Araguari

Araguari

Flag
Seal
Nickname(s): Cidade Sorriso (ENG: Smile City)

Location in Minas Gerais
Coordinates: 18°38′56″S 48°11′13″W / 18.64889°S 48.18694°W / -18.64889; -48.18694Coordinates: 18°38′56″S 48°11′13″W / 18.64889°S 48.18694°W / -18.64889; -48.18694
Country Brazil
Region Southeast
State Minas Gerais
Founded 1888
Government
 • Mayor Raul Belém (PRB)
Area
 • Total 2,730.632 km2 (1,054.3 sq mi)
Elevation 1,013 m (3,323 ft)
Population (2007)[1]
 • Total 106,403
 • Density 40.2/km2 (104.1/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-3 (UTC-3)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-2 (UTC-2)
Website Araguari

Araguari is a municipality in western Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is located in the northern Triângulo Mineiro region, on the Jordão River, a tributary of the Paranaíba River, at an elevation between 940 and 1,087 meters. The municipality of Araguari has an area of 2,774 km², with 54 km² in the urban zone and 2,675 km² in the rural zone. The population in 2011 was 110,402, making it the third most important city in the Triângulo Mineiro, after Uberlândia and Uberaba. Araguari has also been one of the fastest growing cities in Brazil, growing more than the rest of the country in proportion.

Rivers

Rivers that water the municipality are: Rio Araguari, Ribeirão das Araras, Corrego Grande, Ribeirão Jordão, and Ribeirão Piçarrão. The Paranaíba in the north forms the boundary with the state of Goiás. There are many waterfalls and rapids (128 according to one source) giving the area a great potential in tourism.

Climate

The year is divided into two periods, the rainy season from November to April and the dry season from May to October. Because of the elevation (more than 1,000 meters above sea level) temperatures are pleasant with few extremes although humidity can be high in the rainy season.

Distances from major cities

Main highways serving the municipality

Araguari is a major railroad junction and connects with the states of Goiás, Tocantins, and Mato Grosso do Sul.

Demographics

The economy

Araguari's main source of income is from the large herds of cattle raised in the hinterlands, where rice, soybeans, corn (maize), citrus fruits, tomatoes, beans, and manioc are also cultivated. In recent years the region has become one of the most important coffee-growing areas in the country and there is an annual coffee fair. Araguari has 9 financial institutions. There is an industrial park with several industries specializing in metallurgy, agro-industrial products (cold meats and juices) and storage facilities for grains. In the last feww years Araguari has been changing rapidly and receiving many important investments as Selecta which produces soy bean oils and accounts more than 500 new jobs. The city also received the biggest rail trainshipment in Latin America. Now Araguari is lacking of workers to work in the many new jobs offers.

Occupation of the population by sectors

Enterprises

Farm data for 2006 Most of the rural properties have between 01 and 50 hectares. If we add to this group those properties between 51 and 100 hectares then we reach 72% of the total.

Main permanent crops in planted area in 2006

Main perennial crops in planted area in 2006

Livestock raising in 2006

Health and education

Culture

There is a theater with capacity to seat 120 persons. The sports center seats 5,000 spectators. In the urban area there is a tropical forest, the Bosque John Kennedy, with an area of 112,000 square meters. There is a movie theater "Cinema Odete" and also a public theater located in the city center "Cine Teatro".

Tourism

On the northern boundary of the municipality is an immense complex of hydroelectric power stations (Emborcação and Miranda), which form several lakes. In addition to the energy supplied these are great tourist attractions, providing opportunities for fishing and the practice of water sports. and And two more are being built (Capim Branco I and II)

History

Settlement began in the first decades of the nineteenth century. Brejo Alegre was the name of the small village (arraial) composed of some buildings, among them a small chapel, simple houses, a few stores, and a lot of cattle ranches. In 1843 the village was raised to the status of district with the name of Sant’Ana do Rio das Velhas.

In 1882 the district was declared a "vila" (town) and in 1888 it was raised to the category of "cidade" or city, with the new name of Araguari. At this time the town consisted of the Igreja Matriz (Main church) of Senhor Bom Jesus da Cana Verde with its colonial style; the cemetery located behind the church; the houses with tiles but no ceilings, called casas de “telhas ao vento”; and in the center flowed a stream dividing the settlement, one part called Goiás, and the other, Minas. The small commerce consisted of a bakery, a shoe store, two pharmacies and some general stores, called “vendas”.

The great change in the town's situation occurred with the arrival of the railroad, the Cia. Mogiana de Estrada de Ferro, in 1896. In 1906 this railroad, called Estrada de Ferro Goiás, was extended to Goiás, further increasing the growth of the city.[6]

Partial view of the downtown

References

  1. ↑ "Estimativas das Populações Residentes, em 01.07.2006, Segundo os Municípios" (PDF) (in Portuguese). IBGE. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 September 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Prefeitura de Araguari
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 IBGE Cidades Archived June 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ MunicipMg
  5. ↑ Frigoletto
  6. ↑ Araguari em dados e fotos

External links (in Portuguese)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.