Santa Catarina, one of the smaller states of Brazil is situated south of the state of Paraná, north of Rio Grande do Sul and has a border to Argentina in the west. The east is at the Atlantic Ocean.

The first European settlers were emigrants of the Portuguese Island group of the Azores, were problems of overpopulation existed. In the 19th century Italians, Germans, Polish, Russians, Japanese and people from the Near East followed. .This immigrants . These immigrants dominate the state until today with their culture, especially the Germans in the region of Blumenau, with its timbered houses, where the famous annual Oktoberfest (beer festival) takes place.

For tourists Santa Catarina offers a lot: Besides the well known cities as the capitol Florianópolis and Balneário Camboriú you find along the complete coast wonderful beaches, some of them very lonely, nearly untouched. But also landscapes of dunes or mountains with canyons in between, which extend to the coast. In the winter months you have the opportunity to watch whales with their young in the south of the state.  (North Atlantic right whale).

 

Have a look, here is a video of the tourism board of the state of Santa Catarina:

 

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