Paraná (state, Brazil)

Paraná (state, Brazil), state in southeastern Brazil, and one of the country's major agricultural areas. Paraná is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina State, on the west by Argentina, Paraguay, and Mato Grosso do Sul State, and on the north by São Paulo State. Most of the interior of Paraná is formed by an upland plateau flanked in the east by the Serra do Mar mountain range. A narrow coastal lowland extends inland around the Bay of Paranaguá. Much of the interior is underlain by thick layers of volcanic basalt which, when weathered, form fertile soils known as terra roxa (Portuguese for “purple soil”). Most of the natural forest vegetation has been cleared for agriculture. Several important rivers flow through the state, including the Paraná River and its tributaries, the Tibaji, the Ivaí, and the Iguaçu.

Paraná is Brazil's leading producer of corn, cotton, and wheat. Other important crops are soybeans, coffee, rice, peanuts, and beans. Livestock, especially hogs and poultry, is also important. Paved roads link the eastern population centers to the Paraguayan border. The capital and largest city is Curitiba. Other major cities are the port of Paranaguá, Cascavel, Foz do Iguaçu, Londrina, Maringá, and Ponta Grossa.

Paraná's population was very small until the 20th century. Colonization of the fertile lands of northern Paraná intensified after Brazil was proclaimed a republic in 1889. Most of the development was stimulated by coffee cultivation and the Japanese immigrants who supplied much of the needed labor in the region. Recent settlement has extended farther west to the area along the Paraná River on the Paraguayan border, where construction of the large Itaipu Dam attracted workers in the 1970s and the early 1980s. Area, 199,709 sq km (77,108 sq mi); population 10,261,856 (2005 estimate).