São Ricardo
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São Ricardo, officially the State of São Ricardo (Cartadanian: Estado de São Ricardo), is an insular state of Cartadania. It is the northernmost island group in the Urlazio Sea, occupying an archipelago in the confluence of the Odoneru Ocean and the Urlazio Sea, and is one of two states to be composed completely of islands, the other being Porta Bianca. São Ricardo is the 25th-largest at 61,945.1 square kilometres (23,917.1 sq mi), and the 16th-most populous with 8.15 million residents, as well as the 8th-most densely populated of the thirty-one states, with 131.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (341/sq mi). The state's coastline is about 2,900 kilometres (1,800 mi) long, one of the longest in Cartadania. Its capital and largest city is Lua on the island of São Ricardo.
São Ricardo
Saint Richard (Ænglish) | |
|---|---|
| State of São Ricardo Estado de São Ricardo | |
| Nickname(s): The Island State, The Fortune Isles, The Sunset Isles, Gateway to the World | |
| Motto(s): Plus ultra | |
| Anthem: Hino da ilha | |
 Map of Cartadania with São Ricardo highlighted | |
| Country |  Cartadania |
| Before statehood | Regio Fortuna |
| Admitted to the Union | 9 July 1802 (11th) |
| Capital | Lua |
| Largest city | seat |
| Largest metro | Lua metropolitan area |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Cyanus Marcallas |
| • Lieutenant Governor | Brian Nortenho |
| Legislature | São Ricardo State Assembly |
| • Upper house | Senate |
| • Lower house | House |
| Judiciary | Supreme Court of São Ricardo |
| Senators | 3 |
| Chamber delegation | 12 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 61,945.1 km2 (23,917.1 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 25th |
| Elevation | 792.5 m (2,600.1 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 4,335.8 m (14,225.1 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 8,147,881 |
| • Rank | 16th |
| • Density | 131.5/km2 (340.7/sq mi) |
| • Median household income | €89,615 |
| • Income rank | 1st |
| Demonym(s) | Ricardinho Ricardense Insulano(a) |
| Language | |
| • Official language | none |
| • Spoken language | |
| Time zone | UTC-2:00 (Central Standard Time) |
| CCor abbreviation | SR |
| ISO 3166 code | CA-SR |
| Trad. abbreviation | Ric. |
| Website | www |
| São Ricardo state symbols | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
 | |
| Living insignia | |
| Amphibian | Hyalinobatrachium ruedai |
| Bird | White-tailed tropicbird |
| Butterfly | Adonis Morpho |
| Flower | Hibiscus |
| Mammal | Canotta's squirrel monkey |
| Reptile | Phelsuma grandis |
| Tree | Coconut palm |
| Inanimate insignia | |
| Dinosaur | Austroraptor |
| Food | Coconut |
| Gemstone | Opal |
| Mineral | Quartz |
| Motto | Plus ultra |
| Nickname | The Island State The Sunset Isles Gateway to the World |
| Shell | Queen conch |
| Song | Hino da isla |
| State route marker | |
| São Ricardo state route marker | |
| List of Cartadanian state symbols | |
The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Fortuna archipelago, a remnant of ancient times when the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles", which comprises five large islands and numerous smaller ones spread over 65,000 square kilometres (25,000 sq mi) of land and sea. At the northern end of the archipelago, the five main islands are—in order counterclockwise from northeast to southeast: Rey, Maceres, Gravarre, the island of São Ricardo, and Graciosa. The island of São Ricardo is the largest island in the group; it is often called the "Big Island" or "Fortuna Island" to avoid confusion with the state or archipelago. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Luson region of Sarpedon despite being halfway between it and the Charente region.
São Ricardo's diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches, oceanic surroundings, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists from around the world. São Ricardo has over 8 million permanent residents, along with many visitors and military personnel from both halves of the country. As of 2024, São Ricardo had the highest median household income of any state, owing in large part to its location at the mouth and a highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, services, higher education, healthcare, and biotechnology.
History
Early history
The area that today corresponds to the state territory was already inhabited by indigenous peoples and Adonerii from approximately the 12th century BC. The coast of the region was frequently visited by other sea-faring explorers and navigators resident to the Odoneru, and the islands gained the name Felix insulae. It became a common stopping point for sea vessels passing not only into and out of the Urlazian zone, but also as a stoppoing point from Levantia to lands as far as Vallos. After the establishment of the Banlieuregio of Alexandria during the Pontificate, the region began to a period of isolation, wanting to remain an independent and sovereign self-governing island, though it eventually was annexed and named Regio Fortuna. After Odridian independence in 1671, Fortuna began to become a major agricultural producer (mainly coffee and sugarcane) in the newly constituted Cartic Federation (that would become the Cartadanian Republic) along with being a major port of entry to Urlazian world, which ultimately created a rich community on the islands unseen anywhere else in the country (a feature the island retains today as the richest state by income), a quality that made it a target among the maritime community for many decades. There was also a small population of Ettian people in eastern Fortuna who had arrived from Alexandria and are the oldest continuously existing civilization in Sarpedon.
Annexation and political changes
While it did become a region of Caphiria early in its history and then Cartadania, with the dissolution of the Cartadanian Republic in 1698, Fortuna reverted to being an autonomous collectivity or possession of Alahuela, and is the only territory in the country's entire history to hold the status it did. Fortuna operated as a Sui generis territory and while it reported to Congress (which provided defense and diplomatic relations to foreign countries), Fortuna created its own laws, legal system, and other governmental aspects, and essentially functioned more like an associated state than a territory. It continued to use the Lira as its currency until its replacement with the Escudo in 1710, and depended on Cartadania for most of its economic policy, but wasn't legally a part of the country, which itself was undergoing major revisions. Fortuna existed in this state of autonomy for 73 years until it again became a territory of First Class in 1771. This allowed Alahuela to secure the Marée and Sanoria Channels and allow passing from the Urlazian states to the mainland.
Statehood era
Modern history
Geography and environment
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The archipelago is 170 kilometres (110 mi) northeast of mainland Cartadania and roughly equidistant between it and the Urlazian region. São Ricardo is the northernmost Cartadanian state when taking into account all of its islands and islets as a single unit (although Cambria extends further north the main island). São Ricardo, being an archipelago like Porta Bianca, does not border any other Cartadanian state by land. The island of São Ricardo is the largest and most populous island of the archipelago, accounting for nearly sixty-five percent of the state's population.
In addition to the five main islands, the state has many smaller islands and islets. These land features allowed the construction of the bridge and causeway systems between Cartadania's mainland (via Alexandria) and the Urlazian region (via Milan), two marvels of engineering that would other be impossible (whether physically or financially) without their presence. The Northern Fortuna Islands is a group of nine small, older islands to the northwest of Maceres that extend from Penremo to Mareserta Cay; these are remnants of once much larger volcanic mountains. Across the archipelago are around 130 small rocks and islets, such as Toniche, which are either volcanic, marine sedimentary or erosional in origin.
Magnetic anomalies identified in the vicinity of the archipelago indicate that the structures forming the islands date back 125–150 million years: the islands themselves date from 8 million (in the north and northwest) to 20 million years (in the east and southeast). The oldest exposed rocks occurred on Graciosa and southern peninsula of São Ricardo and are 128–131 million year old pillow lavas. The first stage of volcanism in the islands began in the early Miocene, and reached its peak at the end of this period, when the islands reached their maximum sizes. Historical volcanism (within human settlement) has been restricted to the island of Gravarre and minor islets into the southern Odoneru.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification, the climate of São Ricardo is mostly tropical savannah climate or Aw, with a hot and wet season and a warm and dry season. The low latitude, warm tropical Odridian current, and relatively low elevation give São Ricardo a warm and winterless climate (except for its highest peaks).
As with most tropical climates, seasonal rainfall follows the sun, and summer is the wettest season. There is only a 7 °C (45 °F) difference between the warmest month and coolest month in most of the Fortuna islands. Every few decades low temperatures can fall below 10 °C (50 °F) for a few hours when a severe cold outbreak comes down from the northern Odoneru, however there has never been a frost or freeze recorded in the Fortuna Islands. São Ricardo is often sunny and dry for long periods of time, and average more than 3,000 hours or 340 days of sunlight annually in much of the state. Snow, not usually associated with the tropics, falls at 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) on Monte Oha and Fortuna Mons on Ricardo Island in some winter months.
Tropical storms occasionally impact São Ricardo, but hurricanes have become increasingly uncommon, mostly due to proximity to the equator.
| Climate data for Lua | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 25.4 (77.7) |
25.5 (77.9) |
26.6 (79.9) |
27.9 (82.2) |
29.7 (85.5) |
31.0 (87.8) |
32.0 (89.6) |
32.1 (89.8) |
31.6 (88.9) |
29.9 (85.8) |
27.8 (82.0) |
26.2 (79.2) |
28.8 (83.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 21.4 (70.5) |
21.4 (70.5) |
22.3 (72.1) |
23.8 (74.8) |
25.6 (78.1) |
27.2 (81.0) |
28.0 (82.4) |
28.1 (82.6) |
27.7 (81.9) |
26.2 (79.2) |
24.2 (75.6) |
22.3 (72.1) |
24.8 (76.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 17.3 (63.1) |
17.3 (63.1) |
17.9 (64.2) |
19.6 (67.3) |
21.4 (70.5) |
23.3 (73.9) |
24.0 (75.2) |
24.0 (75.2) |
23.7 (74.7) |
22.5 (72.5) |
20.6 (69.1) |
18.3 (64.9) |
20.8 (69.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 39.4 (1.55) |
49.5 (1.95) |
54.4 (2.14) |
69.3 (2.73) |
105.9 (4.17) |
218.2 (8.59) |
160.8 (6.33) |
235.7 (9.28) |
164.1 (6.46) |
161.8 (6.37) |
80.5 (3.17) |
49.8 (1.96) |
1,389.4 (54.70) |
| Average precipitation days | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 140 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 220.1 | 220.4 | 257.3 | 276.0 | 269.7 | 231.0 | 272.8 | 266.6 | 213.0 | 223.2 | 222.0 | 213.9 | 2,886 |
| Source: Administração Oceânica e Atmosférica Nacional | |||||||||||||