Climate
Campo Grande has a
highlandThe term highland or upland is used to denote any mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau. Generally speaking, the term upland tends to be used for ranges of hills, typically up to 500-600m, and highland for ranges of low mountains.The Scottish Highlands refers to the mountainous...
tropical climate, semi-humid, hot, and notably seasonal, with a dry winter season from May through September or October. Under the
Koppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Campo Grande features a tropical wet and dry climate, albeit a noticeably cooler version of the climate due to the city's altitude. The annual rainfall is around 1500 millimetres (59.1 in). January is one of the warmest and rainiest months, with mean highs of 29 °C (84.2 °F) and lows of 20 °C (68.0 °F).
July brings on sunny days but cooler temperatures, with mean highs of 25 °C (77.0 °F) and lows of 14 °C (57.2 °F). Occasional near-freezing temperatures can occur on winter's coldest nights, but this is somewhat rare.
Vegetation
The vegetation in Campo Grande and Central Brazil is a tropical savanna called "
CerradoThe Cerrado, is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Gioas and Minas Gerais...
" that varies from pure grassland to a nearly closed canopy of medium height trees overlying grass. Since
forestA forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
is the expected climax vegetation there, several theories have been given to explain the types of
grasslandGrasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
present.
The more promising of these involve differences in soil properties, but only a few sites have been used for evaluation. The 1960s marked the beginning of the expansion of large-scale
agricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
across the
CerradoThe Cerrado, is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Gioas and Minas Gerais...
. It is one of the largest producers of soy beans in the world.
Economy
Most of the city's active labor is absorbed by the tertiary sector (commerce and services). In spite of that, the primary and secondary sectors, especially
agribusinessIn agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term for the various businesses involved in food production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales....
, still play an important role in the local economy. The farming of bovine
livestockLivestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
supplies local
slaughterhouseA slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
s, which in turn allows Campo Grande to export meat to other states in
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and abroad. In addition to food processing and agribusiness,
constructionIn the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
and non-metallic mineral processing are important. The area's most important crops are soy,
riceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and manioc. Recently, sugar cane is becoming important as well. According to
IBGEThe Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...
, Campo Grande has a total of 11,657 commercial and 1,300 industrial enterprises.
The city's GDP was R$ 6,903,356,000 (2005).
Per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
was R$ 9,207 (2005).
Education
PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
are part of the official
high schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
curriculum.
Educational institutions
The city has several
universitiesA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
. The most notable ones are:
Transportation
International Airport
The operation of
Campo Grande International AirportCampo Grande International Airport , sometimes also informally referred to as Antônio João Airport, after the neighborhood where it is located, is the airport serving Campo Grande, Brazil.it is operated by Infraero....
is shared with Campo Grande Air Force Base. The airport has two runways.
The airport can receive medium-sized jets such as the
Boeing 737The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
and the
Airbus A320The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
, but occasional operations of larger jets have occurred. Operations are mostly domestic, but there are also a few flights to
BoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and
ParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
.
Railroad
Campo Grande is served by a system of railway transport under administration of the Novoeste company, interconnecting with other cities in the state, in a line that goes from
BauruBauru is a Brazilian city and municipality in midwestern region of the state of São Paulo. It is also the capital of the micro-region of Bauru...
and
São Paulo stateSão Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
through Campo Grande all the way to
CorumbáCorumbá is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, 425 km northwest of Campo Grande, the state's capital. It has a population of approximately 96,000 inhabitants, and its economy is based mainly on agriculture, animal husbandry, mineral extraction, and tourism, being the...
and on to
BoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. This mode of transport has had significant effects on the transport infrastructure, allowing the export of important products of the state to other centres of production and consumption. Currently, no passenger services are operated, only freight trains.
Highways
Three main federal highways intersect at Campo Grande. BR-262 links Campo Grande to
CorumbáCorumbá is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, 425 km northwest of Campo Grande, the state's capital. It has a population of approximately 96,000 inhabitants, and its economy is based mainly on agriculture, animal husbandry, mineral extraction, and tourism, being the...
and
BoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
to the west, and the Brazilian State of São Paulo to the east.
BR-163BR-163 is a highway in Brazil, going from Cuiabá, the capital city of Mato Grosso state, to Santarém in the state of Pará. It runs through in the heart of the Amazon Basin. Currently, only 44% of the road are paved. Most parts of the road are muddy and impassable in the wet season. Lorries can get...
connects Campo Grande to Cuiabá and the Amazon region to the north, and to
DouradosDourados is a Brazilian city, situated in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Southwest of Campo Grande . It has a population of approximately 200,000 inhabitants, and its economy is based mainly in arable agriculture and in cattle ranching...
(which is 120 km from the Paraguayan border) to the south. BR-060 links Campo Grande to the state of
GoiásGoiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...
and the national capital city of
BrasíliaBrasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
to the northeast. There are also several state highways converging there.
Culture
Festas JuninasFesta Junina , also known as festa de São João for their part in celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist, are the annual Brazilian celebrations historically related to European Midsummer that take place in the beginning of the Brazilian winter...
were introduced to Northeastern
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
by the
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and the custom spread to the rest of the country, including Campo Grande, where festivities take place with the usual fare of typical foods and decoration, rural costumes, music, dancing, a bonfire, and fireworks.
The Campo Grande Film Festival is held annually in the months of January and February since 2004. It focuses on independent cinema, presenting Brazilian and foreign films alike, as well as regional and short films.
Sports
Car racing
The city has a car racing and a
kart racingKart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits...
track. Orlando Moura International Autodrome has a 3,433-metre (11,263 ft.) runway, and Kartódromo Ayrton Senna a 930-metre (3,051 ft.) runway.
Football (soccer)
As in all of Brazil, the most popular sport in Campo Grande is football (soccer). The city has a major football
stadiumA modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
, Estádio Universitário Pedro Pedrossian, popularly known as "
MorenãoMorenão, also known as Estádio Universitário Pedro Pedrossian, is the home ground of Operário and Esporte Clube Comercial. It is located at Cidade Universitária , in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil....
" ("the big brown" in Portuguese, after the city's nickname and the Brazilian custom of often giving names derived of
augmentativeAn augmentative is a morphological form of a word which expresses greater intensity, often in size, but also in other attributes...
s to football stadiums). The stadium was opened in 1971 and accommodates up to 45,000 people. There are five other minor stadiums in the city, which occasionally host competition games. The city's main teams are Esporte Clube Comercial and Operário Futebol Clube.
Additionally, there are 45 multisport playing fields in the city, in clubs, cultural associations and public squares.
Sister city
Campo Grande's
sister citiesTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
are:
TurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Hamamatsu,
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
Pedro Juan CaballeroPedro Juan Caballero is a city in Paraguay, located in Amambay Department of which it is the capital. The city lies on the border with the Brazilian city of Ponta Porã in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and is known as a centre for cheap electronic and consumer goods, and also as a centre for drug...
,
ParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...