GOIAS

formerly Goyaz, estado (state), south-central Brazil. Gois is the site of the distrito federal (federal district) and national capital, Braslia. It is bounded by the states of Tocantins on the north, Bahia and Minas Gerais on the east, Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul on the south, and Mato Grosso on the west. The state capital, since 1937, has been Goinia. The first European penetration of this interior part of Brazil was carried on by expeditions from So Paulo in the 17th century. Gold was discovered in the stream gravels of a tributary of the Araguaia River by the explorer Bartolom Bueno de Silva in 1682. The settlement he founded there, called Santa Anna, became the colonial town of Gois, the former state capital. In 1744 the large inland area, much of it still unexplored by Europeans, was made a captaincy general, and in 1822 it became a province of the empire of Brazil. It became a state in 1889. The Brazilian constitution of 1891 specified that the nation's capital should be moved to the Brazilian Highlands (Planalto Central), and in 1956 Gois was selected as the site for the federal district and capital city, Braslia. The seat of the federal government was officially moved to Braslia in 1960. In 1989 the northern half of Gois became a separate state called Tocantins. Gois lies wholly within the Brazilian Highlands. It occupies a large plateau, the vast level surface of which stands between 2,500 and 3,000 feet (750 and 900 m) above sea level and forms the divide between three of Brazil's largest river systems: to the south Gois is drained by the Paranaba River, a tributary of the Paran River; to the east it is drained by tributaries of the So Francisco River; and northward the state is drained by the Araguaia River and the Tocantins River and their tributaries. None of these rivers is navigable except for short distances. The state is covered with a woodland savanna known in Brazil as campo cerrado. The climate of the plateau is subtropical. Average monthly temperatures vary from 78 F (26 C) in the warmest month to 72 F (22 C) in the coldest. The year is divided into a rainy season (OctoberMarch) and a dry season (AprilSeptember). Average annual rainfall is about 67 inches (1,700 mm). The Great Central West Region, consisting of the states of Gois, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and the federal district, is among the fastest-growing regions of Brazil. The population of Gois state tripled in size in the period from 1950 to 1980. Outside the federal district most of Gois is very thinly populated, however. The chief concentration of settlement is in the southeast, in the area of Goinia, across the border from Minas Gerais. Historically, the state's inhabitants have been predominantly of mixed European-Indian ancestry. The standard of living is low, especially in the rural areas. Deaths from malaria have been reduced, but health services are limited, and life expectancy is still low. Higher education is available at the Catholic University of Gois and at the Federal University of Gois, both situated at Goinia, and at the University of Braslia. Gois is a modern frontier area, and agriculture and livestock raising continue to be the most important economic activities, serving the growing urban markets. The principal crops are upland rice, corn (maize), beans, cassava, and coffee. Livestock raising is expanding, with cattle predominant on the open campos and pigs in the settled farming regions. Mineral resources include gold, diamonds, tin, titanium, nickel, and rock crystal (quartz crystal). Goods and services in the area have been expanding with the growth in population since 1950. Anpolis, for example, which can be reached by rail from Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo, is a rapidly growing town serving the zone of pioneer settlement, the Mato Grosso de Gois. The construction of Braslia and the formal transfer of the nation's capital there has reinforced Gois' economic growth. Until Anpolis was connected by rail with So Paulo in 1913, transport to and from the coast was by mule train. A network of feeder roads has been constructed in Gois and a highway extended to Braslia. Direct access to the interior is by air. Outside of Goinia, the state formerly had few cultural institutions. The establishment of the national capital in Braslia has resulted in the development of a major new cultural centre, however. Area 131,339 square miles (340,166 square km). Pop. (1991 prelim.) 4,024,547.