Monte Carmelo

Monte Carmelo is a Brazilian municipality located in the northwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 44,367 people living in a total area of 1,354 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaíba and to the microregion of Patrocínio. It became a municipality in 1840.

The municipality is located in the region of the Alto Paranaíba, south of the Paranaíba River and west of the Emborcação Reservoir. It is 33 km north of the important federal highway Br-365, which links the state boundary of Goiásin the west to Montes Claros in the northeast. Neighboring municipalities are: Catalão (N), Monte Carmelo (E), Coromandel (S), and Douradoquara (W).

The municipal seat is located at an elevation of 864 meters. The highest point in the municipality is Cabeceira Córrego Rancharia at 1,343 meters, while the lowest point is Foz Córrego Francos at 724 meters.

Climate

The first European settlers came in 1840 in search of diamonds. A rich landowner, Dona Clara Chaves, donated land measuring six square leagues to the new settlers to build a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Carmo. The first settlement was called Arraial do Carmo da Bagagem”. In 1882, it was elevated to the category of district and was called “Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Bagagem”. In 1892 it became a vila (city) and in 1900 the name was changed to Monte Carmelo, after the mountain near Haifa.

The most important economic activities are cattle raising, commerce, and agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$400 million, with 230 million generated by services, 36 million generated by industry, and 95 million generated by agriculture. Monte Carmelo is in the top tier of municipalities in the state with regard to economic and social development. As of 2007^[update], there were five banking agencies in the town. There was a well-developed retail infrastructure serving the surrounding area of cattle and agricultural lands. There were 8,603 automobiles in all of the municipality (2007), about one for every five inhabitants.

...
Wikipedia