Itapuranga
| Itapuranga | |
|---|---|
| Municipality | |
 Location in Goiás state |
|
 Itapuranga
|
|
| Coordinates: 15°33′43″S 49°56′56″W / 15.56194°S 49.94889°WCoordinates: 15°33′43″S 49°56′56″W / 15.56194°S 49.94889°W | |
| Country |
 Brazil
|
| Region | Central-West Region |
| State | Goiás |
| Microregion | Ceres Microregion |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,277 km2 (493 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 651 m (2,136 ft) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 24,832 |
| • Density | 19/km2 (50/sq mi) |
| Time zone | BRT/BRST (UTC-3/-2) |
| Postal code | 76680-000 |
Itapuranga is a municipality in northern Goiás state, Brazil.
Itapuranga is located northwest of Goiânia and north of Goiás, the old capital of the state.
Because of its fertile soil and geo-economic location, Itapuranga is considered the capital of the Vale do São Patrício. Municipal boundaries are with: Carmo do Rio Verde, Faina, Goiás, Guarita, Heitoraí, Morro Agudo de Goiás, Uruana and São Patrício.
There are two well defined seasons, a rainy season from October to April, and a dry season, from May to September. The average annual minimum temperature is 11 °C, the maximum, 38 °C, and the average, 25 °C.
The vegetation is quite diversified: small clumps of forest, bushes, and grasses. The types of vegetation cover are: cerrado 8.2%, fields 4.4%, forest 3.0%. The cultivated area is 8.7% and the pasture land is 74.8%.
Districts, Villages, and Hamlets
Itapuranga began in 1933 when Dominican monks from Goiás, acquired land from the government on the left bank of the Rio Canastra. The name of the settlement was "Xixá", taken from the Xixazeiro tree under which the first mass was celebrated. Joaquim Moreira da Silva opened the first general store and the town began to grow. Soon a public school was built and a road opened to the city of Goiás. In 1943 Xixá became a district of Goiás and the name was changed to Itapuranga, which means in the Tupi language "red rock" or "place of pretty rocks". In 1953 it was dismembered from Goiás to form a municipality.
The main economic activities were cattle raising, services, small industries, and agriculture are the main economic activities. In 2006 there were 1,441 farms with a total area of 65,894 hectares, of which 11,000 hectares were cropland and 40,400 hectares were pasture. The cattle herd had 134,000 head in 2006 and the main crops cultivated were bananas, sugarcane, rice, corn, coconuts, and soybeans. Sugarcane was the most important crop with 9,400 ha. planted and a production of 855,000 tons (2006). Corn was second with 5,500 ha. and 17,600 tons.
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