Editing Goiás (section)

==Geography==
[[File:EO_1831-Editar.jpg|thumb|left|Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park]]
[[File:A_5_km.JPG|thumb|left|Serra dos Pirineus in Goiás]]

Goiás occupies a large plateau, the vast almost level surface of which stands between 750 and 900 m above sea level and forms the divide between three of Brazil's largest river systems: to the south, Goiás is drained by the [[Paranaíba river]], a tributary of the [[Paraná River]]; to the east it is drained by tributaries of the [[São Francisco River]]; and northward the state is drained by the [[Araguaia River]] and the [[Tocantins River]] and their tributaries. Other major rivers in the state are the [[Meia Ponte River|Meia Ponte]], Aporé, São Marcos, [[Corumbá|Corumbá River]], Claro, [[Maranhão River|Maranhão]], [[Paranã River|Paranã]] and [[Preto River (Paracatu River)|Preto]]. None of these rivers is navigable except for short distances by small craft.

The state's highest point is Pouso Alto, at {{Convert|1676|m|ft}} above sea level, in the Chapada dos Veadeiros.

Goiás is covered with a woodland savanna known in Brazil as campo [[cerrado]], although there are still tropical forests along the rivers. The climate of the plateau is tropical. Average monthly temperatures vary from {{Convert|26|C|F}} in the warmest month to {{Convert|22|C|F}} in the coldest. The year is divided into a rainy season (October–March) and a dry season (April–September). Average annual rainfall is about {{Convert|1700|mm|in}}, but this varies due to elevation and microclimate.
Some parts of the state, however, have small remnants of tropical [[Atlantic forest]], that mostly appears around rivers and valleys.

The Great Midwest Region, consisting of the states of Goiás, [[Mato Grosso]], Mato Grosso do Sul, and the [[Federal District (Brazil)|Federal District]], is among the fastest-growing regions of Brazil. The population of Goiás state tripled in size in the period from 1950 to 1980 and is still growing very quickly. However, outside the Federal District and the Goiânia metropolitan region (with a population of over a million) most of Goiás is very thinly populated. The chief concentration of settlement is in the southeast, in the area of [[Goiânia]] (Goiânia and [[Aparecida de Goiânia]]), across the border from [[Minas Gerais]] ([[Catalão]], [[Rio Verde, Goiás|Rio Verde]], [[Jataí]], and [[Caldas Novas]]), and around the Federal District ([[Formosa, Goiás|Formosa]], [[Planaltina de Goiás]], and [[Luziânia]]).