Barra Velha is a

resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

and county seat of about 30,000 inhabitants in the Northern region of Santa Catarina,

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 ...

. Its nine beaches extend from the

Rio Itapocu The Itapocu River flows eastward from the ''planalto'' or highlands of Northeastern Santa Catarina, Brazil, to the Atlantic Ocean. Passing through the industrial city of Jaraguá do Sul, it feeds a lake in Barra Velha before reaching the sea. A ...

in the North to the resort town of Piçarras on its Southern border. Additionally, it is the only resort in the area to have a freshwater lake separated from the ocean by an old sand bar, from which it derives its name. Located between

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the Southern Brazil, Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitib ...

and

Itajaí Itajaí () is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. It is located on the northern central coast of Santa Catarina and is part of the Vale do Itajaí Mesoregion, on the right bank of the Itajaí-Açu river mouth. It lies at th ...

on BR-101, the principal north–south highway in Southern

, it is an important resort destination for residents of the industrial region to the North and West of the State, with summer weekend population exceeding 100,000. Settled initially by Azorian whale fishermen in 1812, it retains its fishing village characteristics with boats drawn up onto the beach and the daily catch sold directly from them by the fishermen every morning. In the center of downtown a hill rises sharply from the beach which provides views of the lake and town center. A replica of the statute of Christ on

Corcovado Corcovado () which means " hunchback" in Portuguese, is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a granite peak located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park. Corcovado hill lies just west of the city center but is wholly within t ...

rises from the summit. Barra Velha is home of the annual "Festa Nacional do Pirão", a festival celebrating the Azorian dish "Pirão" having a sauce-like consistency and normally made from fish or shellfish. Held in early September, it attracts over 30,000 visitors annually.

References

External links

Municipality website
{{Santa_Catarina_MesoRegion_Vale_do_Itajai Populated coastal places in Santa Catarina (state) Populated places established in 1812 Municipalities in Santa Catarina (state)