Belterra, Pará
{{redirect|Belterra|the casino|Belterra Casino Resort & Spa|the racetrack|Belterra Park}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Belterra, Pará
| settlement_type = City
| image_skyline = File:Belterra.jpg
| image_caption =
| image_flag = Bandeira Belterra.png
| image_shield =
| nickname = Sierra Princess (Princesa da Serra in Portuguese)
| image_map = Para Municip Belterra.svg
| mapsize = 250px
| map_caption = Location of Belterra in the State of Pará, Brazil
| pushpin_map = Brazil
| pushpin_map_caption = Localization of Belterra in Brazil
| coordinates = {{coord|02|38|09|S|54|56|13|W|region:BR|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name ={{Flagu|Brazil}}
| subdivision_type2 = State
| subdivision_name2 = File:Bandeira do Pará.svg Pará
| established_title = Founded
| established_date = December 29, 1995
| government_type =
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Geraldo Irineu Pastana de Oliveira (PT)
| area_total_km2 = 4398.346
| area_land_km2 =
| area_water_km2 =
| elevation_m = 152
| population_total = 17,839
| population_as_of = 2020 [https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/pa/belterra/panorama IBGE 2020]
| population_density_km2 = 3.71
| population_metro =
| population_demonym = belterrense
| timezone = BRT
| utc_offset = −3
| timezone_DST =
| utc_offset_DST =
| postal_code_type =
| postal_code =
| area_code =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Belterra is a municipal seat and rubber plantation site some {{convert|40|km|abbr=on}} south of the Brazilian city of Santarém in the Northern federal state of Pará, at the edge of the Planalto at {{convert|165|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.
Location
Amongst soil scientists, Belterra is famous for the underlying fertile, anthropogenic soil of 'Terra preta', which might have been amongst the criteria for the selection of this site for the plantation. While Terra Preta soil patterns occur all over the Brazilian lowland, this site is extremely well developed and also scientifically surveyed and documented[https://www.gerhardbechtold.com/TP/gbtp.html Survey of Terra Preta in Belterra]
The tertiary highland is composed of some {{convert|40|-|50|m|abbr=on}} clay layers (Belterra clay) of kaolinitic sediments of a Pliocene lake, with a distinct escarpment to the North and West of the plain, which leads down to the Várzea forest lowland at the river bank of the Tapajós river.
The municipality holds part of the Tapajós National Forest, a {{convert|549067|ha}} sustainable use conservation unit created in 1974.{{citation|ref={{harvid|Unidade de Conservação ... MMA}}|language=pt
|title=Unidade de Conservação: Floresta Nacional do Tapajós|publisher=MMA: Ministério do Meio Ambiente
|url=http://sistemas.mma.gov.br/cnuc/index.php?ido=relatorioparametrizado.exibeRelatorio&relatorioPadrao=true&idUc=123|access-date=2016-05-30}}
History
14C analyses based on Terra Preta ceramic artefacts found in Belterra showed, that this area was populated and cultivated by the indigenous population in an intensive way at least since 500 B.C.
Belterra was founded as a rubber plantation, after the economic failure of Fordlândia, which had been founded in 1928 by Henry Ford. The intention of the US-Department of Commerce in the 1920s was to produce rubber in Brazil and to import it to USA. The advantage of the Belterra plantation over the plantation of Fordlândia {{convert|100|km|abbr=on}} to the south is the flat topography, which enables the use of machinery. In its peak time in the late 1930s some {{convert|50|km2|abbr=on}} were cultivated with Hevea brasiliensis (rubber tree).
In Belterra, new breeding methods with local varieties were applied, which prevented the leaf disease, a result of the monoculture in Fordlândia. This was very labour-intensive and therefore expensive. Together with the worldwide decline on demand on natural rubber, the plantation was not cost-effective anymore. Ford sold it to the Brazilian government, which is still running the plantation under EMBRAPA.
Today, the area of the plantation is some {{convert|10|-|20|km2|abbr=on}} covered extensively with mainly old rubber trees. It still gives the impression of a plantation with some 1000 - 2000 inhabitants (mainly plantation workers and their families). At the peak time, it had a population of some 8 - 10,000 people. According to a 2010 census, the entire district population, including surrounding villages, is reported as 16,324.
Climate
Belterra has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen: Am) characterized by high temperatures and humidity throughout the year. The city experiences a distinct wet season from January to June, while the rest of the year is drier.
{{Weather box
| width = auto
| collapsed = yes
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| location = Belterra (1991–2020)
| Jan high C = 30.6
| Feb high C = 30.0
| Mar high C = 30.0
| Apr high C = 30.1
| May high C = 30.3
| Jun high C = 30.6
| Jul high C = 31.0
| Aug high C = 31.9
| Sep high C = 32.6
| Oct high C = 32.9
| Nov high C = 32.5
| Dec high C = 31.7
| year high C = 31.2
| Jan mean C = 25.8
| Feb mean C = 25.3
| Mar mean C = 25.3
| Apr mean C = 25.5
| May mean C = 25.6
| Jun mean C = 25.6
| Jul mean C = 25.6
| Aug mean C = 26.2
| Sep mean C = 26.9
| Oct mean C = 27.1
| Nov mean C = 27.0
| Dec mean C = 26.5
| year mean C = 26.0
| Jan low C = 21.9
| Feb low C = 21.6
| Mar low C = 21.7
| Apr low C = 22.0
| May low C = 21.9
| Jun low C = 21.6
| Jul low C = 21.3
| Aug low C = 21.6
| Sep low C = 22.2
| Oct low C = 22.4
| Nov low C = 22.4
| Dec low C = 22.2
| year low C = 21.9
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 222.4
| Feb precipitation mm = 251.9
| Mar precipitation mm = 325.5
| Apr precipitation mm = 300.4
| May precipitation mm = 241.6
| Jun precipitation mm = 139.0
| Jul precipitation mm = 101.3
| Aug precipitation mm = 47.5
| Sep precipitation mm = 32.6
| Oct precipitation mm = 53.6
| Nov precipitation mm = 73.5
| Dec precipitation mm = 89.1
| year precipitation mm = 1878.4
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 14.7
| Feb precipitation days = 17.4
| Mar precipitation days = 19.7
| Apr precipitation days = 19.2
| May precipitation days = 18.2
| Jun precipitation days = 14.4
| Jul precipitation days = 11.4
| Aug precipitation days = 6.0
| Sep precipitation days = 4.3
| Oct precipitation days = 3.4
| Nov precipitation days = 4.6
| Dec precipitation days = 7.5
| year precipitation days = 140.8
| Jan humidity = 88.1
| Feb humidity = 89.8
| Mar humidity = 90.3
| Apr humidity = 90.9
| May humidity = 90.9
| Jun humidity = 89.9
| Jul humidity = 88.8
| Aug humidity = 86.2
| Sep humidity = 83.4
| Oct humidity = 81.7
| Nov humidity = 82.7
| Dec humidity = 84.3
| year humidity = 87.3
| Jan dew point C = 24.2
| Feb dew point C = 24.1
| Mar dew point C = 24.2
| Apr dew point C = 24.5
| May dew point C = 24.6
| Jun dew point C = 24.5
| Jul dew point C = 24.4
| Aug dew point C = 24.7
| Sep dew point C = 24.7
| Oct dew point C = 24.6
| Nov dew point C = 24.6
| Dec dew point C = 24.4
| year dew point C = 24.5
| Jan sun = 157.6
| Feb sun = 125.8
| Mar sun = 131.3
| Apr sun = 135.1
| May sun = 152.3
| Jun sun = 189.6
| Jul sun = 221.8
| Aug sun = 250.5
| Sep sun = 234.4
| Oct sun = 220.6
| Nov sun = 193.7
| Dec sun = 184.6
| year sun = 2197.3
| source 1 = NOAA{{cite web
|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-3-WMO-Normals-9120/Brazil/CSV/BELTERRA_82246.csv
|title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Belterra
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = January 30, 2024}}
}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline}}
- [https://www.gerhardbechtold.com/TP/gbtp_chap3.html#chap34 Description of Belterra]
- [https://www.gerhardbechtold.com/Home2/travel.html?trip=Brazil1980&rtrn=1 Google-based map of Terra Preta sites in Amazonia/Belterra (with further refs)]
{{Municipalities of Pará}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belterra, Para}}
Category:Municipalities in Pará