(1,764,540); Porto Alegre (1,413,094); Joinville (520,905); Londrina (511,278); Caxias do Sul (441,332); Florianópolis (427,298); Maringá (362,329); Pelotas (328,864); Canoas (325,188); Ponta Grossa (314,527); Blumenau (312,634); Cascavel (289,339); Foz do Iguaçu (255,900); and Santa Maria (262,368). Economy: Machinery and automobile industries, textiles, shoes, information technologytourism, soy, maize, wheat, tobacco, rice, apple, wine,livestock, coal, energy production. Transport: There are many developed highways and railways throughout the region, although the latter is mainly used for freight. Rivers are used when possible. Vegetation: Rainforests along the coast (Mata Atlântica), subtropical semiciduous in the north and west (Araucárias) and prairie-like vegetation in the south (Pampas). Little native vegetation still remains due to deforestation. Notable characteristics: The South Region of Brazil is historically characterized by its high standard of living, with considerably better social indicators, which include some of the cities with the highest HDI levels in the country, including their capitals. Cities also feature an advanced level of urbanism in comparison with other parts of Brazil. The region is almost the newest in terms of urbanization, it was recently populated by European immigrants (almost 19th century immigration and refugees of World War I and World War IIs). They have added to the local culture, especially in architecture, cuisine and forms of agriculture. Southern region, however, is not immune from poverty, violence and other social issues, especially in the larger cities, even though in a lower level than poorer areas in the country. The state of Santa Catarina is proportionally the Whitest state in Brazil with over 87% of its population being European. The other southern states also have the highest percentage rates of European population. Ethnic composition of regions The composition of regions of Brazil according to autosomal genetic studies focused on the Brazilian population (which has been found to be a complex melting pot of European, African and Native Americans components): A 2011 autosomal DNA study, with nearly 1000 samples from all over the country ("whites", "pardos" and "blacks"), found a major European contribution, followed by a high African contribution and an important Native American component. The study showed that Brazilians from different regions are more homogeneous than previously thought by some based on the census alone. "Brazilian homogeneity is, therefore, a lot greater between Brazilian regions than within Brazilian regions." According to an autosomal DNA study from 2010, a new portrayal of each ethnicity contribution to the DNA of Brazilians, obtained with samples