Itaituba
| Itaituba, Pará, Brazil | |||
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| Nickname(s): "Golden City (Cidade Pepita, in Portuguese)" | |||
 Location of Itaituba in the State of Pará, Brazil |
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 Itaituba, Pará, Brazil
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| Coordinates: 4°16′33″S 55°59′2″W / 4.27583°S 55.98389°W | |||
| Country |
Brazil 
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| Region | North | ||
| State |
 Pará (state, Brazil)
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| Founded | December 15, 1856 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Eliene Nunes (PSD) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 62,040.947 km2 (23,954.144 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) | ||
| Population (2011) | |||
| • Total | 97,704 | ||
| • Density | 1.57/km2 (4.1/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | AST (UTC-4) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | DST no longer used (UTC-4) | ||
| Postal Code | 68180-000 | ||
| Area code(s) | 93 | ||
| HDI (2000) | 0.704 – medium | ||
| Website | www |
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Itaituba is a city and municipality located in the state of Pará, Brazil, and one of the most important socioeconomic centers in the western region of the State.
Itaituba is the fifteenth largest city (by population) in the State of Pará, third largest city in the western region, and has the thirteenth largest Gross Domestic Product in the State. The city is regarded as a medium-sized city, and one of the fastest growing cities in the countryside of Brazil. The name of the city origins from Tupi (an indigenous language), which literally means gravel place.
People from the city of Itaituba are known as itaitubenses. The city motto is cidade pepita, which translates as "golden city." The city is known for the intense gold mining activity in the valley of the Tapajós River, the multitude of landscapes (such as the sandy river beaches that are formed during the dry seasons, and also the waterfalls located in the district of São Luiz do Tapajós), and the Amazônia National Park.
The municipality will contain part of the reservoir of the proposed Jatobá Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Tapajós.
The presence of Dutch, French, and English explorers in the estuary of the Amazon River has concurred for the settlement of Portuguese expeditionaries in the current territory of the State of Pará, and also for the expedition of Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco which, in 1616, has founded the city of Belém.
After the foundation of the captaincy of Grão Pará, the foreigners were gradually expelled by the government, by means of various expeditions which had as goal to destroy the settlements created. Among these expeditions, the one headed by captain Pedro Teixeira reached for the first time (in 1626) the Tapajós River. This expedition established a friendly contact with native people in the site currently known as Alter-do-Chão bay. In 1639, Pedro Teixeira returned to the Tapajós River, being followed the Jesuits.
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Wikipedia