Observações geográficas sobre o território do Guaporé

Abstract

"The Federal Territory of Guaporé was created by the Act number 5812 of September 13, 1943 and it is situated in the North East of the Mato Grosso State and the South of Amazonas. Its area is 254 163 km' and is principally composed of a1eas separated from the State of Mato Grosso and Amazonas.

The author divides his work in two parts. In the first part he studies the physical outlook of the Territory and in the second he studies the cultural outlook, that is the human-economical conditions.

He approaches the physical outlook in two long chapters entitled: 1 - Morphology and soils 2 - Climate, vegetation, hydrography.

In the first chapter he presents a general study of the Territory's morphology, in accordance with the division made by Prof Fábio de Macedo Soares Guimarães, that is: A) the flat land of Amazonas, B) northern slope of the Brazilian table-land, C) the Pa1ecis table-land, D) the Guaporé valley.

Each of these regions has its own typical characteristics. In the first one, we find the predomination of the tertiary lands of the Amazonas flat land, those a1e called uplands. In the second we can find, we can observe the predomination of the soils with Crystalline embasement. As to the region of the Pa1ecis table-land, it represents a residual slope and the continuation of the great tables-lands which is situated at the State of Goiás and Mato Grosso. Finally the last region of the Guaporé valley covers the vast alluvial flat-lands of the Guaporé River and also the region starts around the confluence of this river with the Mamoré River and continues until the neighborhood of the Guajará-Mirim City

Regarding the soils the author studies only the advanced process of directing towards the side which he came across in certain zones, as in the City of Pôrto Velho, the City of Tanques and in the kms 9 and 33 of the Pôrto Velho-Cuiabá highway, which is under construction Furthermore he also mentions the fact of toward the side directed land in certain cuts of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway

In the second chapter the author considers some other aspects of physical geography, of the regional climate, vegetation, hydrography etc. In a general manner we may say that the dominating climate is the hot and humid type Am Wi, according to the classification of Kõppen. The climate data were supplied by two meteorologic stations, situated at the Amazonas flat-land - Pôrto Velho - and the other at the top of the table-land, almost at the frontier of the Mato Grosso State - Vilhena

From the pluviometrical point of view, we verify the existence of a period when the rain is too little, we may call it dry period. In Pôrto Velho the dry period lasts three months and at the Station Of Vilhena at the top of the table-lands this period is a little bit longer, that is 4 months The seasons known in the Territory are: Winter - season of the rains and Summer season when the weather is not rainy

The vegetation which covers the greater part of this region is dense forest, which is substituted at the table-lands by the bush fields Concerning hydrography we must state that the rivers keep flowing all year long through heir waters get shallow and there is a certain decrease in their volume of the water, during the dry season. The rivers cannot be navigated in their most part, on account of the waterfalls In the Madeira River and its branch river Mamoré, for example, in the segment from Santo Antônio until Guajará-Mirim, we come across nineteen water-falls

Coming to the end of the first part the author stresses the difficulty in making a complete and more detailed study of some aspects of physical outlook, on account of the impossibility of visiting a great area because of the dense forest as well as the lack of bibliographic data of the region

The spreading of the population and its rarefaction, that is the relative low density, are the outstanding characteristics of the population of Guaporé

The two most important population centers are undoubtedly the Cities of Pôrto Velho - present capital of the Territory - and Guajará-Mirim, final station of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway. The colonization of this region has been tried in various points and at present the most important settlements ·are the one called Settlement of Presidente Dutra at the Community of Guajará-Mirim and the Settlement of Candeias at the community of Pôrto Velho The agricultural system in the whole Territory and the official settlements is of a year yes a year no System that is, they cultivate the same piece of land every other year, and of the annual burnings.

The production of those colonies can be outlined in the following products: mandioca, rice corn, beans, and some fruits such as pine apples, bananas and oranges

The main economical activity is the latex production and the harvest of chestnuts and ipecacuanha. The extraction of latex takes place only during the dry season. The seringueiros (latex field workers) have to wait inactive during the season of rains - the winter Besides the latex workers we find in this Territory government officials and also the Madeira-Mamoré Railway Co employees

As to the activities of hunting and fishing, in general they are practiced to supply the living that is fresh meat and fish. The agricultural and breeding activities are not developed, so we can speak but very little of the mean of living

The nutritional state of the population is not very good. Their menu is restricted to some products, mainly to the wide consumption of a flour called farinha d'água and some others such as rice, beans etc Beef has but a small consumption, however in the rubber plantations the caboclos try to complete their daily food with the meat of hunted animals

The agricultural production can be resumed to few products such as: mandioca, sweet potatoes, corn, rice, and beans Among the fruits we have: oranges, pine apples, bananas etc The quantity of those products is not sufficient to maintain the population of the Territory, obliging the administrators of this region to import these produces from the other states of Brazil

The main export products of this region are: rubber, chestnuts further, we can classify

leather and skins of savage animals such as caetetu (sort of savage hog), deer, alligators, queixada (savage hog) capivara, ariranha etc To the imported products besictes the food staff we can mention all the manufactured or industrial products

The final consequence of this kind of economy based on the harvesting of the savage products, supplied by the forest, is the complete leave aside of the agro-pastoril activities and the government is forced to import almost everything from other states of Brazil

As to the means of transportation, the one most widely used in this region is undoubtedly the fluvial way, however, we cannot omit to point out that in the Territory of Guaporé the importance of the Madeira-Mamoré Railway, which starting from the City of Pôrto Velho at the banks of Madeira River and ends at the Bolivian Frontier in the City of Guajará-Mirim

The military utilities. of this railway are of great importance and furthermore it is a gate out to the Bolivian East

As to the highway transportation, the most important highway which plays the role of a link between the various parts of the Territory of Guaporé this same highway will join the capital of this Territory to the state of Mato Grosso and later on to the capital of the Territory of Acre

Finally concerning the air transportation, the two bigger crowded cities (Pôrto Velho and Guajará-Mirim) are easily linked with some centers of Brazil. Also in the internal transportation the use of planes is indispensable because of the great saving of time."