Mossoró () is the second most populous city in the state 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", re ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and also the largest municipality of that state. It is equidistant (four hours' drive) from Natal (approximately 277 km or 172 miles), the state capital of Rio Grande do Norte, and from

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the ...

(approximately 260 km or 161.5 miles), the capital of the state of

Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of th ...

. It is also in the heart of Brazil's salt production area. Situated in the Oeste Potiguar mesoregion, Mossoró is the country's largest land-based

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

producer.

History

To Brazilians, the main historical distinctions of the city are the driving off an attack by Lampião and his gang of "social bandits" (see

Cangaço ''Cangaço'' () was a phenomenon of Northeast Brazil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This region of Brazil is known for its aridness and hard way of life, and in a form of " social banditry" against the government, many men and women d ...

) that plundered entire towns in the ''

sertão The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or " backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of "outback" with Australia in English ...

'' during the 1920s and 1930s; and also the fact that the city freed its slaves five years before the

Lei Áurea The (; from Portuguese: Golden Law), adopted on May 13, 1888, was the law that abolished slavery in Brazil. It was signed by Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846–1921), an opponent of slavery, who acted as regent to Emperor Ped ...

abolished slavery in the rest of the country in 1888. Mossoró was also the first city to give women the right to vote in Brazil (Professor Celina Guimarães Viana cast the first vote in 1928), sparking a movement among other cities and states in Brazil that culminated in the official recognition of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...

by the national government in 1934.

Climate

Mossoró is one of the hottest cities in all of Brazil. It has

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

with a temperature range of mean lows around and mean highs around throughout the year. However, it is not uncommon for temperatures to exceed throughout the year, with temperatures approaching unexceptional. The sultriest temperatures are registered from October to January. A fairly short

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the se ...

spans from January to May, while the scorching

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

spans the remainder of the year.

Demographics

( 96th largest municipality in Brazil).

Culture and recreation

Although it does not have beaches within its city limits, there are several magnificent beaches in the surrounding area of th
Costa Branca Pole
such as the desert beaches of the city of Areia Branca. World-famous Canoa Quebrada beach is a short drive away in the neighboring state of

. The Resistance Museum tells the story of the city and the city's native sons. However, the most famous attraction is the ''Mossoró Cidade Junina'' (Mossoró Junina City Festival), a winter festival (

festa junina ''Festas Juninas'' (, ''June Festivals'', "festivities that occur in the month of June"), also known as ''festas de São João'' for their part in celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24), are the annual Brazilian celebration ...

) that attracts more than a million people during the month of June. The city has a beautiful historic town, a hub of fascinating stories of the region's development. Main attractions include the Museu Municipal Jornalista Lauro da Escóssia (Journalist Lauro da Escóssia Municipal Museum), also known as the

Museum, the Station Arts old railway station museum, the Oil Museum, St. Vincent Church, and the Cathedral of Santa Luzia. Other attractions include the famous Palace of Resistance, former residence of mayor Rodolfo Fernandes who was the leader of the resistance against the "Lamp band" ( Lampião) and served as a rampart against attacks from those notorious bandits. There is also the Bode Market, an

ovine Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

and caprine trading center where traders and buyers of sheep and goats continue the long-held rural traditions of the northeast, as well as the famous Central Market and the Railway Bridge. In September, the city stages what could be the largest play in the world, th
Auto Da Liberdade (The Procession of Liberty)
with an all-paid cast of 2,000 and a 600-member chorus as part of its ''Festa da Liberdade'' ( Brazilian independence celebrations). Mossoró also has a shopping center
Mossoró West Shopping
which includes a 5-screen multiplex cinema,

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio w ...

internet connectivity, children's recreation and

diaper A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ ( American and Canadian English) or a nappy ( Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or c ...

changing area, ATMs,

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

, and

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. ...

among its many amenities. Mossoró is also home to th
Hotel Thermas
Resort which is the largest thermal

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other ...

in Brazil. The heated water used in the resort arises from a zone of geothermal

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...

located in the vicinity of the city. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mossoró. File:Canoa Quebrada 7.jpg, Canoa Quebrada Beach File:Pontadomel.jpg, Ponta do Mel, Areia Branca File:Mossoró-Antiga-Prefeitura.jpg, Mossoró Old City Hall File:Praça-Rodolfo-Fernandes-Mossoró.jpg, Rodolfo Fernandes Square

Education

Colleges and Universities

Th
Federal University of the Semi-Arid
is located in Mossoró. The following have campuses in the city:
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia Mater Christi

Faculdade de Enfermagem Nova Esperança de Mossoró - FACENE/RN

Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte

Grade schools and high schools

You can see a listing of public and private elementary, junior, and senior high schools in Mossor�
HERE
''(In Portuguese.)'' UNP universidade Potiguar

Regional transportation

Airports

Mossoró is served by the following airports: * Mossoró Airport (Dix-Sept Rosado Airport) - 2.7 km away * Aeroporto Internacional de Fortaleza (

Pinto Martins International Airport Fortaleza-Pinto Martins International Airport is the international airport serving Fortaleza, Brazil. It is named after ''Euclides Pinto Martins'' (1892–1924) a Ceará-born aviator, who in 1922 was one of the pioneers of the air-link between ...

) - 205.2 km away

( Wikipedia page) - 245.8 km away (handed over to the

Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...

at the end of 2013, only for military use) * Aeroporto Internacional da Grande Natal or Greater Natal International Airport (Opened to replace the old airport, the only airport that handles civil aviation in the area).

Highways

*BR-304 *BR-110 *BR-405 *BR-437

Distances to other Brazilian cities

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

: *

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

: *

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

: * Salvador: * Belo Horizonte: *

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area c ...

: *

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

: * Manaus:

Images

Memorial da Resistência.jpg, Memorial da Resistência (Resistance Memorial) Chuva de Bala no país de Mossoró.jpg, Mossoró Cidade Junina (Mossoró City Junina Festival) Cavalo mecanico Mossoró.jpg, Petroleum Extraction Catedral de Santa Luzia de Mossoró (RN).jpg, Cathedral of Santa Luzia Cinejornal Informativo n. 28-56 - Agência Nacional - Imagens da cidade de Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, em 1956.webm, Mossoró, 1956. National Archives of Brazil.