Rio De Janeiro Essay

Rio de Janeiro is Brazil’s second largest city and port which is the capital of Rio de Janeiro state. It is widely considered one of the world’s most beautiful and fascinating cities, which lies at the entrance to Guanabara Bay along a strip of Brazil’s Atlantic coast that runs east to west. Rio de Janeiro lies on a strip of Brazil’s Atlantic coast, close to the Tropic of Capricorn, where the shoreline is oriented east-west; the city largely faces south. It was founded on an inlet of this stretch of the coast, Guanabara Bay, the entrance to which is marked by a point of land called Sugar Loaf a “calling card” of the city. © Digital Vision/Getty Images

The name was given to the city’s original site by Portuguese navigators who arrived on

The greater portion of the city—commonly referred to as the North Zone extends to the northwest on plains composed of marine and continental sediments and on hills and several rocky mountains. The South Zone of the city, reaching the beaches fringing the open sea, is cut off from the Centre and from the North Zone by coastal mountains. These mountains and hills are offshoots of the Serra do Mar to the northwest, an ancient-granite mountain chain that forms the southern slopes of the Brazilian Highlands. The large West Zone which was cut off by the mountainous terrain, has been made accessible by new roads and tunnels by the end of the 20th

The North Zone is a heavily populated industrial center, while the now-accessible West Zone is the site of much of the city’s more recent growth.

The Centre contains a number of buildings with styles that reflect its history and culture. © Digital Vision/Getty Images

A few blocks south is the National Museum of Fine Arts, an example of French Neoclassical design. Across the street sits the Municipal Theatre, and a block down is its architectural sister, the National Library. The historic Municipal Legislature building, opposite the library, is on the edge of Cinelandia, which is a strip of sidewalk cafés, bars, restaurants.

A few blocks west of Campo de Santana is the long stretch of low-lying white buildings housing elementary schools for most of the year but briefly serving as the elongated stadium holding some 60,000 spectators for the Carnival competition among the largest escolas (in function, essentially community samba associations), each involving thousands of costumed dancers and musicians. At the north end of this stadium, popularly called sambódromo, is the monument to 17th century Afro-Brazilian hero Zumbi dos Palmares. © Digital Vision/Getty