10 Origins Of Famous City Names
5. Rio De Janeiro
Rio De Janeiro is undoubtedly Brazils most famous city and its carnival in known world wide as the greatest party on Earth. The Carnival de Brazil sees the city possessed by three days of singing, dancing and parades. Rio De Janeiro is also an important location on the map of the sporting world having just played host to the 2014 World cup and being due to host the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games.
The City is situated between a beautiful bay on one side and an expansive of tropical forests and soaring mountains on the other. Rio De Janeiro is watched over from the top of one of these peaks by a 30 metre statue of Christ named Christ the Redeemer. The statue is instantly recognised around the globe and has even been named as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The bay upon which the city sits was first discovered on the 20th January 1502. It was at first mistaken for the mouth of a river and this led to the city being named Rio De Janeiro, which means River of January in Portuguese.