Geography

Understanding the geography of Florianópolis is a challenge for the eyes and understanding of visitors. Not only for its unusual urban configuration of a city divided between the mainland and the Island of Santa Catarina, but mainly for the diversity of landscapes that spread across its 433 km². The insular part is characterized by an irregular relief and by a very indented coast that, with its 42 beaches, made the city internationally known. The peculiar human profile of the population, combined with natural resources such as lagoons, mangroves, hills, dunes e small islands complete the picture that makes Floripa a fascinating place.  

Proportions and location

Floripa has an elongated shape, with a 172 km long and 54 km wide coastline. The city totals 18 km² divided between island and mainland. The capital of Santa Catarina is between the parallels of 433º27' and 10º27' of south latitude and the meridians of 50º48' and 25º48' of longitude west of Greenwich. Florianópolis follows Brasília time, being 35 hours behind GMT.  

Relief

The city is at the same level as the sea, but with a very rugged relief, with hills ranging from 400 m to 532 m, with Morro do Ribeirão being the highest point, providing an exuberant view of the city. In addition to this, other highlights of Floripa offer unparalleled landscapes. At the top of Morro da Lagoa you can see the Conceição Lagoon, along with its dunes, vegetation and residences. O Morro da Cruz already offers a different attraction. What can be seen from above is the urban landscape of the city, showing the buildings of the Beira Mar and movement on bridges. As for its relief, Florianópolis can be divided into two sides. In the portion facing the continent, there is the formation of plains, favoring the mangrove ecosystem. On the Atlantic side of the island, the slope is steeper, forming dunes and extensive beaches.

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Hydrography

Officially, there are more than 100 beaches that form the jagged outline of Florianópolis. And, as it is an island, Floripa's beaches also have basins. However, most of them are tiny, with only six being counted as the main ones. In the western portion of the island, there are the Ratones, Saco Grande, Itacorubi and Rio Tavares basins. All of these have a mangrove swamp at their mouths, which happens because, like the waters, they flow into a bay and that, therefore, has no waves. Organic matter accumulates, causing the mangroves to have a characteristic smell. The other two basins, Lagoa da Conceição and Lagoa do Peri, are located in the eastern part of the island. Both are connected to the sea, although the connection to Lagoa da Conceição is not natural, built in the 1950s because it smelled bad. the channel of Peri Lagoon it is long and does not let the salt water of the sea reach the lagoon, making it sweet. The Lagoa da Conceição channel is short, allowing sea water to invade it, making this water brackish.  

Vegetation

In Florianópolis, there are two types of vegetation: Atlantic Forest and Coastal Vegetation. The two were depredated and exploited, leaving little of their original formation. Atlantic forest The Atlantic Forest followed the national pattern in Floripa and was exhaustively explored, leaving only 12,7% of its original portion, and this percentage is not primary vegetation, as the trees of greater economic value were also removed. In the past, the main origin of exploitation was for agriculture, but this sector did not develop on the Island, making the threat today to be urban expansion. This type of vegetation normally grows on slopes, being present on almost all hills. The main places where the Atlantic Forest is present are Lagoa do Peri, the Ribeirao da Ilha, the Massif of coastal and the Tavares River, south of the island, and Monte Verde, Lagoon coast and Ratones to the north. The 1988 Constitution started to consider the Atlantic Forest vegetation, along the entire length of the Brazilian coast, a national heritage. In addition, in Florianópolis there are conservation areas at municipal and state levels. There are several parks distributed along the Island, namely: Parque Florestal do Rio Vermelho (at the north end of Costa da Lagoa), Serra do Tabuleiro State Park (part of the park covers the south end of the Island, in the Shipwrecked Beach), Municipal Park of Lagoa do Peri, Municipal Park of Galheta, Municipal Park of Lagoinha do Leste, Municipal Park of Dunas da Lagoa and the Municipal Park of Maciço da Costeira. Municipal Decree no. 247/86, the region of Costa da Lagoa was declared a Historic and Natural Heritage of the Municipality.

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Coastal Vegetation Mangroves: are of low biodiversity on the island, with only 3 tree species. Located in flat areas, floodable at high tide and emerging at low tide, they are found on the banks of the North and South bays and at the mouths of the main rivers on the island. In all, there are five mangroves spread across Floripa. The Ratones Mangrove, in the Ratones River basin, suffered, in addition to deforestation, damage from drainage works. With the aim of recovering six thousand hectares of land for agriculture, in 1949 the National Department of Works and Sanitation began drainage work with the canalization of water courses and the construction of floodgates to prevent the entry of seawater. It is currently crossed by the SC-401 and only 0,03% of its original extension remains. The Saco Grande Manguezal suffers from illegal landfills along the SC-401. The entire area to the east of the highway has already been filled in and the same process begins in the west, right in this part that is still in contact with the sea, without suffering the damming effect of the road. It receives sewage without any treatment in the Monte Verde and John Paul. The Itacorubi Mangrove is the closest to the urban agglomeration. It underwent successive reductions to make room for Avenida Beira Mar Norte, the city's sanitary landfill (currently deactivated) and the subdivision Santa Monica. It is the most affected by the emission of untreated sewage, receiving effluents from the Itacorubi basin, which drains populous neighborhoods of the city. The Rio Tavares Mangrove is currently the largest on the island. Its area was reduced mainly with the implementation of the Florianopolis Air Base and Hercilio Luz Airport, through embankments and artificial drainage. The road that crosses the mangroves in the north-south direction forms a dam for the damming of the tidal waters, which, because of this, has the only access to the main channel. The neighborhood Carians it is one of the areas that were filled in and, in the eastern and southern portions, this mangrove lost area due to deforestation and drainage to make way for pastures. It suffers from conservation problems in the Coastal and Rio Tavares areas. The Tapera Mangrove has suffered a reduction in area mainly due to drainage for the formation of pastures and, more recently, for the construction of houses. It is the only one that does not constitute a conservation unit, protected only by the Forest Code and the Municipal Master Plan. rest: It's the one next to the beach. It is a type of undergrowth that resists adverse conditions such as soil poverty, water scarcity, high insolation, wind action, great mobility of the dune soil and sea action (if found close to it). Sandbanks can be found along the beach, characterizing the beach vegetation, or in mobile and semi-fixed dunes. The restinga is responsible for fixing the soil and it is thanks to this type of vegetation that Floripa has its current shape. The main restingas on the island are those of Naufragados, south swamp, Lagoinha do Este, Frame, Morro das Pedras, Tavares River and Campeche, joaquina, soft beach, Red River, saint e English, Ponta das Canas, Canasvieiras, Jurerêe Daniela. There are conservation parks for restinga, although many of them are not part of these areas. Rio Vermelho State Park, Serra do Tabuleiro State Park, Lagoa do Peri Municipal Park and Lagoinha do Leste Municipal Park are the parks that protect the restinga. Some areas are also protected by municipal landmarks, such as the restingas of Ponta das Canas and Ponta do Sambaqui, the Ingleses and Santinho dunes (fixed and semi-fixed), Lagoa da Conceição (mobile, fixed and semi-fixed), Armação (fixed dunes) and Campeche. In addition, the Master Plan for the Balneários de Florianópolis considers fixed, semi-fixed and mobile dunes as Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs).