Açailândia () 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' ...

in the western part of

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

State, at an elevation of . Its population in 2020 was estimated to be 113,121, making it the eighth largest city in the state. The name of the city means "land of the açaí." The city is an important center of

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

, the area having the largest cattle stock in Maranhão. The production of

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...

is the municipality's biggest single economic activity. Açailândia is part of the Carajas Development Corridor and the city houses many of the workers who produce

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

in the area. The city has one of the most important railway stations on the

Carajás Railway The Carajás Railway (; EFC or EF-315) is a railway line linking the cities of Parauapebas, Pará and São Luís, Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Re ...

line. Açailândia's origins are recent, lying in the construction of the Belém-Brasília highway in 1958, when the fertile lands in the vicinity of the Açailândia Creek came to the attention of those engaged in building the highway. For some time, Açailândia was considered a district of the city of

Imperatriz Imperatriz is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Maranhão. The city extends along the northeastern bank of the Tocantins River and is crossed by the Belém-Brasília Highway, standing on the border with the state of Tocantins (state), Tocant ...

, the second largest city in the state of Maranhão.

References

External links

* Municipalities in Maranhão {{Maranhão-geo-stub