Palhoça
| Palhoça | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Boats at Guarda do Embau, Palhoça | |||
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 Location of Palhoça | |||
  Palhoça Location of Palhoça | |||
| Coordinates: 27°38′42″S 48°40′04″W / 27.64500°S 48.66778°W | |||
| Country |
 Brazil | ||
| Region | South | ||
| State |
 Santa Catarina | ||
| Founded | July 31, 1793 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Camilo Nazareno Pagani Martins (PSD) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 394.662 km2 (152.380 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 3 m (10 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| • Total | 122,471 | ||
| • Density | 310/km2 (800/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | UTC-3 (UTC-3) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-2 (UTC-2) | ||
| HDI (2000) | 0.816 | ||
| Website | www.palhoca.sc.gov.br | ||
Palhoça is a municipality in Santa Catarina, Brazil.
History
Palhoça was founded in 1793, when the city was part of the way between Lages and Florianópolis in order to protect the capital state from possible invasions. Its name comes from “straw roof”, named such because of the large number of houses with this kind of roof when the first Palhoça citizens were natives.
Geography
Palhoça is located in Greater Florianópolis Region. It is bordered on the north by São José, on the west by Santo Amaro da Imperatriz, on the south by Paulo Lopes, on the east by Santa Catarina Island south bay and on the southest with the Atlantic Ocean.
Its coast consists in a long mangrove and beaches on the south.
The highest point of the city is Cambirela mountain, located in natural preservation area of the Serra do Tabuleiro State Park.
Economy
The most important industries of the city are located on the Industrial Area in the neighborhood of Jardim Eldorado. The commerce plays an important role in the Ponte do Imaruim and downtown mainly, although Pagani started to become important for the city economony since the City Hall and the City Chamber moved to there in 2005. The south region has developed tourism and fishing as a way to improve the local economy once this region is not so integrated to the rest of the city due to geographical and political reasons.
The economy has been growing and an important national clothing company and a multinational beverage company built their centers of distribution in Palhoça. A shopping mall was inaugurated in 2010 together with a large supermarket and an hotel and recently a middle-sized department store downtown. For that reasons, the number of opportunity of jobs increased.
New private neighborhoods have been built, concerned about natural preservation and quality of life, increasing the number of the population and jobs opportunities.
Transportation
BR-282 highway connects the city with Santo Amaro da Imperatriz while BR-101 connects Palhoça with São José and Paulo Lopes.
The bus is the only mean of public transportation in Palhoça. Jotur, Imperatriz and Paulo Lopes are the bus companies that operate in Palhoça.
Coordinates: 27°38′40″S 48°40′04″W / 27.64444°S 48.66778°W
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