Uberaba
Encyclopedia
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Its population is 296.000 (2010) with an area of 4529.7 km², giving a density of 60.71 people per km². It is located on a plateau at an elevation of 785 meters and is in the Uberaba River floodplain. It became a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in 1856.
Statistical micro-region
Uberaba is also a statistical micro-region including 07 municipalities: Água CompridaÁgua Comprida
Água Comprida is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was estimated to be 2,093 people living in a total area of 489 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba and to the micro-region of...
, Campo Florido
Campo Florido
Campo Florido is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was estimated to be 6,570 people living in a total area of 1,261 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba and to the micro-region of Uberaba. ...
, Conceição das Alagoas
Conceição das Alagoas
Conceição das Alagoas is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was estimated to be 20,426 people living in a total area of 1,348 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba and to the micro-region of...
, Conquista
Conquista, Minas Gerais
Conquista is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was estimated to be 6,580 people living in a total area of 616 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba and to the micro-region of Uberaba. It...
, Delta
Delta, Minas Gerais
Delta is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was estimated to be 6,600 people living in a total area of . The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba and to the micro-region of Uberaba. It became a...
, Uberaba, and Veríssimo
Veríssimo
Veríssimo is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was estimated to be 3,667 people living in a total area of 1,028 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba and to the micro-region of Uberaba....
. In 2000 the population was 687,618 inhabitants in a total area of 9,392.60 km². The population density was 30.62 inhab/km² (2000).
History
The town was founded in 1820 by sergeant-mor Antônio Eustáquio da Silva e Oliveira. The name was taken from a brazilian native language, and means "bright water". It was classified as indigenous territory on February 1811 and then as a freguesiaFreguesia
Freguesia is the Portuguese term for a secondary local administrative unit in Portugal and some of its former colonies, and a former secondary local administrative unit in Macau, roughly equivalent to an administrative parish. A freguesia is a subdivision of a concelho, the Portuguese synonym term...
on March 2, 1820 with the name of Santo Antônio e São Sebastião do Uberaba. Uberaba became a city on February 22, 1836.
The region known as Triângulo Mineiro
Triângulo Mineiro
The Triangle Mineiro Portuguese pronunciation: [tɾiɐɡulu minejru] is an officer in the region west of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The area is 93.500 km ² and is limited by the Serra da Canastra and Marcela, east, south of Sao Paulo, Goias in the north and west of the junction of the rivers...
, where Uberaba is located, was part of the Territory of Goiás until 1816, when it was joined with Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
.
The district of Peirópolis, located 19 km from the city's center, is an important Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
paleontological
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
site, first studied by the brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian paleontologist Llewellyn Price.
The city is also famous in Brazil for having been the home of Chico Xavier
Chico Xavier
Chico Xavier, born Francisco de Paula Cândido was a popular medium in Brazil's spiritism movement who wrote 413 books, ostensibly using a process known as "psychography"....
who was a very respected and popular Kardecist spiritism
Spiritism
Spiritism is a loose corpus of religious faiths having in common the general belief in the survival of a spirit after death. In a stricter sense, it is the religion, beliefs and practices of the people affiliated to the International Spiritist Union, based on the works of Allan Kardec and others...
medium.
Economy
Uberaba is the trade centre of an important agricultural area, producing cattleCattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, soy, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
is now becoming an important activity as new two ethanol plants are being implanted on the city. A well-known cattle and agricultural exhibition is held there each May. In 2006 there were 133,204 head of cattle on 825 establishments, 4,216,778 head of poultry on 448 establishments and 36,230 head of swine on 303 establishments. Milk production was substantial with 29,542 liters being produced a day on 576 farms in 2006.
The city's well-developed industries include cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
and phosphate fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
plants, processed foods (sweets), cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
, shoe factories, furniture factories and electronics represented by a Stanley Black & Decker plant.
The city also has around twenty four chemical companies which are the largest producers of phosphated fertilizers in Latin America. Among them are Vale Fertilizantes, FMC, Sipcam Isagro Brasil, Bunge and Agronelli.
Uberaba is known nationally as a center of livestock genetic improvement and as an important producer of grain in Minas Gerais.
Freight is transported by rail and road to Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
, the state capital 460 km to the east, and to neighbouring communities in Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
and São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
states.
The city is one of the largest promotional centers of cattle auctions in the country. During the expositions of zebu cattle, there are many events, which attract Brazilians and foreigners. During the year there are about 300 auctions with the sale of about 200,000 animals for reproduction, fattening, and milk.
The most famous is the Expozebu promoted by ABCZ, the greatest exposition of zebu
Zebu
Zebu , sometimes known as humped cattle, indicus cattle, Cebu or Brahmin cattle are a type of domestic cattle originating in South Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent. They are characterised by a fatty hump on their shoulders, drooping ears and a large dewlap...
in the world, which takes place every year in May.
Uberaba is served by Mário de Almeida Franco Airport
Uberaba Airport
Uberaba-Mário de Almeida Franco Airport is the airport serving Uberaba, Brazil.It is operated by Infraero.-History:Uberaba-Mário de Almeida Franco Airport was founded on May 23, 1935 and originally called after Alberto Santos-Dumont. On June 13, 1980 the name was changed to Mário de Almeida...
.
Main agricultural crops in planted area (2006)
- Bananas: 28 ha.
- Coffee: 1,000 ha.
- Oranges: 1,410 ha.
- Tangerine: 168 ha.
- Cotton: 3,145 ha.
- Rice: 543 ha.
- Peanuts: 100 ha.
- Potatoes: 2,190 ha.
- Sugarcane: 36,000 ha.
- Onions: 450 ha.
- Beans: 1,450 ha.
- Manioc: 1,300 ha.
- Corn: 50,000 ha.
- Soybeans: 100,000 ha.
- Sorghum: 1,250
- Tomatoes: 240 ha.
- Wheat: 336 ha.
Farm information in 2006
- Number of farms: 1,093
- Agricultural area: 282,692 ha.
- Planted area: 105,000 ha.
- Area of natural pasture: 112,678
- Workers related to producer: 1,764
- Workers not related to producer: 2,533
Higher education
Uberaba is an important university city. The nine colleges and universities offer approximately 94 courses at the undergraduate level and 49 at the graduate level. The main schools are:- UFTM - Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro
- UNIUBE - Universidade of Uberaba
- FCETM - Faculdade de Ciências Econômicas do Triângulo Mineiro
- FAZU - Faculdades Associadas de Uberaba
- CESUBE - Centro de Ensino Superior de Uberaba
- IFET - Instituto Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Uberaba
- UNOPAR - Universidade Norte do ParanáUniversidade Norte do ParanáNorte do Paraná University or Universidade Norte do Paraná is a private university which was created by federal decree number 70592. Administrative infrastructure includes a rectory Londrina, Brazil, pro-rectories and university council...
- UNIPAC - Universidade Presidente Antônio Carlos
- FACTHUS - Faculdade Talentos Humanos