD. The island has been a center of archaeological exploration and scholarship since the nineteenth century.

Roosevelt estimated that Marajó may have had a population of more than 100,000 people at its peak. The population lived in homes with tamped earth floors, organized themselves into matrilineal clans, and divided tasks by sex, age, and skill level.

The arrival of Europeans in the sixteenth century was catastrophic to the indigenous population of the island; 90% died due to high mortality from Eurasian infectious diseases; they lacked immunity against these diseases that had become endemic in Eurasian cities.

  • Marajó Island and Pará state at V-Brazil.com