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Home > Travel South America > South America Destinations > Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
South America is thefourth largest continent of the Western Hemisphere. It is divided politically into 12 independent countries namely Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela and the overseas department of French Guiana. The continent extends to 7,640 kilometers from Punta Gallinas, Colombia, in the north to Cape Horn, Chile, in the south. At its broadest point, near where it is crossed by the equator, the continent extends to 5,300 kilometers from east to west.
South America is connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. It is washed on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Topographically the continent is divided into three sections namely the South American cordillera, the interior lowlands, and the continental shield. Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion and Portuguese and Spanish are the primary languages of the continent.
Rio de Janeiro is the name of both a state and a municipality in southeastern Brazil. The city was the capital of Brazil and of the Portuguese Empire from 1808 to 1821. Commonly known as just Rio, the city is also nicknamed A Cidade Maravilhosa, the Marvelous City. The population of the city of Rio de Janeiro is about 6,094,183, occupying an area of 1182.3 square kilometers.
The actual city was founded in March 1, 1565, by Portuguese knight Estacio de Sa. In city districts the municipal theatre, originally an opera house in a classic European style, built in the beginning of the 20th century in the centre of Rio the city is commonly divided into the historic downtown, the tourist-friendly south zone, with world-famous beaches, the industrial north zone and the west zone, with the newer Barra da Tijuca district. Rio de Janeiro is the kind of town you daydream about. It is a city with endless recreational opportunities, rich history, and modern day luxuries.
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