Caratinga is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in eastern

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

state,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The population in 2020 was 92,603 inhabitants and the total area of the municipality was 1,251 km². The elevation is 578 meters above sea level, with maximum elevation of 1,516 m in the Serra do Rio Preto and 330 m at the mouth of the Córrego Boachá.

Location

The municipality is located at 19° 37’ 30’’ latitude south and at 42° 09’ 00’’ longitude west. It is part of Region VIII, denominated Rio Doce, and part of the microregion of Mata de Caratinga, in the eastern part of Minas Gerais. It lies on the important Rio-Bahia interstate highway (BR 116) and is connected to the state capital of

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

by BR–381 to the city of

João Monlevade João Monlevade is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Itabira. As of 2020, the estimated population was 80,416. See also ...

. After João Monlevade there is a federal highway, BR 262, which leads into the capital. The state capital lies at a distance of 320 km. The nearest airport is in

Ubaporanga Ubaporanga is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. Transportation The city is served by Ubaporanga Airport. See also *List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the s ...

15 km from downtown, tarmacked runway 1200 m long and 20 m wide. The main rivers that cross the municipality are the Caratinga River and its tributary Laje, the Manhuaçu and the Preto.

Etymology

"Caratinga" is the synonym of cará, and comes from the

Tupi Tupi may refer to: * Tupi people of Brazil * Tupi or Tupian languages, spoken in South America ** Tupi language, an extinct Tupian language spoken by the Tupi people * Tupi oil field off the coast of Brazil * Tupi Paulista, a Brazilian municipalit ...

term ''aka'ratin'ga'', which means "white cará". The city's name refers to the abundance of this particular

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

in the area since it was inhabited by the

Aimoré people The Aimoré ''(Aymore, Aimboré)'' are one of several South American peoples of eastern Brazil called Botocudo in Portuguese (from ''botoque'', a plug), in allusion to the wooden disks or tembetás worn in their lips and ears. Some called thems ...

.City Hall (July 1st, 2010)
"História do município"
Accessed in 23.04.2011 (''in Portuguese'').

Climate

The climate is tropical sub-hot, with mild summer temperatures and winter temperatures between 15 and 18 °C. The average temperature is around 23 °C, while the maximum and the minimum are 28 °C and 17 °C respectively. In the summer season the concentration of rains is over 70% of the total annual rainfall, which is about 1.140 mm.

Economy

Caratinga is essentially agricultural. A large part of the landholdings (77%) are minifundios—small properties. The main crops are fruits and vegetables (1000 producers) but especially coffee. With an area planted with 66 million trees in more than 320 square kilometres, coffee growing provides about 8 thousand direct jobs and 35 thousand indirect. The harvest is from April to September.

Education and Culture

There are two institutions of higher education: UNEC - Centro Universitário de Carating

and FIC - Faculdades Integradas de Carating

There are three local newspapers: O Jornal de Caratinga (weekly), A Semana (weekly), and Diário de Caratinga (daily).

Tourism

Declared a national historical monument, Pedra Itaúna, with its 1,012 meters elevation, attracts participants in rappel, paragliding, and mountain climbing. Some 150

northern muriqui The northern muriqui (''Brachyteles hypoxanthus)'' is one of two species of muriqui. They are also known as woolly spider monkey because they exhibit the woollen pelt of woolly monkeys and the long prehensile tail of spider monkeys. Muriquis are ...

s (Brachyteles arachnoids) live today at the

Fazenda Montes Claros Feliciano Miguel Abdala Private Natural Heritage Reserve ( pt, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Feliciano Miguel Abdala), formerly the Fazenda Montes Claros and then the Caratinga Biological Station, is a privately owned sustainable-use pr ...

, near Caratinga. It is one of their last refuges. The muriqui is the largest monkey of the Americas and one of the most endangered primates of the world. Specialists cite the biological importance of the Fazenda Montes Claros, where three other primate species live along with the muriqui: the buffy headed marmoset, the black-capped capuchin and the brown howler monkey.

Transportation

The city is served by

Ubaporanga Airport Ubaporanga Airport is the airport serving Caratinga, Brazil, located in the adjoining municipality of Ubaporanga. History The operations of the airport are restricted to daytime and with small aircraft. Airlines and destinations No scheduled ...

, located in the adjoining municipality of

References

External links

Official site (in Portuguese)

Song official symbols
{{Authority control Municipalities in Minas Gerais