Araxá

Araxá (Portuguese pronunciation: [aɾɐ'ʃa]) is a municipality in Western Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Its estimated population by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) in 2012 is 95,888 inhabitants and the area of the municipality is 1,283 square kilometres (495 sq mi), with 3.45 square kilometres (1.33 sq mi) making up the urban perimeter.

The elevation of the city center is 973 metres (3,192 ft). The highest point in the municipality is Serrra da Bocaina at 1,359 metres (4,459 ft), and the lowest point is the Capivara river at 910 metres (2,990 ft). In 2004 the annual average temperature was 20.98 °C (69.76 °F). The annual rainfall was 1,905 millimetres (75.0 in).

The town was named after the Amerindian tribe of the Araxás who lived there at the time it was first discovered. The name means "the place from where the sun is seen first".

Araxá is the center of a statistical micro-region including 10 municipalities: Araxá, Campos Altos, Ibiá, Nova Ponte, Pedrinópolis, Perdizes, Pratinha, Sacramento, Santa Juliana, and Tapira. The population of this micro-region was 171,936 (2000) in an area of 14,145.60 square kilometres (5,461.65 sq mi).

The neighboring municipalities are Perdizes (N and NW), Ibiá (E), Tapira (S), and Sacramento (SW).

Araxá is served by a good system of federal and state highways that link the municipality to the main economic centers of the country. The highways with access to Araxá are:

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