The city of Florianopolis is also known as Floria. It is located east of the state of Santa Catarina.
Its previous name was Nossa Senhora do Desterro (Our Lady of Exile), renomabrada to Florianopolis in honor of the president Floriano Peixoto.
The Spanish called it Santa Catalina to this area, then received the name of Santa Catharina and Santa Catarina (in Spanish and Portuguese), and officially was named Our Lady of Exile. During the early twentieth century, Brazilians called it Desterro.
Since the late twentieth century, it is called colloquially as Floripa and received the nickname "Magic Island" (on the island several alchemists sought refuge during the colonial period).
Most of Florianópolis (97%) is located on the island of Santa Catarina, where the 42 beaches, which are varied together. There are 2 large lagoons: Lagoa da Conceição (Lagoon salt water) and Lagoa do Peri (freshwater lagoon).
One of the main activities of the town is tourism, with visitors from Brazilian and nearby countries, especially Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile.
The most visited and famous beaches are north of the island, and are Jurerê International Canasvieiras and English.
Santa Catalina Island is located parallel to the continent, separated by a channel. It has a long and narrow, with 54 km long and 18 km wide.
The highest point of the island is Morro do Ribeirão 532 meters.
