Paracatu, Minas Gerais

Paracatu is a city in the western part of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It had 79,739 inhabitants in the 2007 census. The area of the municipality is 8.232 km² The origin of the name comes from the Tupi language.

Location and Distances

With the municipal seat lying at an elevation of 172 meters, Paracatu is situated on the BR 040, the main highway linking the Brazilian capital of Brasília and southwestern Minas Gerais. The Paracatu River, a major tributary of the São Francisco River, passes about 40 km. south of the city.Distances from major cities are:

* Brasília: 220 km
* Belo Horizonte: 502 km
* São Paulo: 1.082 km
* Rio de Janeiro: 956 km
* Vitória: 992 km
* Goiânia: 350

tatistical Microregion

Paracatu is also a statistical microregion (number 42) that includes the municipalities of Brasilândia de Minas, Guarda-Mor, João Pinheiro, Lagamar, Lagoa Grande, Presidente Olegário, São Gonçalo do Abaeté, Varjão de Minas, and Vazante. This region has an area of 35,111.00 km² and had a population of 188,758 in 2000. [ [http://www.citybrazil.com.br/mg/regioes/paracatu/index.htm Citybrazil] ]

Climate

The climate is tropical sub-humid. The mean temperature is around 21º C, with a maximum mean of 28ºC and a minimum mean of 17ºC. The highest temperatures of 30ºC usually occur in August or September and the lowest temperatures of 14ºC usually occur in June and July. The rainy season is from October to March, although there is precipitation in all the months. The relative humidity averages over 75% for at least six months of the year. [ [http://www.theweathernetwork.com/index.php?product=statistics&pagecontent=C03263 The Weather Network] ]

The Economy

The economy is centered on cattle raising with 231,000 head of cattle registered in 1996. The main breeds are: Zebu (Gir, Indu-Brasil, Guzerá and Nelore), Girolanda, Frisian and Brown-Swiss. There is also large production of soybeans, corn, rice, and beans. Some coffee is also grown. The city has grown because of its rich lands and its location on one of Brazil's most important highways. It is the commercial center for an area one third the size of Portugal. In 2006 there were 6 banking agencies: Banco do Brasil, Itaú, Bradesco, Banco Mercantil, Banco Bamerindus, and Caixa Econômica Federal. [ [http://www.paracatu.mg.gov.br/index.php?m=layout_paginas_1.php&paginas_id=3 Prefeitura Municipal] ] The GDP was R$ 754,090,000 (2005). [ [http://www.ibge.gov.br/cidadesat/default.php IBGE] ]

In 1978 the municipality began to receive investments from the Brazilian and the Japanese government to develop the cerrado soils, by way of PRODECER-Programa de Cooperação Nipo-Brasileiro para o Desenvolviemnto do Cerrado.

By using new technologies for developing the cerrado, agriculture in Paracatú became efficient and profitable in many properties. Today, the cultivated area in the municipality surpasses 1000 square kilometres, with 300 square kilometres irrigated by central pivot sprinklers. This number has raised Paracatá to the position of greatest continuous area irrigated by center pivot irrigation in South America, using 318 center pivot sprinklers. [ [http://www.paracatu.mg.gov.br City government site] ]

Agricultural Data

In 2006 there were 995 rural producers with total agricultural land of 389,095 ha. Of the total 85,000 ha. were planted, 180,000 ha. were in natural pasture, and 113,000 were in forest or woodland. Around 4,500 persons were employed in agriculture. There were 768 tractors. The planted area of some of the main crops in hectares was:
*Corn: 12,000 .
*Soybeans: 30,000
*Sorghum: 2,000
*Rice: 2,670
*Coffee: 1,050
*Cotton: 3,000
*Sugarcane: 1,600
*Beans: 9,100
*Watermelon: 1,050 [ [http://www.ibge.gov.br/cidadesat/default.php IBGE] ]

Mining

There are still active gold mines near Paracatú. The largest is the Mina Morro do Ouro, whose gold content is the lowest in the world, about 0.43 grammes of gold for every ton of mineral extracted. Annual production is about 6.7 tonnes of gold and 1.3 tonnes of silver in this open surface operation. [ [http://www.kinross.com/operations/brazil-paracatu.html Kinross] ] .

History

The city of Paracatú has its origins in the beginning of the eighteenth century, with the discovery of gold. For some time gold was abundant in alluvial deposits.

The town began before 1730. On 24 June 1744 the news of the discovery of the mines of Paracatú reached the government of the Capitania of Minas and the town began to prosper.

On 20 October 1796, the Vila de Paracatu do Príncipe was created, with a document signed by D. Maria I, Queen of Portugal. In 1840 the Vila was raised to the category of City.Decline set in with the exhaustion of the gold fields, but with the building of Brasília in the 1960's and the building of the highway linking Belo Horizonte and the new capital Paracatu began to grow again. [ [http://www.paracatu.mg.gov.br City government site] ]

Health and education

In 2005 there were 29 health establishments, 19 of which were public and 10 of which were private.There was 01 hospital with 139 beds. [ [http://www.ibge.gov.br/cidadesat/default.php IBGE] ] The score on the Municipal Human Development Index was 0.760. This ranked Paracatu 207 out of 853 municipalities in the state, with Poços de Caldas in first place with 0.841 and Setubinha in last place with 0.568. [ [http://www.frigoletto.com.br/GeoEcon/idhmg.htm Frigoletto] ] .In higher education Paracatu had 4 schools: Faculdade Tecsoma, FINOM - Faculdade do Noroeste de Minas, Faculdade Unimones, and Faculdade Atenas. [ [http://www.paracatuonline.com.br/ Paracatu online] ]

References

External links

*In Portuguese:
**http://www.paracatu.mg.gov.br
**http://www.citybrazil.com.br/mg/paracatu/
**http://www.paracatu.net/
**http://www.paracatuonline.com.br/
**http://www.ada.com.br/Paracatu/default.htm
** [http://www.ada.com.br/rotary/ Rotary Club de Paracatu]
**http://www.citybrazil.com.br/mg/regioes/paracatu/