Criciuma | city, municipality

 city, municipality

City in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. It is located 180 km south of Florianopolis, the state capital and around 900 km south of Sao Paulo. The city is the center of Brazil's flooring and home materials industry, and is the second-largest such center in the world. It was founded by Italian immigrants in the 19th century.
The city was founded on January 6, 1880 by Italian immigrants. It has an approximate population of 180,000 habitants, and an area of 209.8 square kilometers. It is the Brazilian capital of coal and ceramic tiles, but also very strong in plastic, textiles (jeans), and chemicals.
Criciuma is 24 km inland from the Atlantic ocean and around 40 km from the mountains of the interior of Santa Catarina state.
Criciuma is also the name of the city's football (soccer) team, which plays in the national league. They have won several championship titles, including a national championship in 1991 (Copa do Brasil). They are currently the state soccer champion (2005). Their colors are white, black and yellow, symbols of the state mineral resources, mainly coal.
Several small towns lie around Criciuma forming a metropolitan area of 250 thousand people. The most important are: Icara (a large producer of honey), Urussanga, Nova Veneza, Nova Trento, Orleans, Ararangua¡, and Timbe do Sul.