, located entirely within the municipality of Cuiabá . Cuiabá borders the towns of
Chapada dos Guimarães, Campo Verde,
Santo Antônio do Leverger,
Várzea Grande,
Jangada and Acorizal. The city is an intersection of many major roads and waterways. However, on account of sand banks along the river, these waterways no longer support medium or large ships. The third most important
airport of the Brazilian Mid-West region is located in Cuiabá, and the city is the centre of an important and productive agricultural region. It is famous throughout Brazil as one of the country's hottest cities, where temperatures are often above 40 °C (104 °F). In central Cuiabá, an
obelisk marks the exact center of the South American continent, as calculated in 1909. However, more accurate measurements in the 1990s located the exact center about northeast of Cuiabá, near the town of
Chapada dos Guimarães. The town sits in a transition zone between three of the most characteristic Brazilian ecosystems:
Amazon,
Cerrado and
Pantanal. It is also close to the mountain range known as
Chapada dos Guimarães (which blocks polar masses and causes the extremely hot weather) and the city is also known as the Southern gate to the Amazon. The municipality contains 11% of the
Rio da Casca Ecological Station, a strictly protected conservation unit created in 1994.
Climate Under the
Köppen climate classification, Cuiabá has a
tropical savanna climate (
Köppen: Aw). Cuiabá is famous for its searing heat, although temperatures in winter can sometimes drop to . This is atypical, caused by cold fronts coming in from the south, and may only last one or two consecutive days then returning to the usual heat. The climate is tropical and humid. Rainfall is concentrated from October to April, the mass of dry air over the center of Brazil inhibiting the rain formation from May to September. The cold fronts dissipates the heat associated with the smoke produced by fires during the dry season. The relative humidity drops to very low levels, sometimes below 15%, increasing cases of respiratory diseases. The average annual rainfall is , with maximum intensity from December to March. The mean maximum temperature reaches , but the absolute maximum can reach in hotter months but is muffled on rainy days, when the maximum temperature is typically only . The average low in July, the coldest month is with wind chill of .
Vegetation The
Massairo Okamura State Park provides a green space with typical
cerrado vegetation in the centre of a highly urbanized area. It helps preserve the headwaters of the Barbado and Moinho streams. The
Zé Bolo Flô State Park is in the Grande Coxipó district. The city also includes the
Mãe Bonifácia State Park, created in 2000, also with typical cerrado trees. Cerrado includes various types of vegetation. It is characterized by extensive savanna formations crossed by gallery forests and stream valleys. Humid fields and "buriti" palm paths are found where the water table is near the surface. Alpine pastures occur at higher altitudes and mesophytic forests on more
fertile soils. "Cerrado" trees have characteristic twisted trunks covered by a thick bark, and leaves which are usually broad and rigid. Many herbaceous plants have extensive roots to store water and nutrients. The plant's thick bark and roots serve as adaptations for the periodic fires which sweep the cerrado landscape. These adaptations protect the plants from destruction and make them capable of sprouting again after the fire.
Distances From São Paulo - From Rio de Janeiro - From Brasília - == Economy ==