Maceió

Sister cities

• Lucca

History

The city began in an old sugar mill and plantation complex around the 19th century. Its development started with the arrival of ships taking wood from Jaraguá bay. With the installation of the sugar mills, Maceió started to export sugar, then tobacco, coconut, leather, and some spices. Prosperity made it possible for the settlement to become a village on December 5, 1815. Thanks to its continued growth, Maceió became the capital of the Alagoas state on December 9, 1839. Maceió is also a port city and due to its port development about 200 years ago it changed from a village into a city. Maceió was reportedly hit hard by the 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic. In reality, while the epidemic's epicenter is considered to be Bahia and Pernambuco, the incidence rate of Alagoas, nestled in between these two states (together with Sergipe), was considered a "paradox" by the Ministry of Health authorities given its low number of reported cases during the epidemic.

Geography

The city is located between the Mundaú Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean, with a tropical climate with average temperature of . , its metropolitan area had a total population of 1,354,973 inhabitants. Maceió has a typical tropical climate, specifically a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification: Am, somewhat bordering on As), with very warm to hot temperatures and high relative humidity all throughout the year. However, these conditions are relieved by a near absence of extreme temperatures due to trade winds blowing from the ocean. January is the warmest month, with mean maximum of and minimum of and more sun; July experiences the coolest temperatures, with mean maximum of and minimum of accompanied by higher humidity and much more rain. The natural vegetation surrounding Maceió is tropical rainforest. Rainforests are characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between . The soil can be poor because high rainfall tends to leach out soluble nutrients.

Most-observed species

• Great Kiskadee

  Pitangus sulphuratus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,748
• Palm Tanager

  Thraupis palmarum (Wied-Neuwied, 1821) · Aves
  1,571
• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  1,507
• Tropical Kingbird

  Tyrannus melancholicus Vieillot, 1819 · Aves
  1,380
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  1,341
• Southern Caracara

  Caracara plancus (J.F.Miller, 1777) · Aves
  1,198
• Ruddy Ground-Dove

  Columbina talpacoti (Temminck, 1810) · Aves
  1,115
• Southern Lapwing

  Vanellus chilensis (Molina, 1782) · Aves
  1,095