Três Pontas (, ''Three Tips'') is a

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

located in southern

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 ...

state,

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 ...

. It's a city with about all streets of urban zone paved and services of water and sewage to all people. The municipality has about 57 thousand inhabitants and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 78,12hab/km². The road

MG-167 MG-167 is a Brazilian road located on southern Minas Gerais state. It is 96.6 km long and is all paved. The road starts at the junction with the road BR-265, on Santana da Vargem and ends at a junction with the road BR-267 in Cambuquira, pas ...

is the only paved road that passes through the city, but the

Rodovia Fernão Dias The Rodovia Fernão Dias (official designation BR-381 or SP-010 in the state of São Paulo) is a federal highway which runs in the Brazilian states of São Paulo and southern region of Minas Gerais. In Atibaia, the Fernão Dias highway intersec ...

(BR-381), is less than 50 km from the city centre passing through

Varginha Varginha is a municipality in southwest Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Varginha stands out as one of the major centers of commerce and coffee production in Brazil and the world. The city is a center for export of coffee draining most of the producti ...

. The municipality don't have a rugged relief (the average level is 900m), there are only three areas in which the altitude reaches 1100m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. One of them is the ''Serra de Três Pontas'' (Three Tips Mountain), a place known in the region for its distinctive shape and natural environment. The streams Araras and Espera are the main water courses that pass through the municipality, and they flow into the

Furnas Dam The Furnas Dam () is a Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric dam in the Minas Gerais state of Brazil. A small settlement was built near the dam with the same name to house the workers during the dam construction. The main purpose of the dam and reservoi ...

. The rivers Verde and Sapucaí pass on the south boundary and flow into Furnas Dam too. The Municipality is located on the basin of the Grande River. The suave climate favors the growth of

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

, the main economic wealth of the city (known as one of the largest producers of coffee in

Etymology

The city name origin is the peculiar shape of the mountain near the city, that was utilized as a reference point by ancient travelers and by the runaway slaves. These slaves formed near the mountain, the

Quilombo A ''quilombo'' (); from the Kimbundu word , ) is a Brazilian hinterland town, settlement founded by people of Afro-Brazilians, African origin, and others sometimes called Carabali. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos, called quilombolas, were ...

do Cascalho which was destroyed some time later.

History

The first inhabitants of the region was the runaway slaves that has formed two

quilombo A ''quilombo'' (); from the Kimbundu word , ) is a Brazilian hinterland town, settlement founded by people of Afro-Brazilians, African origin, and others sometimes called Carabali. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos, called quilombolas, were ...

s. During the colonization process, it had fights of settlers and slaves and explorers looking for

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. The soil of Três Pontas has no gold or important mineral resources. So, it was formed farms to create cattle and culture of subsistence. The chapel of Nossa Senhora d'Ajuda was the start of the locality, founded on October 15, 1768, by the Captain Bento Ferreira de Brito, attracting people scattered around. The locality, with rural and urban characteristics mixed, was formed slowly around the chapel. Três Pontas has supplied the villages that arose with the gold and later the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. The locality was elevated to a village in April 1841. On July 3, 1857, the village received the status of city. With the emergence and affirmation of the coffee, in the mid of the 19th century, and with the creation of roads, Três Pontas reach the international market through Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo ports. Coffee has maintained the city economy ever since. Two persons deserve special mention in the city's history: the Barão da Boa Esperança, influential politician who contributed to the development of the municipality, and Padre Victor, pastor of the city. Três Pontas also had a rail spur, the Trespontana Railroad, which was inaugurated in 1895, whose terminal was where today is located the City Hall. The railway was closed in 1964 due to, among other reasons, the flooding of part of the line by Furnas Dam.

Geography

The municipality is limited to the north with

Campos Gerais Campos Gerais is a municipality in the south of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The population was 28,842 in 2020 in a total area of 769 km². The elevation is 1,026 m. It became a municipality in 1901. Campos Gerais is located in ...

and Santana da Vargem, on south with the municipality of

Elói Mendes Elói Mendes is a municipality in the south of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. In 2020 the population was 28,320 in a total area of 498 km². The elevation of the municipal seat is 899 meters. Geography Neighboring municipalities a ...

and

Paraguaçu Paraguaçu is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population is 21,605 (2020 est.) in an area of 424 km². The elevation of the municipal seat is 825 m. It became a municipality in 1911. Paraguaçu is part of ...

, on east with

Nepomuceno Nepomuceno is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of the state of Minas Gerais. The population in 2020 was 26,826 in a total area of . The maximum elevation is and the minimum is . The city belongs to the IBGE statistical microregio ...

e Carmo da Cachoeira and west with

. It's located at about 290 kilometers away from

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, the state's capital. According to the map of

urban hierarchy The urban hierarchy ranks each city based on the size of population residing within the nationally defined statistical urban area. Because urban population depends on how governments define their metropolitan areas, urban hierarchies are convention ...

produced by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, Três Pontas is classified as a B zone center, that means the city has a restricted influence, only over the smaller cities around it. The city is under influence of

that, on the other hand, is under influence of Belo Horizonte.

Relief, soils and rocks

The municipality has a wavy relief, with altitudes between 800 and 900

meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

s above sea level, with the city located at about 905 meters. However about twenty percent of the municipality is in mountainous regions, in which the height exceeds one thousand meters above sea level. One of these areas is the ''Serra de Três Pontas'' (''Three Tips Hill''), located nineteen kilometers away from the city, where is located the highest point of the municipality, at 1 234 meters above sea level. The lowest point is located on the margins of the Furnas reservoir, at about 770 meters above the sea level. ; Soils Red/yellow

oxisols Oxisols are a soil order in USDA soil taxonomy, best known for their occurrence in tropical rain forest within 25 degrees north and south of the Equator. In the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB), they belong mainly to the ferralso ...

. According with Brazilian Systems of Soils Classification all (or almost all) oxisols are acidic and nutrient-poor. However, when adjusted and fertilized these soils become highly productive. ;Rocks According to the Geologic Map of Minas Gerais, the soils in the south portion of the municipality have kianite

granulite Granulites are a class of high-grade metamorphic rocks of the granulite facies that have experienced high-temperature and moderate-pressure metamorphism. They are medium to coarse–grained and mainly composed of feldspars sometimes associated ...

rocks. In the north, it has rocks of the ortogneissics complexes (ortogneisses granitics,

migmatite Migmatite is a composite rock (geology), rock found in medium and high-grade metamorphic environments, commonly within Precambrian craton, cratonic blocks. It consists of two or more constituents often layered repetitively: one layer is an old ...

and anphibolite) and in the region of Três Pontas Mountain the rocks are formed by metapelitic graphitous alternated with

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

Climate

According to IBGE Brazil Climate Map the

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

of Três Pontas is Tropical semi-humid, with a dry season that last between four and five months and the average temperature is between 15 °C and 18 °C in at least one month in the year. During the summer rains are common in the late afternoon. Temperatures at this time are always very high. In the winter the arrival of polar air masses that drop and cause frost. In this time of year the relative humidity is too low, and causes discomfort to the population. ; Hydrography The municipality is watered by Verde and Sapucaí rivers (dammed in Furnas), belonging to Grand River Drainage. It also has the Araras and Espera streams, that are formed by the joining of several smaller streams. The Arara stream rises near the town and moves west to flow into the reservoir of Furnas. The Espera stream rises near the Três Pontas Mountain and flows into Furnas near a farm with the same name. Other streams that rises on the north of Três Pontas Mountain go north and flow into Rio Grande. ;Biome Três Pontas is in the transition area between the biome Mata Atlântica and the biome

Cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...

. The original vegetation of the Municipality is highly modified because of coffee production, but some woods still remain.

Urban area

; Water and sewage connections The water and sewage service is by S.A.A.E. (Serviço Autônomo de Água e Esgoto, ''Water and Sewage Autonomous System''). Três Pontas has 12644 water connections, that means 100% of urban area homes served with treated water. The sewage system serves 12572 homes, that means 99.2% of houses have access to the sewage system, that put the city among the cities with better sanitation in

. In the municipality, 14004 homes have water connections, 1776 draw water from wells or springs on their own property and 263 have other forms of obtaining water. ; Electric power Electrical power is supplied by

CEMIG Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais S.A. (CEMIG; ) is a Brazilian power company headquartered in Belo Horizonte, capital of the state of Minas Gerais. The company is one of the main electricity concessionaires in Brazil. It operates in the areas ...

(Compania Energética de Minas Gerais, or Energetic Company of Minas Gerais). ; Paving and fleet Três Pontas has about 98% of paved streets in the urban area. Due to the fleet growing in the last years, there is a lack of parking lots in downtown and in peak hours, the traffic becomes slow in some streets. ;Urban transportation The city has bus lines that serve almost all neighborhoods of the urban area. ;Streams that cross the urban area The urban area is crossed for the streams Candongas, Custodinho, Bambus and Quatis. All of them are tributaries of Araras stream. ;Census 2010 According to the census, there are 18517 houses in the municipality, that totalize 21819 addresses, being 3474 in the countryside and 18345 in the urban area. Still according to 2010 census, 15474 homes are houses (96.5%), 526 are apartments (3.3%) and 40 belongs to a condominium (0.2%). ;Urban Hierarchy According with the map of Urban Hierarchy of Brazil, Três Pontas is classified as a center of zone B, that means the city has a small regional influence, restricted to small cities which Três Pontas is bordered. The city is under influence of

that, on the other hand, is under influence of

. Três Pontas is today the greatest producer of

in the country. There are more than 50 million coffee trees in an area of approximately 300 square kilometres, producing an average of 400 thousand sacks each harvest.

Transport

; Access Roads Três Pontas is crossed by the state highway

giving access to BR-491 (passing through Varginha) and BR-265 (passing through Santana da Vargem). Both federal highways give access to

( BR-381). There is a project for creation of the road Três Pontas - Paraguaçu passing through Pontalete and other for creation of the road Três Pontas - Carmo da Cachoeira. ; Air Access The city has the Leda Mello Resende Airport , 3 km from downtown, with paved runway, measuring 1,150m in length by 20m in width, which allows for the landing and takeoff of small and medium-sized planes. Airlines from

: TAE, TAM, TAV. ;Rural Roads The municipality is crossed by more than 300 km of rural roads, mostly in good condition. Through these routes is possible get directly to Campos Gerais, Nepomuceno, Carmo da Cachoeira and Paraguaçu (passing through

Pontalete Pontalete is a district of Três Pontas municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, located 23 km from the city. It is watered by Furnas Dam, being an important touristic destination. Its population is about 400 people. Pont ...

crossing the Furnas Dam by a ferry line) ;Navigation It's possible arrive to the

district by boat, because the district is watered by Furnas Dam.

Population

According to the 2010 census, 50.4%(27155) of Três Pontas population are women, and 49.6%(26705) are men. ;Color or race Municipal

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

*MHDI: .773 *State ranking: 152 out of 853 municipalities *National ranking: 1,251 out of 5,138 municipalities *Life expectancy: 72 *Literacy rate: 88 For the complete list se
Frigoletto

Economy

The municipal economy is mixed, but coffee is the most important economic product.

Agriculture

The planting is diverse, but the coffee plantations occupy most of the cultivated area. There is in the city more than 30 million coffee trees planted in an area of 24 thousand hectares, being the largest national producer. About 75% of coffee production is marketed by the Cooperativa dos Cafeicultores da Zona de Três Pontas. In the city are also planted corn, beans and vegetables, among others. In 2010, 29808 tons of coffee were harvested (about 1% of national production), with an average yield 1440 kg/ha, a total amount of R$157 982 000. In comparation with 2009, the total production dropped 1.8%. FruitColors

;Permanent farming ;Temporary Farming ;Animal production (Animal numbers)

Industry

Três Pontas has an Industrial park, with small and medium industries: fertilizer industry, agricultural machinery, fabrics, plastic ware, precast products, metalwork, furniture, roasting, baking, graphics, stills and other miscellaneous. Besides the growth of tourism in the region driven by the dam and farm hotels.

Services

The services correspond to 62% of

GNP The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total amount of factor incomes earned by the residents of a country. It is equal to gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes received from n ...

of the municipality . The trade contributes significantly to the growth of the city. ; Commercial establishments by activity * Restaurants / Bars - 315 * Hotels and others - 06 * Coffee shops, Bakeries and Ice Cream– 78 * Gas stations with services- 12 * Markets – 152 * Obs.: Total number of registered taxpayers in the municipality in various brands of activity: 3938

Public health

About 58% of health facilities are in the responsibility of the municipality. The other 42% are private. The city has a Pronto Atendimento Municipal (''Municipal Emergency Services''), which attends to the urgent and emergency cases. It also has the Hospital São Francisco de Assis (''St. Francis Hospital''), which has about 100 beds, surgical, obstetric, pediatric, ICU and medical clinic . The hospital also offers radiology services, ultrasound, sterilization center and clinic. ; Health care The Department of Health of Três Pontas manages various clinics scattered throughout neighborhoods. * Center for Health Catumbi (''Centro de Saúde Catumbi'') * Padre Victor Health Center (''Centro de Saúde Padre Victor'') * Health Centre St. Edwirges (''Centro de Saúde Santa Edwirges'') * Health Center Marilena Village (''Centro de Saúde Vila Marilena'') * Center for Health Polyclinic (''Centro de Saúde Policlínica'') There are also centers in rural communities and periodic visits. The Municipal Pharmacy provides medications to low income families. The Municipal Health Department also carries out periodic preventive campaigns for public awareness about the prevention of various diseases, especially

dengue Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after ...

. Três Pontas has a Centre of Ophthalmology and a dental center, both with free care for low income families. There are also several private clinics in several areas of health. According to the 2010 Census, there are 51 health facilities public and private in Three Points.

Education

About 45% are on elementary school, 41% on kindergarten and 14% on high school. ;Elementary and high school Most schools are under the responsibility of Municipal Secretary of Education. The city has 14 municipal schools on urban area (being 11 day care centers and kindergarten school, 1 of 1st to 3rd grade, 1 of 1st to 5th grade and 1 of 1st to 9th grade) and 8 on rural zone (being 6 from 1st to 5th grade and 1 kindergarten). The city has four state schools (that have students from 6th to 9th grade and high school) and four private school (that have students from kindergarten to high school). ;Higher education Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas (''University Center of South Minas''). ;Professional education Três Pontas has many schools with professional courses to serve young people wishing to enter the labor market. A professional school of the SEST/SENAT is also being built. According to the 2010 census, there are 34 schools in Três Pontas.

Culture

;Celso Brant Public Library Administrated by Culture, Leisure and Tourism Secretary, the library has more than 20 thousand books. It was created in 1959. ;Heitor Vila Lobos Municipal Music School School of Guitar, Violin, Cello, Piano, Keyboard, Accordion, Sweet Flute, Flute, Saxophone, Drums, Guitar, Choir, Canto Single, Music Perception, Practice Set, Musicalization Music and Image. It was established in 1987. ; Milton Nascimento Cultural Center Theatre which presents the main cultural events of the city.

Sports and tourism

;Sports The Sports Municipal Secretary arranges several events to promote sports in the city. Among these are: karate classes, football and volleyball for children and teenagers. There are also many championships among teams of schools and neighborhoods. The main football matches are played at Ítalo Tomagnini Municipal Stadium, but there are other football fields in other neighborhoods. Other sports, like futsal and volleyball are played at the Gymnasium Aureliano Chaves. ;Tourism In Três Pontas the preferred tourist destination is the

District, because of the Furnas Dam. Perfect for those who like water sports, the district has many good bars and restaurants. Other people can visit the Três Pontas (''Three tips'') Mountain that's about 19 km from city. On the mountain there are many trails, some waterfalls and even a wall made by the slaves. On the road between Três Pontas and Varginha, the tourist can visit he Coffee Museum that show how the

coffee culture Coffee culture is the set of traditions and social behaviors that surround the consumption of coffee, particularly as a social lubricant. The term also refers to the cultural diffusion and adoption of coffee as a widely consumed stimulant. In the ...

was.

Religion

Most people, are

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The city has three

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es *Parish Nossa Senhora d'Ajuda (''Our Lady of Help'') . The main church is the Matriz Nossa Senhora d'Ajuda Church, in downtown, where are the remains of Padre Victor. *Parish Nossa Senhora Aparecida (''

Our Lady of Aparecida Our Lady Aparecida ("Our Lady, the Appeared"), ( or ''Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida'') is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with the Immaculate Conception. Her image, a dark clay statue, is widely venerated by Brazilian Cat ...

''). The main church is Aparecida Church *Parish Cristo Redentor. The main church is Nossa Senhora das Graças (''

Our Lady of Graces Our Lady of Graces (Italian: ''Madonna delle Grazie'' or ''Nostra Signora delle Grazie'') or Saint Mary of Graces (Italian: ''Santa Maria delle Grazie'') is a devotion to the Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church. Several churches with this d ...

'') Church (known as Catumbi Church). The three parishes belong to the Diocese of Campanha.

Blessed persons

The

carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

nun Tereza Margarida of the Heart of Mary founded a contemplative

carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

in Três Pontas.

Communication

;Radio Station Sentinela FM - 99.9 MHz Community Radio Liberdade FM - 87.9 MHz Radio Três Pontas - AM 1540 kHz Transamérica Hits - Fm 92.5 MHz ;Newspaper Jornal Correio Trespontano (''Trespontano Mail Newspaper'')

Events

* City's Anniversary: July 3 Commemorated with shows and parties * Expocafé: June One of the biggest events of the coffee growing country, where millions of dollars are moved, and the event grows every year. In 2012 was held between June 19 and June 22. * Festival Música do Mundo (''Music of the World'' Festival): September CANCELED 2011 * Priest Victor party: September 23

References

External links

IBGE

AluguelTP - Aluguel de casas, aptos e salas comerciais em Três Pontas

CicloTP - Ciclism and trailsin Três Pontas and region

Prefeitura Municipal
- Prefeitura Municipal de Três Pontas.
Blog do Silvano Alves
- Blog that shows the news of Três Pontas.
Câmara Municipal de Três Pontas
- Camara of Três Pontas
Map of Três Pontas on Google Maps

Map of Três Pontas on Google Map Maker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tres Pontas 1768 establishments in Brazil Populated places established in 1768 Municipalities in Minas Gerais