ITAJA

city, eastern Santa Catarina estado (state), southern Brazil. It lies at the mouth of the Itaja River, at 20 feet (6 m) above sea level. Founded in the mid-19th century by German and Italian colonists, Itaja is now the commercial centre and Atlantic port for an agricultural region drained by the Itaja River and its tributaries. Wrapping paper and cotton textiles are the principal goods manufactured in the city, which also exports lumber, starch, cassava, sassafras, vegetable oil, and tobacco. In the late 1970s a fishing terminal was installed there. Itaja is connected by highway and air to Florianpolis, the state capital (50 miles south), and to other communities in Santa Catarina. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 114,558.