Afuá is a Brazilian

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

located in the state of

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

. Its population as of 2020 is estimated to be 39,567 people. The area of the municipality is 8,372.772 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion

Marajó Marajó () is a large coastal island in the state of Pará, Brazil. It is the main and largest of the islands in the Marajó Archipelago. Marajó Island is separated from the mainland by Marajó Bay, Pará River, smaller rivers (especially M ...

and to the microregion of ''Furos de Breves''. The municipality is contained in the

Marajó Archipelago Environmental Protection Area The Marajó Archipelago Environmental Protection Area () is an environmental protection area in the state of Pará, Brazil. It protects the Marajó Archipelago, made up of marine fluvial islands in the area where the Amazon and Tocantins rivers ...

, a sustainable use conservation unit established in 1989 to protect the environment of the delta region. The municipal seat lies at the mouth of the Cajari River where it enters the

Vieira Grande Bay Vieira Grande Bay ( Portuguese: ''Baía do Vieira Grande'') is a bay off the Brazilian coast located in the state of Pará. The bay forms one of the main river channels in the Amazon Delta. The bay is fed in the South by the Jacaré Grande River ...

. The municipality contains the

Charapucu State Park The Charapucu State Park () is a state park in the state of Pará, Brazil. It protects an area of the island of Marajó at the mouth of the Amazon River, much of which is flooded by the river or the tides. The vegetation is typical of flooded rai ...

, a strictly protected conservation unit created in 2010. The town has been off-limits to cars since 2002, as there is no space for cars on the island where the town is located. It has been called the Venice of the Amazon, because many of the homes are on

stilt Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates. They have extremely long legs, hence the grou ...

s. This is necessary because high waters in the Vieira Grande Bay causes the

Afuá Afuá is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the state of Pará. Its population as of 2020 is estimated to be 39,567 people. The area of the municipality is 8,372.772 km2. The city belongs to the mesoregion Marajó a ...

, Charapucu and Jurará rivers to rise. The town is only accessible by boat, though there is an airstrip in town which is often underwater. The town's mayor has described it as a model for net-zero emissions. A number of islands in the

Amazon Delta The Amazon Delta (Portuguese language, Portuguese: delta do Amazonas) is a vast river delta formed by the Amazon River and the Tocantins River (through the Pará River distributary channel) in northern South America. It is located in the Federat ...

are part of the municipality, the largest of which is Serraria Island.

References

Municipalities in Pará Car-free islands of South America {{Pará-geo-stub

See also

References