Santa Cruz de Goiás 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 ...

in southeast

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiâ ...

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 ...

Geography

Santa Cruz is located in the southeastern part of the state, 33 km. west of regional center, Pires do Rio. The Rio dos Bois, a tributary of the

Corumbá River The Corumbá River (''Rio Corumbá'' in Portuguese) is the most important river in the Central Plateau region of Brazil. Its source is in the Montes de Pireneus, near Pirenópolis, state of Goiás, near the boundary with the Federal District a ...

flows from north to south through the municipality. It has boundaries with Pires do Rio,

Palmelo Palmelo is municipality in southeast Goiás state, Brazil. It is the smallest municipality in the state and the only town in Brazil where most of the inhabitants follow the religion called Spiritism. Location The distance to the state capital, Go ...

, Cristianópolis,

Caldas Novas Caldas Novas () is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Goiás. It is considered by many to be the largest hydro-thermal resort in the world. Location Caldas Novas is located 170 km south of state capital, Goiânia, with good roads link ...

and

Piracanjuba Piracanjuba () is a municipality in southeastern Goiás state, Brazil. It is a big producer of orchids, milk products, and soybeans. ''Piracanjuba is also the name of a fish (Brycon orbignyanus) common to the waters of the Plata River basin.'' ...

. It is 121 kilometers from the state capital, Goiânia and is connected by BR-352 / Bela Vista de Goiás / Cristianópolis / GO-020. Se
Distancias Rodoviarias Sepin
for all the distances. The municipality is bathed by the Rio dos Bois, Rio do Peixe, córregos Manoel Duarte, Muquém, Buriti, Pedra de Amolar, Brumadinho, Caiapó, Pirapitinga, Fundo, Mato Virgem, Água Suja, São Benedito, Córrego da Chuva, Sapé, Dantas, and by the Ribeirão Brumado. In topography there is the Serra do Rio do Peixe, the hills of Clemente, Queiroz, Cuscuzeiro, Dois Irmãos, Pertapé, Serra dos Macacos, Cabeça de Mel and Capão Bonito. The climate is tropical humid.

Political Information

*Mayor: Esley Augusto Damaso (January 2005) *City council: 09 *Eligible voters: 2,898 (December/2007)

Demographics

Population distribution is characterized by the fact that the rural population outnumbered the urban by almost two to one. *Population density: 3.19 inhabitants/km² (2007) *Urban population: 1,007 (2007) *Rural population: 2,535 (2007) *Population growth: a loss of about 500 people since 1980

The economy

The economy is based on agriculture, cattle raising, services, public administration, and small transformation industries. *Industrial units: 3 (2007) *Commercial units: 18 (2007) *Cattle herd: 65,000 head (15,000 milk cows) *Main crops: rice, beans, manioc, coffee, bananas, soybeans (10,000 hectares) and corn Agricultural data 2006 *Number of farms: 725 *Total area: 97,104 ha. *Area of permanent crops: 92 ha. *Area of perennial crops: 13,369 ha. *Area of natural pasture: 55,190 ha. *Area of woodland and forests: 26,435 ha. *Persons dependent on farming: 1,500 *Farms with tractors: 161 *Number of tractors: 316 *Cattle herd: 65,000 hea
IBGE

Education (2006)

*Schools: 4 *Classrooms: 25 *Teachers: 40 *Students: 726 *Middle schools enrollment: 123 *Higher education: none *Adult literacy rate: 87.5% (2000) (national average was 86.4%)

Health (2007)

*Hospitals: 1 *Hospital beds: 12 *Ambulatory clinics: 3 *Infant mortality rate: 14.0 (2000) (national average was 33.0)

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

*MHDI: 0.782 *State ranking: 26 (out of 242 municipalities) *National ranking: 1,006 (out of 5,507 municipalities) For the complete list se
Frigoletto.com

History

Unlike many of the municipalities in Goiás, Santa Cruz has its origins in the 18th century, when mule drivers in 1721 on their way to the mines of

Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America. Also, it forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várzea Grande. The city ...

discovered gold in the region. A cross was raised and the ''arraial'' (village) of Santa Cruz was founded in 1729. Later when the territory was divided in two Santa Cruz was the center of a julgado, which was almost the size of Portugal. In 1833 it was raised to the status of a municipality. The first railroad arrived 28 kilometers away in 1914 and the station was called Pires do Rio, which later became the most important city of the region. With attractive landscapes around the city, Santa Cruz has rivers and waterfalls that promise future touristic development.

References

Frigoletto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Cruz De Goias Municipalities in Goiás Populated places established in 1729 1729 establishments in Brazil