Icó is a town in

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, located in the Microrregião of Salgado in the central part of the state. Icó borders the municipalities of Umari, Cedro,

Iguatu Iguatu is a city in Ceará, a Brazilian State, with a population of 103,074 (2020 est.). Edinaldo Lavor is the city's mayor. History A village of Quixelôs Indians existed at this site before the arrival of the Portuguese. In 1707 the Society o ...

Orós Orós is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Ceará in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of Brazil. Its largest district is Guassussê. See also *List of municipalities in Ceará *Orós Dam Ref ...

Jaguaribe Jaguaribe is a municipality in the state of Ceará in the Northeast region of Brazil. With an area of , of which is urban, it is located 244 km from Fortaleza, the state capital, and 1,495 km from Brasília, the federal capital. Its population in ...

, Pereiro, and the states of

Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", refe ...

and

Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...

. The seat of the town, also called Icó, is located from the state capital,

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

. The municipality covers and has a population of 68,162 with a population density of 36 inhabitants per square kilometer. It is located from the state capital of Sergipe,

Aracaju Aracaju () is the capital of the state of Sergipe, Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country on the coast, about 350 km (217 mi) north of Salvador, Bahia, Salvador. According to the 2020 estimate, the city has 664,908 inha ...

. Icó sits on a flat plain on the right bank of the Salgado River, a short distance from its confluence with the

History

The greater area of central Ceará was explored in the 17th century with the town being founded in 1738. Icó reached its greatest point of development in the 18th century as a commercial center connecting the hinterlands of the sertão and the coast. Its development declined due to successive droughts and a domestic cattle market centered on the south and southeastern provinces of Brazil. This process was accentuated by the construction of the Baturité Railroad in 1870, which left Icó on the fringe of regional trade. In the mid-19th century the "Teatro da Ribeira dos Icós" was built. The town also has a historic church.

References

Municipalities in Ceará Populated places established in 1738 1738 establishments in the Portuguese Empire {{Ceará-geo-stub