SANTA CATHARINA, a southern maritime State of Brazil, bounded north by Parana, east by the Atlantic, south by Rio Grande do Sul, and west by Rio Grande do Sul and the Misiones territory of Argentina. Pop. (1933 est.) 1,101,587; area 36,669 sq.m. The Serra do Mar rises not far from the coast and leaves only a narrow coast zone, and the plateau above is much broken with irregular ranges of mountains. The coast region, though in the temperate zone, is hot and humid. It is densely forested, is broken by swamps and lagoons, and is crossed by numerous short streams from the wooded slopes of the serras.
The plateau is less densely wooded, but has some highly fertile plains, the open cameos being partly devoted to stock raising. Except in the malarious coast zone, the climate is temperate.
The drainage is westward to the Parana, the rivers being tribu taries of the Iguassu, which forms its northern boundary, and of the Uruguay, which forms its southern boundary. A number of prosperous German colonies—the largest and best known of which are Blumenau, Dona Francisca, Joinville, Itajahy, Brusque, Dom Pedro and Sao Bento—are devoted chiefly to agriculture. There is not so much cultivation on a large scale as in S5.o Paulo and the northern provinces. Coffee is produced to a limited extent, as are also Indian corn, beans, onions, fruit and mandioca. A
prominent industry is the gathering and preparation of mate or Paraguayan tea (Ilex paraguayensis), which is an article of export. The mineral resources include coal, iron, silver, gold and petroleum, the first alone is mined. A railway, the Dona Thereza Christina, runs from Laguna, at the mouth of a lagoon of that name on the southern coast, northward to the port of Imbituba, as also westward up the valley of the Rio Tubarao to the coal fields of that name (69 m.) and inland to Muller. Another, a branch of the Sao Paulo-Rio Grande, runs from Sao Francisco island inland to Uniao da Victoria, on the main line which crosses the western part of this State. Another short line connects Blumenau with Itajahy. The capital of the State is Florianopolis (q.v.), also called Santa Catharina and Desterro; other towns (the population given being that of the municipal district, 1920) are Blumenau (72,213), Lages (37,314), Laguna (27,573), Join ville Itajahy (33,327), Brusque (13,203), Sao Jose (18,688), opposite Florianopolis, Ararangua (40,108), Tubarao and Sao Francisco (14,386), a good port in the northern part of the State in direct communication with a majority of the German colonies.