Lying on the northern coast of Brazil, Oiapoque is popularly considered the northernmost point of Brazil. The phrase "do Oiapoque ao Chuí" (from Oiapoque to Chuí) means "all of Brazil."^[5] However, there are more northerly points in Roraima state such as the municipality of Uiramutã. Oiapoque remains the northernmost coastal city of Brazil, and the northernmost city of Amapá. It occupies more than half of the north border of the state.

Early history

The Oiapoque River is said to have been found by Vicente Yáñez Pinzón in the first years of the 16th century. It has been called Japoc, Yapoc, Iapoco, and even Vicente Pinzón River. The name Oiapoque was officially used from 1900, when a territorial dispute between Brazil and France was resolved through Swiss diplomatic arbitration.

Clevelândia

At the beginning of the 20th century, the village of Oiapoque hosted a political and criminal concentration camp called Clevelândia. In 1922 an agricultural outpost called the Núcleo Colonial Cleveland was transformed into a camp during the presidency of Arthur Bernardes (1922–1926). Many Brazilian anarchist militants were sentenced to hard labour here. Of the 946 prisoners interned at Clevelândia between 1924 and 1927, 491 died. Many of the survivors returned to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro permanently sickened with malaria.^[6]

Geography

Oiapoque is bordered to the west by its long frontier with French Guiana. It is bordered to the north by the Atlantic Ocean. On its eastern and southern sides it borders the municipalities of Calçoene, Serra do Navio, Pedra Branca do Amapari, and Laranjal do Jari.

The municipality contains 24.15% of the {{convert|2369400|ha}} Amapá State Forest, a sustainable use conservation unit established in 2006.^[1]

Climate

References