All about Sao Paulo

São Paulo (city), city in southeastern Brazil, the most populous city in South America, and one of the largest cities in the world.

The city is the capital of São Paulo state and the commercial and financial center of Brazil.

It is situated among the hills of the Serra do Mar on the Piratininga Plateau at an elevation of about 730 m (about 2,400 ft).

It is crossed by the Tietê River. A steep mountain slope, known as the Great Escarpment, extends along much of the coastal region of southeastern Brazil. It separates São Paulo from its port city of Santos, located about 60 km (about 40 mi) to the south on the Atlantic Ocean.

São Paulo was founded on January 25, 1554, by Jesuit missionaries who came to the region seeking to convert Native Americans to Christianity.

The settlement was named after the 1st-century Christian missionary Saint Paul, who was converted to Christianity on January 25.

São Paulo has great significance in Brazil. The population of the urban agglomeration was estimated at about 17.9 million in 2000 and accounts for 10 percent of the nation’s total.

Industrial production in the state, most of which occurs in the São Paulo metropolitan area or its environs, accounts for about 50 percent of the nation’s output. This large population and industrial base have combined to make São Paulo the most important city in Brazil.

Industrialists and labor unions are both powerful political forces in São Paulo, and their influence on the nation’s economy and politics reaches far beyond the confines of the city and state of São Paulo.

Many prominent Brazilian politicians are from São Paulo, including former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2003).

São Paulo lies almost exactly on the tropic of Capricorn, which marks the southern boundary of the tropics.

The city’s climate is subtropical, with an average annual temperature of 19° C (66° F), but there are considerable seasonal variations.

The summer months, November to March, when most of the rainfall occurs, can be humid and hot.

Temperature highs and lows in the summer average from 27° C to 19° C (from 81° F to 66° F) respectively, although daily highs sometimes reach into the mid-30°s C (mid-90°s F).

The city’s elevation on the plateau moderates summer temperatures.

In the winter months, mean high and low temperatures drop to about 20° C and 10° C (68° F and 50° F) respectively.

During the winter the city is sometimes influenced by cold low-pressure systems from the South Atlantic.

These can cause temperatures to drop below freezing and cause significant damage to the coffee crops in the surrounding agricultural areas.


(1) SAO PAULO AND IT'S METROPOLETAN AREA
(2) POPULATION
(3) EDUCATION AND CULTURE
(4) RECREATION
(5) ECONOMY
(6) GOVERNMENT
(7) CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
(8) HISTORY