Capitólio
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...
. Its population as of 2007 was 7,634 people living in a total area of 522 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Sul e Sudoeste de Minas and to the micro-region of Passos
Passos
-People:* Cristiano Ávalos dos Passos* John Dos Passos* Márcio Emerson Passos de Albuquerque, a Brazilian footballer* Rosa Passos* Vítor Hugo Gomes Passos, a Portuguese footballer-Brazil:* Passos, Minas Gerais, a municipality in the State of Minas Gerais...
. It became a municipality in 1948.
The slogan for the city is "Queen of the Lakes", in reference to its proximity to the Furnas reservoir. With the flooding of the lake part of the old town of Capitólio was submerged. When the water goes down more than 10 meters the old church of the ruins of the town of Guapé
Guapé
Guapé is a town and municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil.-References:...
can be seen.
Location
The city center of Capitólio is located at an elevation of 766 meters east of PassosPassos
-People:* Cristiano Ávalos dos Passos* John Dos Passos* Márcio Emerson Passos de Albuquerque, a Brazilian footballer* Rosa Passos* Vítor Hugo Gomes Passos, a Portuguese footballer-Brazil:* Passos, Minas Gerais, a municipality in the State of Minas Gerais...
and bordering on the northern edge of the Furnas reservoir. Neighboring municipalities are: Vargem Bonita
Vargem Bonita
Vargem Bonita is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 2,098 people living in a total area of 409 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Oeste de Minas and to the micro-region of Piumhi...
(NW), Piumhi
Piumhi
Piumhi is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 30,984 people living in a total area of 902 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Oeste de Minas and Alto Paranaíba and to the micro-region of Piumhi...
(N), Pimenta
Pimenta
Pimenta is a genus of the botanical family Myrtaceae. Well-known species include allspice and the West Indian bay tree Pimenta is a genus of the botanical family Myrtaceae. Well-known species include allspice (P. dioicia) and the West Indian bay tree Pimenta is a genus of the botanical family...
(E), Guapé
Guapé
Guapé is a town and municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil.-References:...
(SE and S), São José da Barra
São José da Barra
São José da Barra is a Brazilian municipality located in the southwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 6,701 people living in a total area of 312 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Sul e Sudoeste de Minas and to the micro-region of Passos. It became a...
(SW), and São João Batista do Glória
São João Batista do Glória
São João Batista do Glória is a Brazilian municipality located in the southwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 6,828 people living in a total area of 553 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Sul e Sudoeste de Minas and to the micro-region of Passos...
(W).
Distances
- Belo HorizonteBelo HorizonteBelo 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...
: 270 km on MG-050 - PiumhiPiumhiPiumhi is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 30,984 people living in a total area of 902 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Oeste de Minas and Alto Paranaíba and to the micro-region of Piumhi...
: 17 km to the northeast - PassosPassos-People:* Cristiano Ávalos dos Passos* John Dos Passos* Márcio Emerson Passos de Albuquerque, a Brazilian footballer* Rosa Passos* Vítor Hugo Gomes Passos, a Portuguese footballer-Brazil:* Passos, Minas Gerais, a municipality in the State of Minas Gerais...
: 76 km (10 km north to junction with MG-50, then west on MG-050 for 66 km) - UberabaUberabaUberaba is a city and municipality in the west of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Its population is 296.000 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...
290 km - Ribeirão PretoRibeirão PretoRibeirão Preto is a municipality and city in the Northeastern region of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is nicknamed Brazilian California, because of a combination of an economy based on agrobusiness plus high technology, wealth and sunny weather all year long. With 605,114 inhabitants,...
: 225 km - FormigaFormigaFormiga is a and municipality in central-west Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The population of the municipality in 2007 is 64,585. The area of the municipality is 1,504 km². It is located in the statistical meso-region of Centro-Oeste de Minas and the statistical micro-region of Formiga...
: 82 km - Other neighboring municipalities: Pimenta 43 km, Divinópolis 160 km, Alpinópolis 71 km, Lavras 208 km, Guapé 30 km, Ibiraci 140 km, Cássia 120 km, Itaú de Minas 90 km, Pratápolis 106 km, and Delfinópolis 150 km.
Economic activities
The economy is based on services and agriculture, especially cattle raising for dairy production. The region is famous for a type of stone called "pedra mineira", and there are quarries for its mining. Tourism, due to the Furnas reservoir, has been growing in recent years. The GDP in 2005 was approximately R$58 million, with 30 million reais from services, 6 million reais from industry, and 17 million reais from agriculture. There were 475 rural producers on 22,000 hectares of land. 69 farms had tractors (2006). Approximately 1300 persons were occupied in agriculture. The main crops are coffee, soybeans, and corn. There were 18,000 head of cattle, of which 3,000 were milk cows (2006).There was one bank (2007). In the vehicle fleet there were 1,797 automobiles, 122 trucks, 246 pickup trucks, 13 buses, and 741 motorcycles (2007).
Health and education
In the health sector there were 7 health establishments: 6 public clinics and 1 private hospital with 27 beds (2005). Patients with more serious health conditions are transported to PassosPassos
-People:* Cristiano Ávalos dos Passos* John Dos Passos* Márcio Emerson Passos de Albuquerque, a Brazilian footballer* Rosa Passos* Vítor Hugo Gomes Passos, a Portuguese footballer-Brazil:* Passos, Minas Gerais, a municipality in the State of Minas Gerais...
. Educational needs of 1,650 students were met by 7 primary schools, 1 middle school, and 4 pre-primary schools.
- Municipal Human Development IndexHuman Development IndexThe Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
: 0.785 (2000) - State ranking: 96 out of 853 municipalities as of 2000
- National ranking: 941 out of 5,138 municipalities as of 2000
- Literacy rate: 89%
- Life expectancy: 74 (average of males and females)
In 2000 the per capita monthly income of R$252.00 was below the state average of R$276.00 and below the national average of R$297.00. Poços de Caldas
Poços de Caldas
Poços de Caldas is a city and municipality in south-western Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the microregion of the same name. Its estimated population in 2009 was 151,449 inhabitants...
had the highest per capita monthly income in 2000 with R$435.00. The lowest was Setubinha
Setubinha
Setubinha is a municipality in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2007 the population was 10,834 in a total area of 536 km². The elevation is 729 metres. It is part of the IBGE statistical microregion of Teófilo Otoni...
with R$73.00.
The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas
Poços de Caldas
Poços de Caldas is a city and municipality in south-western Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the microregion of the same name. Its estimated population in 2009 was 151,449 inhabitants...
with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha
Setubinha
Setubinha is a municipality in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2007 the population was 10,834 in a total area of 536 km². The elevation is 729 metres. It is part of the IBGE statistical microregion of Teófilo Otoni...
with 0.568. Nationally the highest was São Caetano do Sul
São Caetano do Sul
São Caetano do Sul is a city in São Paulo state in Brazil, located in the Greater São Paulo Metropolitan Area. It is the city with the highest per capita income in Brazil and it also has the highest Human Development Index .-Geography:São Caetano do Sul is located on a plateau that is part of the...
in São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha. In more recent statistics (considering 5,507 municipalities) Manari in the state of Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
has the lowest rating in the country—0,467—putting it in last place.
Tourism
Tourism is very important and there are several hotels in the city. The most important are the Balneário do Lago Hotel, Cyrilos Palace Hotel, Hotel Capitólio, Hotel Escarpas do Lago, Hotel Fazenda Engenho da Serra, Hotel Minastur, and Lara’s Hotel.Places to visit
- Furnas Lake: Created by the Furnas dam, the reservoir has an area of 1,440 km². It is known as the "Sea of Minas".
- Praia Artificial de Capitólio: The artificial beach lies in the city limits and has an area of 24,895.12 square meters. It is on the Rio Piumhi and was inaugurated in 1988. It has public bathrooms, a covered area for festivals, two sports courts, a covered court and an area for walking. It is here where the carnival celebrations take place.
- Cachoeira Lagoa Azul: It is located 31 km from the urban area. There is clear water with natural pools.
- Morro do Chapéu: This is a mountain with an elevation of 1,293 meters. On the top one can find a plateau with tropical vegetation and springs of water that form waterfalls as they descend the slopes. There are still animals such as wolves, armadillos and tamanduás. From the heights one can see the immense lake below and the cities of Capitólio, Guapé, Alpinópolis and Nova Barra.
- Canyons: in Furnas Lake there are rock formations with a height of more than 20 meters.