The Santo Antônio River of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

rises in the

Espinhaço Mountains The Espinhaço Mountains (, ) are a mountain range in Brazil. The range runs roughly north and south through the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia, extending for approximately . It forms the divide between the upper watershed of the São Francisco ...

, in the district of Santo Antônio do Cruzeiro, city of

Conceição do Mato Dentro Conceição do Mato Dentro is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the Mesoregion (Brazil), mesoregion Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte and to the Microregion (Brazil), microregion of Conceição do Ma ...

, in the Brazilian state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. Running to the east, after a journey of 287 km, will pour its waters into the Rio Doce. The

bandeirante ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate indigenous peoples during the early modern period. They played a major role in exp ...

s used the river as a transportation route during the Brazil Gold Rush. Today it is used for fishing and

gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts espec ...

, as well as leisure and tourism. The Santo Antônio River is notable for its rocky course with a number of waterfalls, including Bahia Falls and Tabuleiro Falls (rated in the 2005 edition of Guia 4 Rodas as the prettiest in Brazil).

Cities of the basin of Santo Antônio River

* Morro do Pilar * Santo Antônio do Rio Abaixo *

São Sebastião do Rio Preto São Sebastião do Rio Preto 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 Conceição do Mato Dentro. As of 2020, the estimated po ...

Ferros Ferros is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Itabira. As of 2020, the estimated population was 9,696. From 2001 to 2023, São Pedro dos Fe ...

* Braúnas * Joanésia * Açucena * Mesquita * Belo Oriente * Naque

References

Rivers of Minas Gerais {{MinasGerais-river-stub