Bananal Island is a large
islandAn island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, .There are two main types of islands:...
formed from the bisection of the
Araguaia RiverThe Araguaia River or, in Portuguese, Rio Araguaia is one of the major rivers of Brazil, and the principal tributary of the Tocantins. It has a total length of approximately 2,627 km. Araguaia means "river of macaws" in the Tupi language....
, in
TocantinsTocantins is one of the states of Brazil.The state was formed in 1988 out of the northern part of Goiás, and construction began on the capital, Palmas, in 1989, in contrast to most of the other cities in the state which date back to the Portuguese colonial period...
,
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
. The island is formed by a fork in a very flat section of the Araguaia River. Bananal Island is the largest
fluvialFluvial is used in geography and Earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them...
island in the world, at 350 km long and 55 km wide. Its total area is 19,162.25 km², twice the size of
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
or
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
.
In accordance with Article 28 of the Statute of Indian Law (Artigo 28 do Estatuto do Indío-lei) No.
Bananal Island is a large
islandAn island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, .There are two main types of islands:...
formed from the bisection of the
Araguaia RiverThe Araguaia River or, in Portuguese, Rio Araguaia is one of the major rivers of Brazil, and the principal tributary of the Tocantins. It has a total length of approximately 2,627 km. Araguaia means "river of macaws" in the Tupi language....
, in
TocantinsTocantins is one of the states of Brazil.The state was formed in 1988 out of the northern part of Goiás, and construction began on the capital, Palmas, in 1989, in contrast to most of the other cities in the state which date back to the Portuguese colonial period...
,
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
. The island is formed by a fork in a very flat section of the Araguaia River. Bananal Island is the largest
fluvialFluvial is used in geography and Earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them...
island in the world, at 350 km long and 55 km wide. Its total area is 19,162.25 km², twice the size of
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
or
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
.
In accordance with Article 28 of the Statute of Indian Law (Artigo 28 do Estatuto do Indío-lei) No. 6001 laid out in 19/12/1973, Bananal Island is preserved as a national park and indigenous preservation. The northern third of the island is a national park which is a very popular destination for
ecotourismEcotourism is travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strives to be low impact and small scale. It helps educate the traveler; provides funds for conservation; directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of local communities; and fosters respect for...
. The southern two thirds are reserved as
terra indígena for the native tribes of the region. Although Brazilians of non-native descent lived on the island in the past, today only natives populate the island.
At least four tribes live on Bananal Island: the Javaés,
Karajá-Territory:Karajá people live in a 180-mile-long area in central Brazil, in the Goiás, Mato Grosso, Pará, and Tocantins provinces. They currently reside in 29 villages in the Araguaia River valley, near lakes and tributaries to the Araguaia and Javaés Rivers, and the Ilha do...
, Ava-Canoeiro, and Tuxá. There are sixteen
aldeias or villages on the island:
Barra do Rio, Barreira Branca,
Boa Esperança-In Brazil:* Boa Esperança, a municipality in Espírito Santo state.* Boa Esperança, a municipality in Minas Gerais state....
, Boto Velho,
CachoeirinhaCachoeirinha is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Tocantins. Its population was 2,368 and its area is 352 km². Stephen Sloto lived here at one point....
, Fontoura,
JK-Entertainment:*See The Twelve Kingdoms for Juuni Kokki, a series of light novels that originated an animated television series known as "The Twelve Kingdoms" in the United States....
, Kanoanã, Kaxiwe, Macaúba,
Santa IsabelSanta Isabel is the Spanish and Portuguese name of one of two Roman Catholic saints, Saint Isabel of France and Saint Isabel of Aragon. Various places have been named for either of such persons...
,
São JoãoThere are [civil] parishes and churches that have the name São João :-In the Azores:*São João, a parish in the district of Lajes do Pico-In Brazil:*Cedro de São João, Sergipe*Mata de São João, Bahia*São João, Paraná...
, Txoude, Txuiri, Wari-Wari, Watau.
There are no bridges to the island from the states of Tocantins to the east nor from Mato Grosso to the west. For the greater majority of the year, the only transport to the island is by boat. However, for a few weeks during the dry season (Jun-Aug) the river is low enough that the island can be reached by car. The villages have roads wide enough for cars and tractors even though the main forms of transport are by horse, bicycle, and foot.
Statistics
- Area of the Bananal island: 19,162.25 km²
- Area of Parque Nacional do Araguaia: 5,577.26 km²
- Terra Indígena Parque do Araguaia: 13,584.99 km²