Palmas

Palmas, Braz.

Palmas, city, capital of Tocantins estado (state), north-central Brazil. It lies at the centre of the state, east of the Tocantins River.

When Tocantins state was created in 1989, its provisional capital was Miracema do Tocantins, which lies north of Palmas on the Tocantins River. Palmas was later declared the official capital, and major development projects were immediately initiated. The city centre was designed by the architects Luís Fernando Cruvinel Teixeira and Walfredo Antunes de Oliveira Filho, and plans called for different architects to design each residential block. Construction was still in progress when the capital was transferred to Palmas in 1990. Pop. (2010) 228,332.