Caratinga

Infobox City
official_name = Caratinga
website = [http://www.caratinga.mg.gov.br Caratinga]
nickname =
motto =


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_type2 = State
subdivision_name = Brazil
subdivision_name1 = Southeast
subdivision_name2 = Minas Gerais
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Ernani Campos Porto
established_title = Founded
established_date = June 24, 1892
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 1251
area_total_sq_mi =
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area_water_km2 =
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area_urban_km2 =
population_as_of = 2006
population_note =
population_footnotes =cite web|url = http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/estimativa2006/POP_2006_DOU.pdf | title = Estimativas das Populações Residentes, em 01.07.2006, Segundo os Municípios | language = in Portuguese | publisher = IBGE | accessdate = 2007-03-05]
population_total = 82,632
population_metro =
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population_density_km2 =
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timezone = UTC-3
utc_offset = -3
timezone_DST = UTC-2
utc_offset_DST = -2
latd= 19
latm= 37
lats= 30
latNS= S
longd= 42
longm= 09
longs= 00
longEW= W
elevation_m = 578
elevation_ft =
footnotes = Caratinga is a city and municipality in eastern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The population in 2006 was 82,632 inhabitants and the total area of the municipality was 1251Km². The altitude is 578 meters above sea level, with maximum altitude of 1,516 m in the Serra do Rio Preto and 330 m at the mouth of the Córrego Boachá.

Location

The municipality is located at 19º 37’ 30’’ latitude south and at 42º 09’ 00’’ longitude west. It is part of Region VIII, denominated Rio Doce, and part of the microregion of Mata de Caratinga, in the eastern part of Minas Gerais.

It lies on the important Rio-Bahia interstate highway (BR 116) and is connected to the state capital of Belo Horizonte by BR–381 to the city of João Monlevade. After João Monlevade there is a federal highway, BR 262, which leads into the capital. The state capital lies at a distance of 320 km. The nearest airport is in Ubaboranga 15 km do centro, tarmacked runway 1200 m long and 20 m wide.

The main rivers that cross the municipality are the Caratinga River and its tributary Laje, the Manhuaçu and the Preto.

Origin of the name

The name arose because of the lack of diversified food in the region, which made the first settlers eat a common tuber found there called caratinga.

Climate

The climate is tropical sub-hot, with mild summer temperatures and winter temperatures between 15 and 18°C. The average temperature is around 23 °C, while the maximum and the minimum are 28 °C and 17 °C respectively. In the summer season the concentration of rains is over 70% of the total annual rainfall, which is about 1.140 mm.

Economy

Caratinga is essentially agricultural. A large part of the landholdings (77%) are minifundios--small properties. The main crops are fruits and vegetables (1000 producers) but especially coffee. With an area planted with 66 million trees in more than 320 square kilometres, coffee growing provides about 8 thousand direct jobs and 35 thousand indirect. The harvest is from April to September.

Education and Culture

There are two institutions of higher education: FUNEC - Fundação Educacional de Caratinga and SPEP - Sociedade Presbiteriana de Educação e Pesquisa [http://www.spep.com.br/] .

There are three local newspapers: O Jornal de Caratinga (weekly), A Semana (weekly), and Diário de Caratinga (daily).

Tourism

Declared a national historical monument, Pedra Itaúna, with its 1,012 meters elevation, attracts participants in rappel, paragliding, and mountain climbing.

Some 150 muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoids) live today at the Fazenda Montes Claros, near Caratinga. It is one of their last refuges. The muriqui is the largest monkey of the Americas and one of the most endangered primates of the world. Specialists cite the biological importance of the Fazenda Montes Claros, where three other primate species live along with the muriqui: the buffy headed marmoset, the black-capped capuchin and the brown howler monkey.

References

External links

* [http://www.caratinga.mg.gov.br/ Official site (in Portuguese)]
* [http://caratinga.net/fotografia.html Pictures of city (in Portuguese)]