Bailique is a district in the

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 ...

ian municipality of

Macapá Macapá () is a city in Brazil with a population of 512,902 (2020 estimate), and is the capital of Amapá state in the country's North Region, Brazil, North Region, located on the northern channel of the Amazon Delta near its mouth on the Atlant ...

, in the state of

Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...

. Bailique is an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

of islands in the Amazon River. It consists of eight major islands. The district is limited to the north by the Araguari River, to the south by Canal do Norte, and to the east by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. In 1936, the islands became a district of the capital Macapá.

Islands

The islands of the archipelago are: * Ilha de Bailique * Ilha do Brigue * Ilha Curuá * Ilha do Faustino * Ilha do Franco * Ilha dos Marinheiros * Igarapé do Meio * Ilha Parazinho, an uninhabited island which nowadays contains

Parazinho Biological Reserve The Parazinho Biological Reserve () is a biological reserve in the state of Amapá, Brazil. It protects an island at the mouth of the Amazon River. Location The Parazinho Biological Reserve is in the municipality of Macapá, Amapá. It has an ar ...

. The majority of settlements are rural villages made of

stilt house Stilt houses (also called pile dwellings or lake dwellings) are houses raised on Stilts (architecture), stilts (or piles) over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding; they als ...

s along the rivers and coast. The infrastructure on the islands is limited. There are several primary schools, and one high school, but there are no clinics, no clean drinking water, and no ferry to the mainland. The archipelago is positioned at a location where different

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

s meet. The tropical rainforest and

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

forests meet the

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

of the mouth of the Amazon.

Economy

The economy of the islands is based on fishing in the rivers and the Atlantic Ocean,

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...

, and cultivation and harvesting of the

Açaí palm The açaí palm (, , from Nheengatu ''asai''), '' Euterpe oleracea'', is a species of palm tree (Arecaceae) cultivated for its fruit (açaí berries, or simply açaí), hearts of palm (a vegetable), leaves, and trunk wood. Global demand for th ...

Bee keeping Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also ...

is a recent addition.

Soil erosion

The Araguari River, a river north of the Amazon, was known for its

tidal bore A tidal bore, often simply given as bore in context, is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay, reversing the direction of the river or bay's cu ...

which created enormous waves. In 2013, three dams were built in the river to generate

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

. The dams ended the tidal bore which altered the flow of water in the Amazon, and caused significant land erosion and damage to the archipelago. The Bosque School, the only high school on the islands, is at risk of collapsing. In 2018, an emergency was declared by the State of Amapá, because 700 people had been affected by the fallen land. The current rate of erosion is estimated at one metre a year.

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control Islands of the Amazon River islands of Brazil Populated coastal places in Amapá Populated places in Amapá

Islands

Economy

Soil erosion

See also

References

Bibliography