Santos Dumont, Minas Gerais
Encyclopedia
Santos Dumont is a city and municipality in southern 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...

 state, 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...

. The geographical coordinates are: latitude 21º27'24" South and longitude 43º33'09". The population (2006) is estimated to be 49,137 and the total area of the municipality is 639.1 km2. It lies at an elevation of 839 meters just off the main interstate highway, BR 040, between the urban centers of Barbacena (north) and Juiz de Fora (south). It is 240 km from the state capital, 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...

, and 220 km from Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

. It became a city in 1889.

The average annual temperature is approximately 20 °C, with the average maximum of 21 °C, and the average minimum of 19 °C.

Livestock raising is the main economic activiy with approximately 30,000 head of cattle and an annual production of milk of about 15 million liters.

In industry Santos Dumont has the Companhia Brasileira de Carbureto de Cálcio, (CBCC), which produces silicone iron and metallic silicone, exporting to several countries.

In agriculture the region produces corn, strawberries, guava, nectaries, manioc, beans, oranges, coffee, peach and banana.http://www.isantosdumont.hpg.ig.com.br/aspectos_ambientais.htm

It is the birthplace of aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont
Alberto Santos-Dumont
Alberto Santos-Dumont , was a Brazilian early pioneer of aviation. The heir of a wealthy family of coffee producers, Santos Dumont dedicated himself to science studies in Paris, France, where he spent most of his adult life....

 and is named in his honor. Prior to the renaming, the city was known as Palmira. There is a museum, located 16 km from the center of the city, which is dedicated to the memory of whom Brazilians consider the Father of Aviation. It is located in the house where he was born and has personal objects, photos and an aviation museum.http://www.asminasgerais.com.br/?item=ALBUM&codAlbum=136

The municipality has been experiencing, since the 1980s, a period of slight demographic standstill, which could be verified by the figures obtained by the last census. Between the population counting held in 1996 and the census held in 2000, the population increased at the rate of 0,32% annually, which is too low compared to other places in the country. This peculiar performance is partially explained by the economic appeal exerted by the nearby city of Juiz de Fora, making it the destiny of many emigrants.

According to the 2000 census, the average income of the workers of the municipality was calculated at R$450.56 (237 USD by that time), but workers earning less than the national minimum wage (R$151.00 by that time, or 80 USD) accounted for 38.8% of the total employees, meanwhile only 1.00% of them earned more than the equivalent to 20 minimum wages (R$3,020.00 or 1,590 USD).

See also


External links

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