About Foz do Iguaçu:

Foz do Iguaçu is one of the most visited city by tourists in Brazil. The city has approximately 100 hotels and "pousadas". The city is strategically positioned, seeing its position in Mercosul, and it is expected that its importance as a major city rises after the very formation of the SACN (South Community of Nations). The attractions of the city are many:

• The Iguaçu Falls (large as three Niagara Falls together), part of the falls are in the Brazilian side, others (including the "Garganta do Diabo", the tallest of the falls, 97 meters high) are in the Argentinian side.

• Parque Nacional do Iguaçu (Iguazu National Park), also in both Brazil and Argentina, where the falls are.

• Itaipu Dam, the most powerful dam of the world, in Parana river, together with Paraguay.

• The Tríplice Fronteira (Triple Frontier), location where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet. Each side has its own Marco (landmark).

• The Omar Ibn Al-Khatab mosque, the largest outside Middle East.

• The Bird's Park (Parque das Aves), with a reasonably big collection of wild birds, and the "Bosque Guarani", the city's zoo.

History:

In 1549, a Spanish explorer, Cabeza de Vaca, found the falls while trailing down the river. Very impressed, he named them "Quedas de Santa Maria". But later the name changed to Quedas do Iguazu, this name is a native name from the Guarani Indians who once lived there.

Until 1860, it was in Paraguayan territory, but given its defeat in the War of the Triple Alliance, and big loses of territory to the winners, the falls passed to Brazilian control in the north side and Argentinian control in the south side. In 1910, the colony's status was upgraded to the position of  "vila", named "Vila Iguazu", and, in 1914, to city. At that time, the city was known as Foz do Iguazu.

In 1916, Alberto Santos-Dumont visited the region and, impressed with the beauties of the region, suggested more attention of the government to the area and asked for the misappropriation of the land where actually is the Parque do Iguaçu (Iguazu Park). In 1945, an agreement between the Brazilian Academy of Letters and the Academy of Lisbon changed the city name to Foz do Iguaçu.

The city experienced a big economical boom in the 1960s to the late 1980s, first with the construction of the Friendship Bridge, concluded in 1965, and the Itaipu Dam, finished in the beginning of the 1970s.

On October 19, 2005, was considered changing the city name to Foz do Iguassu. The purpose of changing the city name is to make the city's spelling return to the original, when the city was founded in 1914 by the name Foz do Iguassu, but in 1945 brazilian portuguese passed through an orthography reform. Another reason for the change is that 146 of the 198 countries homologated by ONU don't have the "ç" character in the alphabet, this way would make easier the search for the city in search engines, since Foz do Iguaçu is world wide known by his falls, which by the way is comercially divulgated as Iguassu Falls.

Climate:

The climate of Foz do Iguaçu is sub-tropical. The city's annual average temperature is 23.8°C (75 °F), but can be as high as 43°C (109 °F) in the summer (highest) or as low as -5°C (23 °F) in the winter (lowest). The average in the summer is 26,5°C (80 °F) and in the winter 15,4°C( 60 °F).

The climate of the city is hot or warm throughout the year, due to the relatively low altitude (standing only 173 above sea's level). Generally, the city is sunny during the year, but rain is fairly common during the spring and in the summer. The weather of the city, however, changes very constantly, because the region where the city stands is the zone where frequently three fronts meet. As consequence, it is not uncommon to see temperatures as high as 35°C (95 °F) and in the summer as low as 8°C in the city, and commonly, thunderstorms.

Links to visit:    H2Foz        The Bird's Park