Rio Grande do Sul (pronunciation (help·info) pron. IPA: [ʁiu 'gɾɐ̃.de do suɫ];

Geography
Rio Grande lies within the south temperate zone and has a mild, temperate climate, except in the coastal zone where it is subtropical. There are only two well-marked seasons, though the transition periods between them (about two months each) are sometimes described as spring and autumn. The winter months, June to September, are characterized by heavy rains and by cold westerly winds, called minuanos, which sometimes lower the temperature to the freezing point, especially in the mountainous districts. Snow is very rare, but ice frequently forms on inland waters during cold winter nights, only to disappear with the first rays of the sun. In summer, which is nominally a dry season, light rains are common, northerly and easterly winds prevail, and the temperature rises to 95° (35°C) in the shade. Cases of insolation are not rare.

Climate
Several ecoregions cover portions of the state. In the northeastern corner of the state, between the Serra do Mar/Serra Geral and the Atlantic, lies the southern extension of the Serra do Mar coastal forests, a belt of evergreen tropical moist forests that extend north along the coastal strip as far as Rio de Janeiro state. The high plateau behind the Serra do Mar is occupied by the Araucaria moist forests, a subtropical forests characterized by evergreen, laurel-leaved forests interspersed with emergent Brazilian Pines (Araucaria angustifolia). The Paraná-Paraíba interior forests lie on the lower slopes of the plateau south and east of the Araucaria forests, including much of the lower basin of the Jacuí and its tributaries. These forests are semi-deciduous, with many trees losing their leaves in the summer dry season. The Atlantic Coast restingas, distinctive forests which grow on nutrient-poor coastal dunes, extend along the coast, as far as the Uruguayan border.
The southern and eastern portion of the state is covered by the Uruguayan savanna, which extends south into Uruguay.

History
As of the census of 2006, the population was 10.963.219 hab. The population density was 38,9 hab./km².

Demographics
According to the 2005 PNAD census, the racial makeup of the state was:

84.1% White.

• Mostly of Italian, German and Portuguese descent.
  Minorities of Spanish, Polish and Russian descent.
  10.4% Brown.
  5.2% Black.
  0.4% Amerindian or Asian Rio Grande do Sul Ethnic Groups
  The region what is now Rio Grande do Sul was originally settled by Amerindian peoples, mostly Guarani and Kaingangs
  Other European immigrants also migrated to Rio Grande do Sul, mostly coming from Eastern Europe (Poland, Ukraine and Russia).
  
  Rio Grande do Sul's demographics History
  One of the most prosperous Brazilian states, Rio Grande do Sul is known especially for grain production, viticulture, ranching, and for its considerable industrial output. Constituting less than 6% of the total Brazilian population, the state accounts for nearly 10% of the Brazilian GDP. The main products exported by Rio Grande do Sul are shoes, tobacco, automobiles, grains, beef, leather, and chemicals. Natives of the state are known as Gaúchos, named after the cattle herders and ranchers who settled the state's pampa regions.
  
  Economy
  Portuguese language is the official language of schools. But English language and Spanish language are part of the official high school curriculum.
  
  Education
  
  Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
  Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul (UERGS)
  Fundação Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG)
  Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas de Porto Alegre (FFFCMPA)
  Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel)
  Universidade Católica de Pelotas (UCPel)
  Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)
  Universidade Federal do Pampa (UNIPAMPA)
  Pontifícia Universidade Católica do RGS (PUC-RGS)
  Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA) Colleges and universities
  The state of Rio Grande do Sul is renowned as one of the most culturally rich states of Brazil. Rio Grande's music is a blend of many styles (Prata's Rhythms in the main), including the Chamamé, Milonga, Polca and Chacarera. The inhabitants of the state are famous in the country for drinking chimarrão, a local version of the mate drunk in neighbouring Uruguay and Argentina. Barbecue locally known as "churrasco" is one of the most important elements the culture. Rio Grande do Sul's culture is far from a typical Brazilian one. Samba and carnival are not popular as in the rest of the country and the internationally famous Brazilian mulatas are rarely seen. Fashion plays a prominent role in Rio Grande do Sul, by far the largest provider of top models and misses in Brazil - Misses Rio Grande do Sul have won 5 of the last 10 editions -, Allesandra Ambrosio, Gisele Bündchen, Ana Hickmann, Letícia Birkheuer are some of the international super models from Rio Grande do Sul. The Riograndenses are assiduous readers. The state has the highest proportion of books read per capita in Brazil, with Latin America's largest outdoor book fair, the Porto Alegre Book Fair, taking place in Porto Alegre every year.
  
  Culture
  The four-day period before Lent leading up to Ash Wednesday is carnival time in Brazil. Rich and poor alike forget their cares as they party in the streets.
  
  Carnival
  Minority languages spoken in Rio Grande do Sul can be divided into two groups: Indigenous languages (Guarani, Caingangue, etc.) and European derived Languages (German, Venetian/Italian, Riograndenser Hunsrückisch (a German dialect) and Pomeranian Low German (Low Saxon), Polish and other Slavic languages).
  
  Minority Languages
  
  Infrastructure
  With 37.6 thousand square meters of constructed area and four levels, the passenger terminal at Salgado Filho International Airport can receive 28 large airplanes simultaneously. The terminal has 32 check-in counters, ten boarding bridges, nine elevators and ten escalators. It has a totally automated aircraft movement control center and the main spaces are air conditioned. The apron, surfaced with prestressed concrete, can serve jumbo jets like the Boeing 747-400. The garage structure has eight levels, 44 thousand square meters and 1,440 parking spaces. Another terminal, with 15 thousand square meters and capacity for 1.5 million passengers a year, serves general, executive and third-tier aviation (conventional piston-engine and turboprop planes). Porto Alegre Airport was the first one administered by Infraero to have integrated check-in. This service offers flexibility in use of terminal facilities and installations, enabling carriers to access their own data centers via shared-use computers from any check-in counter position. This makes it much easier to allocate counter space according to demand fluctuations, making for less idle space. The Aeroshopping area – a center for commerce and leisure – operates 24 hours a day with shops, services, a food court, along with a triplex cinema, the first to be established at a Brazilian airport. Salgado Filho International Airport also has an air cargo terminal, built in 1974, with 9,500 thousand square meters of area and capacity to handle 1,500 tons of export cargo and 900 tons of imports each month. The average daily movement (arrivals and departures) is 174 aircraft, flying scheduled routes connecting Porto Alegre directly or indirectly to all the country's other major cities, as well as smaller cities in the interior of the states of the South Region and São Paulo. There are also international flights with direct connections to cities of the Southern Cone.
  
  International Airport
  Porto de Rio Grande; Porto de Porto Alegre; Porto de Estrela.
  
  Port
  BR-101; BR-386; BR-116; BR-290, and more others.
  
  Highways
  Ecotourism is very popular in the Germanesque cities of Gramado and Canela; their cold weather is among their attractions for internal tourism. Tourism is also high in the wine regions of the state, principally Caxias do Sul and Bento Gonçalves. The pampas of the native Brazilian gaúcho are both a national and international curiosity to tourists and their customs are alive in the capital city of Porto Alegre as well as in the cities of the "interior" or western Rio Grande do Sul such as Santa Maria and Passo Fundo. The state is also home to the historic São Miguel das Missões, the ruins of an 18th century Jesuit Mission. In the city of Nova Prata, in way the native bush, you find a park thematic, with sources that gush out thermal waters in a temperature of 41ºC, which possess excellent medicinal properties and therapeutical.
  
  Tourism
  The state of Rio Grande do Sul and its cities have developed a series scenic routes to appeal to tourists. The Rota Romântica is a popular scenic drive that exhibits the diverse Germanic culture of the mountainous regions of the state referred to as the Serra Gaúcha. One can visit the state's Italian settlements through Caminhos da Colônia, tour the wine country through the Rota da Uva e do Vinho and visit a subsection of the Rota Romântica called the Região das Hortênsias, the region filled with beautiful blue hydrangea flowers each spring.
  
  Tourist Routes
  Porto Alegre (the state's capital city), Caxias do Sul, Pelotas, Canoas, Santa Maria, São Leopoldo, Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande, Passo Fundo, Osório, Santa Cruz do Sul, Erechim, Gravataí, Bento Gonçalves, Nova Prata, Uruguaiana, Livramento, Gramado, Nova Petropolis, Canela and Bagé.
  See also:
  
  List of cities in Rio Grande do Sul
  List of cities in Rio Grande do Sul by population Sports
  The only Brazilian state to have done so as of 2007, Rio Grande do Sul legalised civil unions after a court decision in February 2005. Same-sex couples in committed relationships can register at any notary public office. Although it does not affect federal rights, it gives same-sex couples more equality in many areas. Same-sex couples who register have the right to jointly own property, establish custody of children, and claim the right to pensions and property when one partner dies.