kids encyclopedia robot

São Luís, Maranhão facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
São Luís
Municipality
The Municipality of
São Luís do Maranhão
São Luís do Maranhão - Capital.jpg
Flag of São Luís
Flag
 Coat of arms of São Luís
Coat of arms
Location of São Luís
Location of São Luís
São Luís is located in Brazil
São Luís
São Luís
Location in Brazil
Country  Brazil
Region Northeast
State Bandeira do Maranhão.svg Maranhão
Founded September 8, 1612
Area
 • Municipality 827.141 km2 (319.360 sq mi)
Elevation
4 m (12 ft)
Population
 (2018 est.)
 • Municipality 1,094,667
 • Density 1,183.4/km2 (3,064.9/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,227,659
Time zone UTC-3 (UTC-3)
Postal Code
65000-000
Area code(s) +55 98
Website São Luís, Maranhão

São Luís is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The city is located on Upaon-açu Island (Big Island, in Tupi Language) or Ilha de São Luís (Saint Louis' Island), in the Baía de São Marcos (Saint Mark's Bay), an extension of the Atlantic Ocean which forms the estuary of Pindaré, Mearim, Itapecuru and other rivers. Its coordinates are 2.53° south, 44.30° west. São Luís has the second largest maritime extension within Brazilian states. Its maritime extension is 640 km (397 miles). The city proper has a population of some 1,094,667 people (2018 IBGE estimate). The metropolitan area totals 1,605,305, ranked as the 15th largest in Brazil.

São Luís, created originally as Saint-Louis-de-Maragnan, is the only Brazilian state capital founded by France (see France Équinoxiale) and it is one of the three Brazilian state capitals located on islands (the others are Vitória and Florianópolis).

The city has two major sea ports: Madeira Port and Itaqui Port, through which a substantial part of Brazil's iron ore, originating from the (pre)-Amazon region, is exported. The city's main industries are metallurgical with Alumar, and Vale. São Luís is home of the Federal University of Maranhão.

São Luís was the home town of famous Brazilian samba singer Alcione, Brazilian writers Aluísio Azevedo, Ferreira Gullar and Josué Montello, Belgian-naturalised soccer player Luís Oliveira, and the musician João do Vale, a Música popular brasileira (MPB) singer.

Images for kids

  • AMH-6765-NA View of Sao Luis de Maranhao

    View of São Luís, c. 1665

  • Aerial view of Maranhao

    Panoramic view of São Luís in 1931

  • São Luís Aérea

    Aerial view of São Luís Central District.

  • Baía de São Marcos

    View of São Marcos bay area

  • Centro Pedagógico Paulo Freire (2015)

    São Luís is the most important educational centre of the state.

  • SGC.ID 7.03-12-2008.Plat-ia 2

    Theater Artur Azevedo in São Luís.

  • SaoLuis789

    A bus in São Luís.

  • SLairport

    Marechal Cunha Machado International Airport

  • Estádio Castelão em São Luís, Maranhão, Brasil

    Castelão Stadium, the largest in the city.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: São Luís para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
São Luís, Maranhão Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.