[7] Tourist attractions in the state include the Cashew of Pirangi (the world's largest cashew tree),[8] the dunes and the dromedaries of Genipabu,[9] the beaches of Ponta Negra, Maracajaú and Pipa,[10] the Carnatal, Natal's carnival,[11] the sixteenth-century Forte dos Reis Magos fortification,[12] the hills and mountains of Martins,[13] the Natal Dunes State Park,[14] and others.

[citation needed] Two climates predominate: humid tropical, in the oriental littoral, and semi-arid, in the remaining (most part) of the State (including the North coast).

The rainforest which once covered most of Brazil's coast had its northern end in the south of Rio Grande do Norte; the area north of Natal, the capital, is under dunes, a kind of formation associated with semi-arid climate.

The semi-arid climate is characterized not only by the low level but also the irregularity of rainfall; some years can go by with no or very little rain; most of the interior of the State is part of the Polygon of Droughts (an area which receives special attention from the federal government).

The northeastern tip of South America, Cape São Roque, 20 miles (32 km) to the north of Natal, was first officially visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501–1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day.

[16] In 1633, the area became a battleground between the expansionist Portuguese, seeking to take more land for their Brazilian territories, and the Dutch, who gained a foothold in South America.

After a short period of peace and prosperity in Olinda and Recife, the sugar prices went down in the market of Amsterdam and the region entered into a serious economic crisis.

The economic problems led the Portuguese settlers and native Brazilians to revolt against the Dutch in what is known today as the massacres of Cunhaú and Uruaçu.

During World War II, Rio Grande do Norte was used as an Allied airbase from which to launch air raids on German-occupied North Africa.

In 1964, Latin America's first space launch site was constructed in Rio Grande do Norte; Barreira do Inferno (Hell's Barrier), which was often referred to as the "Brazilian NASA".

Rio Grande do Norte exports: fish and crustacean 30.5%, fruits 19.3%, woven of cotton 12.3%, petroleum 10.8%, cashew 8.5%, sugar 5.3%, chocolate 3.9%, sea salt 3.7% (2002).

However, since the 1980s, the state government has realised that tourism is a lucrative industry, and more money is being poured into the construction of tourist resorts, and restoring colonial buildings in major cities.

According to research by Fundação Dom Cabral, Rio Grande do Norte is the state with the second-best infrastructure in the Northeast Region and ninth in the country.

Located virtually at sea level (169 ft), with favorable weather and geographic conditions, Augusto Severo International Airport in Parnamirim is 18 kilometers from Natal (RN).

It takes its name from Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão, a native son of that state who died in an accident in France in 1902.