Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the Brazilian states that borders the Atlantic Ocean. Its coastline is only 66 km long. The capital, Teresina, is the only state capital in the northeast that is not on the coast. The reason for this is because, unlike the rest of the area, Piauí state was first colonised away from the coast and slowly expanded towards the ocean. The other states in the area started on the coast and grew inland.