Sobral, Ceará

Sobral
City waterfront
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): Princesa do Norte
Motto: Sobral cada vez melhor
Location in the state of Ceará and Brazil
Coordinates: 03°40′26″S 40°14′20″W / 3.67389°S 40.23889°WCoordinates: 03°40′26″S 40°14′20″W / 3.67389°S 40.23889°W
Country	Brazil
Region	Northeast
State	Ceará
Settled	July 5, 1773
Government
• Mayor	Clodoveu Arruda (PT)
Area
• Total	2,129.989 km^2 (822.393 sq mi)
Elevation	70 m (230 ft)
Population (2009)[1]
• Total	213,673
• Density	83.32/km^2 (215.8/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (UTC-2)
HDI (2010)	0.714[2] – UNDP
Website	Prefeitura Municipal de Sobral

A general view of the city's downtown area as photographed from the seat of the city government

A historical building in downtown Sobral

Sobral is a municipality in the state of Ceará, Brazil.

Sobral is the fifth largest municipality of Ceará, after Fortaleza. Its economy is based on agriculture, services and some manufacturing industries. The city has two public universities (Universidade Federal do Ceará, with a medical school, computer engineering, electrical engineering, finance, economy, dentistry, psychology and teaching music) and the Universidade Estadual do Vale do Acaraú, and also has two other private colleges, Faculdade Luciano Feijão, Unopar, Ieducare, and Inta − a theological institute. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sobral.

The city became internationally known as the place where the first astronomical observation of a solar eclipse on May 29, 1919, by a team of British scientists led by Sir Frank Watson Dyson was offered as the first proof of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, which had been published in 1916. The town's "Museum of the Eclipse" celebrates this event. There is a monument at the museum marking the location of this solar eclipse, erected in honor of a planetarium in the Patrocinio Square.

Government

• Clodoveu de Arruda (nickname: Veveu) (PT)^[3]

Climate

The climate of Sobral is hot almost all year. The temperature in the municipality varies from 22 to 36 °C (72 to 97 °F).^[4]

Education

University

• Universidade Vale do Acaraú (University Acarau Valley)

Schools

There are 105 schools on the city.

Public School

• Escola Municipal de Ensino Fundamental Sinhá Saboia
• Escola Estadual Dom José Tupinambá da Frota
• Escola Municipal Emílio Sendim
• Escola Municipal Maria do Carmo de Andrade
• Escola Municipal Mocinha Rodrigues
• Escola Padre Osvaldo Chaves^[5]
• Escola Prof Gerardo Rodrigues de Albuquerque

Private School

• Escola Luciano Feijão
• Escola Farias Brito Sobralense
• Escola José Romão
• Escola do Patrocinio

Media

Radio

The city has thirteen radio stations.

• Jovem Pan FM
• Rede Jangadeiro
• Rede Som Zoom Sat
• Rede Plus FM
• Coqueiros FM
• Paraíso FM
• Public Radio
• Sobral Public Radio
• Caiçara AM
• Tupinamba AM
• Regional
• Ressureição
• Educadora do Nordeste de Sobral

Television

The city has one television station, NordesTV.^[6]

Tourist Attractions

• Museu do Eclipse (Museum)
• Museu Dom José (Museum)
• Museu M A D I (Museum)
• Teatro São José (Theatre)
• Teatro São João (Theatre)
• Biblioteca Pública Municipal (Library)
• Serra de Meruoca (Meruoca mountain) Alcântaras and Meruoca

Access

Four roads give access to the city: BR-222, CE-440, CE-441 and BR-220.^[7]

Notable people

• Florent Amodio, figure skater.
• Cid Gomes, former governor.
• Patrícia Saboya Gomes, former senator.
• Antônio Renato Aragão is a comic actor, film producer, and writer.
• Vicente Cândido Figueiredo de Sabóia, physician.

References

1. IBGE 2009 statistics
2. http://atlasbrasil.org.br/2013/perfil/sobral_ce
3. http://www.sobral.ce.gov.br/
4. http://www.sobral.ce.gov.br/
5. http://www.sobral.ce.gov.br/
6. http://tribunadoceara.uol.com.br/nordestv/
7. http://mapas.der.ce.gov.br/

External links

• Photo of museum and monument Sobral where Einstein's theory of relativity was proven