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Bananal Island
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Aerial view of Bananal Island, Brazil Tall babassu palm tree with a slender trunk and large, feathery fronds, standing among other palms under a partly cloudy sky in Piaui, Brazil.
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Island, New Caledonia.
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Portuguese:
Ilha Do Bananal
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Aerial view of Bananal Island, Brazil
Aerial view of Bananal Island, Brazil

Bananal Island

island, Brazil
Also known as: Ilha do Bananal
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Tall babassu palm tree with a slender trunk and large, feathery fronds, standing among other palms under a partly cloudy sky in Piaui, Brazil.
Babassu palmA tall babassu palm (Attalea speciosa) in Piauí, Brazil.

Bananal Island, island, Tocantins estado (state), central Brazil. The island is formed by the Araguaia River, which for 200 miles (320 km) divides into major (western) and minor (eastern) branches, with Bananal Island lying between them. The major branch of the Araguaia forms part of the boundary between Mato Grosso and Tocantins states. Small boats navigate the minor branch. The island (maximum width 35 miles [55 km]) is the habitat of babassu palms, tropical birds, and freshwater fish. Suyá Indians live on Bananal Island. It became the Araguaia National Park in 1959 and includes an airstrip. It is the largest known inland river island in the world and a source of ecotourism for the region.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Mindy Johnston.
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