The abolition of slavery took place in the province of Ceará in 1884, four years before May 13. Abolitionists from all over the country celebrated and José do Patrocínio gave Ceará the name “Terra da Luz”. D. Pedro II applauded, moved; and even Victor Hugo sent a greeting from France to the people of Ceará.
Located in the Northeast region of Brazil, Ceará occupies an area of 146,348km2. Bathed by the Atlantic Ocean in an extension of 538km, it has little indented coastline, where coastal plains appear that contain tertiary boards and beaches with dunes, famous for their beauty. It is limited to the east with Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte, to the south with Pernambuco and to the west with Piauí. The capital is Fortaleza.
Five morphological categories characterize the Ceará relief: the pediplane, the mountains, the plateaus, the coastal plateaus and the alluvial plains. The pediplane, dominant feature, constitutes a vast plain, slightly undulating, which falls smoothly from south to north and from it sparse elevations, the mountains and plateaus. The sierras are mountain massifs carved in ancient crystalline rocks.
The most important are those of Uruburetama, Meruoca and Baturité, the last with 1,115m, at the Alto peak, the highest point in the Northeast region. Plates are tabular elevations of great extension, formed by sedimentary terrains arranged in horizontal or slightly inclined layers. There dominate very porous sandstone formations, in which rainwater infiltrates, giving rise to natural sources at the foot of the plateaus. The most important plateaus are located on the borders with neighboring states: that of Apodi, to the northeast; that of Araripe, to the south; and that of Ibiapaba, to the west.
The coastal plateaus are also low elevated sandstone formations from the tertiary period, and extend along the entire length of the coast of Ceará, dominating the beaches. Finally, along the rivers (Jaguaribe, Acaraú and others), alluvial plains (floodplains) are developed, subject to floods, which periodically renew their soils. About 92% of the state’s surface is below 600m in height, and 56% below 300m.
The soils of the extensive flatlands of the sertão (pediplanos) are generally shallow, but have a good chemical composition. The difficulties they offer to agricultural use result only from their deficiency in humidity. On the other hand, the main problem of the mountain soils is its slope, which favors the accelerated erosion of the terrain. The soils of the plateaus are generally poor.
Except for a small stretch of coast, in the vicinity of Fortaleza, which receives 1,000 to 1,500 mm of annual rainfall, the semi-arid climate, of the Bsh type of Köppen, prevails in most of the territory. The reduced rainfall (less than 1,000mm annually and, in some places, less than 600mm) is subject to an irregular regime. In certain years, the rainy season does not take place, triggering the drought phenomenon. These conditions are further aggravated by the strong heat, which results in a high rate of evaporation, which greatly reduces the availability of water in the soil. Only saws and plateaus escape from this picture, due to the significant rains that they determine.
The vegetal covering is characterized by the predominance of caatingas, which cover about 91% of the state’s surface. This type of vegetation is greatly modified by the action of man, who replaced it with cotton plantations or transformed it into pasture, eliminating the tree or shrub stratum. They still occur in Ceará, occupying small areas, plus three types of vegetation: closed on the flat top of the plateaus; carnaubals in the floodplains of the rivers, especially in the Jaguaribe; and forests on the slopes of mountains and foothills.
The main river in Ceará is the Jaguaribe, whose basin drains the entire south, center and east of the state. The north is bathed by small independent rivers, including Coreaú, Acaraú and Aracatiaçu. All rivers in Ceará are temporary, as they “cut” in the dry season, that is, they dry out. Among the dams built in the state, the largest are those of Orós, in Jaguaribe, and Banabuiú, in the river of the same name. The water storage capacity reaches 7.8 billion cubic meters, but the use of weirs for irrigation is still reduced.
Population and urban network
According to cachedhealth.com, the population distribution is irregular, with a strong contrast between areas of weak and intense demographic concentration. Most of the state’s territory – the great plains of the pediplano, marked by low rainfall – registers less than twenty inhabitants per square kilometer. This includes large spaces with less than ten inhabitants per square kilometer. On the other hand, there are two areas in which demographic densities are never below twenty inhabitants per square kilometer, generally remaining above thirty. The first comprises the entire north of the state and extends to the south along the border with Piauí until Crateús. In addition to the proximity of the coast, this region comprises numerous elevations, which are associated with greater rainfall (heavy rainfall), which allows for more intense agriculture; in addition to the Ibiapaba plateau, there are the mountains of Meruoca, Mucuripe, Uruburetama, Dança, Arará, Maranguape, Aratanha and Baturité. Fortaleza and Sobral are the main urban centers.
The second area of population density, in the southeast of the state, comprises the northern foot of the Chapada do Araripe, where the important agricultural region of Cariri develops, the mountainous area that precedes the plateau and a stretch of the Jaguaribe River floodplain. The main urban centers are Crato and Juazeiro do Norte.
The territory of Ceará is under the influence of two regional metropolises: Fortaleza and Recife. The first dominates most of the state, with the second being only the southern end (Cariri and Chapada do Araripe). As a port, road junction, industrial, commercial and service center and cultural center, the influence of Fortaleza is also felt over the north and center of Piauí and the east of Maranhão. In the western portion of Ceará, it is through Sobral that Fortaleza commands economic life; in the central-north part, it is through Iguatu.
The second city of Ceará, Juazeiro do Norte, is located, however, in the area of influence of Recife. Together with the city of Crato, which is only 12km from it, it serves the extreme south of the state and some municipalities in the northwest of Pernambuco and southeast of Piauí.