Sorocaba

Sister cities

• Wuxi
• Anyang
• Belém
• Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council
• Chichester
• Nanchang

History

Dom Francisco de Sousa, general governor of Brazil (1591 to 1602), believing in the existence of gold in the region, settled the Pelourinho —a Portuguese translation of the English "pillory", symbol of the Royal power, as the village Nova Vila de Nossa Senhora da Ponte de Mont Serrat. When gold wasn't found there, the governor returned to the Royal Court. Twelve years later, Dom Francisco de Sousa changed the name of the village to Itavuvu. Baltasar Fernandes, a member of an expeditionary group called Bandeirantes, laid the foundation of Sorocaba in the 1654. The chapel of Nossa Senhora da Ponte (which is now the Cathedral located in Fernando Prestes square, downtown) was built by him, along with the São Bento de Parnaíba monastery (now São Bento monastery) years later. It was also Fernandes who brought the first Benedictine monks to teach, assist the poor and the ill, and convert the Native Americans of the region. The monastery was donated to the Benedictines in the year 1660, after which Friar Anselmo da Anunciação and Friar Mauro were chosen to take office. The first streets and houses started to spread around the neighborhood. In the year of 1661, Baltasar Fernandes went to São Paulo to request that Sorocaba be named a village from the governor, Correia de Sá e Benevides. Thus, on March 3, 1661, Sorocaba became known as Vila de Nossa Senhora da Ponte de Sorocaba. The organization of the Municipal Council followed shortly, with the main nominees being: Baltasar Fernandes and André de Zunega (judges), Cláudio Furquim and Pascoal Leite Pais (city councillors), Domingos Garcia (procurator) and Francisco Sanches (clerk). With the arrival of colonel Cristóvão Pereira de Abreu and his troops in 1773, begins the main chapter of the history of Sorocaba: the Tropeirismo.…

Geography

The city is located in the southeastern region of the state of São Paulo, 92 km away from the state capital. The main highways are Castelo Branco (SP-280) and Raposo Tavares (SP-270). It straddles the Sorocaba River, a tributary of the left bank of the Tiete river. The municipality of Sorocaba is located on the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitude 23° 26 '16 " for the season of 2011, passes along the neighborhoods of Aparecidinha and Parque São Bento districts. At the junction of Highway José Ermírio José de Morais (SP-75) with the connection to the Raposo Tavares highway is a milestone signaling the Tropic. Among Brazil's largest cities (by population), Sorocaba is in 30th place. Sorocaba is among the major cities in São Paulo (population), is ranked ninth. Sorocaba climate is subtropical, with the coldest month being July and warmest in January and February. Precipitation is around . According to Köppen, Sorocaba can be classified as a Cwa climate, featuring a warm climate with summer rainfall and temperature in the warmest month ≥ . The climate table below shows the monthly mean temperatures, maximum and minimum recorded, rainfall and rainy days with monthly and annual averages for the period from 1 January 1995 to January 1, 2011 for the city of Sorocaba. The terrain is classified as a wavy strands and characterized by local ridges, with an average altitude of 632 meters above the sea level. The highest altitude is 1028 meters, in the Serra de Sao Francisco. The lower altitude is 539 meters, in the valley of the Sorocaba River. Sorocaba is located on the edge of the Peripheral Depression of São Paulo state, in the Appalachian Fall Line, as defined by Professor Aziz Ab'Saber. This configuration is due to the fact Sorocaba lies at the boundary between the…

Most-observed species

• Great Kiskadee

  Pitangus sulphuratus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,030
• Sayaca Tanager

  Thraupis sayaca (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  951
• white-eyed conure

  Aratinga leucophthalma (Statius Muller, 1776) · Aves
  912
• Pale-breasted Thrush

  Turdus leucomelas Vieillot, 1818 · Aves
  849
• Picazuro Pigeon

  Patagioenas picazuro (Temminck, 1813) · Aves
  848
• Eared Dove

  Zenaida auriculata (Des Murs, 1847) · Aves
  729
• Southern House Wren

  Troglodytes musculus J.F.Naumann, 1823 · Aves
  718
• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  654