Caicó, Brazil

Caicó, also known as the City of Prince, is a municipality in the Seridó Ocidental microrregion and Central Potiguar mesorregion, in Rio Grande do Norte state, Northeast Brazil. With a population of 80,726 inhabitants (2021), it is the seventh most populous city of Rio Grande do Norte and the second in the countryside of the state, after Mossoró. Located between the Seridó and Barra Nova rivers, in the eastern portion of Western Seridó, the city has the highest human development index of the Semi-arid Northeast Brazil. Founded in 1735 as Vila Nova do Príncipe, the city has evolved into a political and cultural centre of Rio Grande do Norte. The name Caicó is derived from the indigenous word Queicuó, meaning 'Cuó river and mountain'.