the then military dictatorship. Towns Among the most important settlements on the banks of the Araguaia River are (in a downstream order): Barra do Garças Aragarças Aruanã Luiz Alves São Félix do Araguaia Santa Terezinha Araguacema Conceição do Araguaia Xambioá São Geraldo do Araguaia São João do Araguaia Tourism Several parts of the river's course are protected by national parks and other reserves like the Emas National Park and the Araguaia National Park. The Araguaia has "beaches" - bright sandy banks that seam the stream from May to October. Deforestation and Impacts on the Araguaia Deforestation and expansion of cattle ranching and agriculture in the Araguaia basin has been extreme during the last four decades. As a consequence, strong linear erosion has produced thousand of gullies just in the upper Araguaia basin, and the river mainstem suffered strong sedimentation and fluvial metamorphism (changes in its channel pattern). See also List of rivers of Goiás South Amazon Ecotones Ecological Corridor Deforestation References External links Rio Araguaia (information for tourists in Portuguese, Spanish and English) Hotel, turismo, pescaria, passeios ecológicos Araguaia,Luiz Alves, Bananal, Cristalino hydrographic information (in Portuguese) Basin map (in Portuguese) Tocantins state, with Rivers v-Brazil.com Pará state, with Rivers v-Brazil.com Instituto Araguaia Brazilian Ministry of Transport Rivers of Mato Grosso Rivers of Tocantins Rivers of Pará Tributaries of the Amazon River Rivers of Goiás