Bananal Island is a large river island formed from the bisection of the Araguaia River, in southwestern Tocantins, Brazil. The island is formed by a fork in a very flat section of the Araguaia; the western stream of the fork retains the name Araguaia and the eastern one is called the Javaés River. By reuniting later, both streams form Bananal Island, which is the second largest river island in the world and the largest without an ocean coastline, at 350 km long and 55 km wide. Its total area is 19162.25 km2. The Jaburu do Bananal is the largest of several rivers flowing within the island, parallel to the Araguaia.

Environmental and cultural protection

Bananal Island is a nature and culture preserve. In accordance with Article 28 of the Statute of Indian Law (Artigo 28 do Estatuto do Indío-lei) No. 6001 laid out on 19 December 1973, an area of 5577.26 km2 is preserved as Araguaia National Park and further 13584.99 km2 as cultural preserve for Brazilian Indians. The northern third of the island, which is designated as a national park, is a popular destination for ecotourism. The southern two-thirds are indigenous territories.

Inhabitants

Although Brazilians of non-native descent lived on the island in the past, today the entire population is Indians. At least four tribes live on Bananal Island: the Javaés, Karajá, Ava-Canoeiro, and Tuxá. There are sixteen aldeias or villages on the island: Barra do Rio, Barreira Branca, Boa Esperança, Boto Velho, Cachoeirinha, Fontoura, JK, Kanoanã, Kaxiwe, Macaúba, Santa Isabel, São João, Txoude, Txuiri, Wari-Wari, Watau. There are no bridges to the island from the states of Tocantins to the east nor from Mato Grosso to the west. For the greater majority of the year, the only transport to the island is by boat. However, for a few weeks during the dry season (June – August) the river is low enough that it can be forded and the island can be reached by car. The villages have roads wide enough for cars and tractors, but most travellers walk or ride horses or bicycles.

Image gallery

Municipalities

From north to south, the island forms the western portions of the municipalities of Pium, Lagoa da Confusão, and Formoso do Araguaia, in southwestern Tocantins.