Carmo do Rio Claro 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 the south-west 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 ...

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 ...

. The distance to the state capital,

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 ...

is 374 km. The characteristic vegetation of the municipality is

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 ...

but there is still some gallery forest along the rivers. The climate of the municipality is classified as subtropical mesothermic, characterized by dry winters and wet summers. The average temperature in winter is approximately 16°C and the average of the hottest month is about 27°C. The period between December and February is the rainiest. The driest months are from April to September. Carmo do Rio Claro is watered by 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 ...

. Local economy is driven by

agriculture 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 ...

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

and handcraft. Largely known by its handcraft in hand

loom A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...

and its production of handcrafted candy. Carmo do Rio Claro is part of the

Guaxupé Guaxupé is a Brazil, Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the southwest of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais. Its estimated population in 2020 was 52,078 inhabitants living in a total area of 286 k ...

diocese.

History and economy

It is believed that the initial core of the town occurred during the

Bandeiras ''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 ...

with José Barbosa de Arruda and Domingos Ferreira de Avelar, reminiscents of the Lourenço Castanho bandeira's, known for having expulsed the natives

Cataguases Cataguases is a municipality located in the southeastern part of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The estimated population in 2020 was 75,540. It is mainly an industrial centre (textile, metallurgy, clothes) with a strong influence of coffe ...

from the region of Tamanduá (

Itapecerica Itapecerica (, ) is a municipality located in the center of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The population is 21,761 (2020 est.) in an area of 1041 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Oeste de Minas and to the micro-region of F ...

). Initially with the help of locals, José Joaquim Santana, built in his lands a small chapel in the place where today is the main church Igreja Matriz de Carmo do Rio Claro. The freguesia de Nossa Senhora do Carmo do Monte do Rio Claro was created in 1810, in the lands inside the Princess Campaign area, to be later, 1814, included to the

Jacuí Jacuí is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. See also * List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais (MG), ...

municipality. The fertility of its lands propitiated the development of great farms, economic basis of the town, which in 1848 started to be part of Passos. The emancipation happened in 1875.

References

{{Reflist Municipalities in Minas Gerais