O rio Longá e o povoamento do norte do Piauí

The Longá’s River basin represented important factor of settlement of Noth of Piau, in face of the environment resources it presents by itself. Both in relation to the availability of groundwater and surface water, such as biodiversity characterized by rich flora and fauna which highlight species that facilitated the installation of the first inhabitants, also for providing fruits for human consumptin, as well as wood and straw to build houses and construction of utility goods, such as the tucum, babaçu and carnaúba. It should be notedthat the canauba wax still remains as one of the main exports of Piauí in this first decade of this century. Besides the traditional economic activities in the Longa’s river basin since the beginning of colonization, it was possible to observe the use of modern production techniques, such as the use of irrigation, which reinforces the importance of water resourcespresent there, especially the main river, which is the the Longa River. Thus, this study was developed with the aim to characterize the natural aspects, to understand the settlementprocess, to identify teh most expressive economical activities developed in this basin área and also to characterize the most predominant turistic activity. The methodology was basedon examinations of bibliographic material on the subject, such as books, articles, monographs, Internet research and on-site observation. It can be concluded that the basin requires attention of public officials and communities that inhabit them, as preventive actions must be taken to conserve this rich heritage of Piaui. A bacia do rio Longá representou importante fator de povoamento do norte do Piauí, em face dos recursos ambientais que apresenta, tanto em relação à disponibilidade de águas subterrâneas e superficiais, como na biodiversidade caracterizada por rica flora e fauna onde se destacam espécies vegetais que facilitaram a instalação dos primeiros habitantes, ao fornecerem frutos para alimentação humana e animal, e ainda madeira e palha para a construção de habitações e confecção de bens utilitários, a exemplo do tucum, babaçu e carnaúba. Ressalte-se que a cera de carnaúba ainda continua a ser um dos principais produtos da pauta de exportação do Piauí nesta primeira década do século XXI. Além das tradicionais atividades econômicas presentes na bacia do Longá desde os primórdios da colonização, neste início de século já se observa a utilização de técnicas modernas de produção como o uso da irrigação, o