: ''For other forest zones, see Zona da Mata (coastal) for Brazil, or the African

forest zone A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

.'' Zona baiacu da Mata is a mesoregion of the 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 ...

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 ...

, situated in the southeastern part of the state, along the border of the states of Minas Gerais,

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 ...

and

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

. The region has a lot of hills, and the heights varies from 100 to 1,900 meters. The most important river is the

Paraíba do Sul The Paraíba do Sul (), or simply Paraíba, is a river in southeast Brazil. It flows west to northeast from its farthest source at the source of the river Paraitinga to the sea near Campos dos Goytacazes. The river receives its name when it m ...

. Because of its geography it produces one of the best

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 ...

s of the region; coming first in 2007 in the annual Brazilian Quality Coffee for Espresso Awards (run by the Italian coffee company

Illy Illycaffè S.p.A. (branded and stylised as illy) is an Italian coffee company specializing in espresso, headquartered in Trieste. Illy markets its coffee globally in silver and red pressurized, oxygen-free cans; operates a network of cafes on sh ...

). Zona da Mata was the richest region of Minas Gerais from the 1850s to the 1930s due to coffee and milk production. Today - along with

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

, siderurgy and automotive industries are important to the economy of the region. Some important roads cross the region, like the BR-116, BR-040 and BR-267. The mesoregion is composed of the following microregions. * Cataguases *

Juiz de Fora Juiz de Fora (; ), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately from the state border with Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2022 census the current population is 54 ...

Manhuaçu Manhuaçu is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in Eastern Minas Gerais state, in Brazil. Its population was 91,169 (2020) and its area is 628 km2. Geography Located 260 km from the state capital of Belo Horizonte, it is near the impo ...

Muriaé Muriaé is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in southeast Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It is located in the Zona da Mata (Minas Gerais), Zona da Mata region and its population in 2022 (IBGE) was approximately 104,108 inhabitants. Importan ...

* Ponte Nova *

Ubá Ubá is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the Zona da Mata (Minas Gerais), Zona da Mata Mesoregion (Brazil), mesoregion of Minas Gerais, Brazil, southeast of Belo Horizonte, and north of Rio de Janeiro. The estimated populatio ...

* Viçosa The most important and populous city of the region is

with 500,000 inhabitants, roughly 25% of the Zona da Mata's population. Other important cities are: * Além Paraíba * Carangola * Cataguases * Leopoldina *

* Ponte Nova * Santos Dumont *

* Viçosa * Visconde do Rio Branco

Bibliography

"The Forbidden Lands: Colonial Identity, Frontier Violence, and the Persistence of Brazil's Eastern Indians, 1750-1830". Harold Langfur. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006. Paperback, 2009.

External links

The Zona da Mata

The historical geographical occupation of the Zona da Mata: on the "Forbidden lands"

Cartography and occupartion of the territory: the Zona da Mata in the 18th century and in the first half of the 19th century

References

Mesoregions of Minas Gerais {{MinasGerais-geo-stub