Vargem Bonita
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Vargem Bonita is a Brazilian
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 west of the
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
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 ...
. Its population as of 2020 was 2,148 people living in a total area of 409 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Oeste de Minas and to the micro-region of Piumhi. It became a municipality in 1953.


Geography

The city center of Vargem Bonita is located at an elevation of 768 meters just outside the
Serra da Canastra National Park Serra da Canastra National Park () is a national park in the Canastra Mountains of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Location Serra da Canastra National Park is in the south west of Minas Gerais to the north of Rio Grande. It is in the Cerrado ...
. The
São Francisco River The São Francisco River (, ) is a large Rivers of Brazil, river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon R ...
passes by the town after it descends from the Serra da Canastra. Neighboring municipalities are:
São Roque de Minas São Roque de Minas is a Brazilian municipality located in the west of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2020 was 7,076 people living in a total area of 2,100 km2. The city belongs to the meso-region of Oeste de Minas and to t ...
(N),
Piumhi Piumhi () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It serves as the seat of the Immediate Geographic Region of Piumhi within the Intermediate Geographic Region of Varginha. As of 2022, ...
and Capitólio (E),
São João Batista do Glória São João Batista do Glória is a Brazilian municipality located in the southwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2020 was 7,498 people living in a total area of 553 km2. The city belongs to the meso-region of Sul e Sudo ...
(S), and Delfinópolis (W). The distance to
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 322 km. The distance to the closest regional center Passos is 80 km. Highway connections are made by BR-146, which was unpaved in 2002.


History and origin of the name

The town began with the discovery of diamonds and once had as many as 30,000 inhabitants. When the diamonds ran out the town lost population and has only become more prosperous in recent years with tourism attracted by the Sierra da Canastra National Park. The slogan for the town is "Tourism, the new diamond of Vargem Bonita". The origin of the name of the town is rather original. According to tradition, there was a ranch called Várzea in the decade of the 1940s. The word "várzea" refers to the banks of the rivers, often flooded, and sought after by farmers for planting rice and corn. The story goes that this ranch was praised by a friend of the owner who said: "Mas que vargem bonita!", instead of "várzea bonita". In the local dialect "vargem" is a synonym for "várzea". The owner, José Alves Ferreira, liked the word so much that he changed the name of his ranch, which later became the site of the town.


Economic activities

Services and agriculture are the most important economic activities. The GDP in 2005 was approximately R$17 million, 7 million reais from services, one half million reais from industry, and 8 million reais from agriculture. There were 220 rural producers on 22,000 hectares of land. 70 farms had tractors (2006). Approximately 450 persons were involved in agriculture. The main crops are coffee and corn. There were 15,000 head of cattle (2006). There were no banks (2007) and 192 automobiles (2007), giving a ratio of 10 inhabitants per automobile. Working population by sector *Transformation industries (7 units): 19 workers *Commerce (26 units): 42 workers


Health and education

In the health sector there were 3 public health clinics (2005). Patients with more serious health conditions are transported to Passos. Educational needs of 440 students were met by 3 primary schools, 1 middle school, and 3 pre-primary schools. *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 ...
: 0.760 (2000) *State ranking: 205 out of 853 municipalities as of 2000 *National ranking: 1573 out of 5,138 municipalities as of 2000 *Literacy rate: 881% *Life expectancy: 72 (average of males and females) In 2000 the per capita monthly income of R$210.00 was below the state and national average of R$276.00 and R$297.00 respectively.
Poços de Caldas Poços de Caldas is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the microregion of the same name. Its estimated population in 2020 was 168,641 inhabitants. The city is known for its hot springs. Histor ...
had the highest per capita monthly income in 2000 with R$435.00. The lowest was
Setubinha Setubinha is a municipality in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2020 the population was 12,378 in a total area of 536 km². The elevation is 729 metres. It is part of the Immediate Geographic Region of Teófilo O ...
with R$73.00. The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was
Poços de Caldas Poços de Caldas is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in the microregion of the same name. Its estimated population in 2020 was 168,641 inhabitants. The city is known for its hot springs. Histor ...
with 0.841, while the lowest was
Setubinha Setubinha is a municipality in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2020 the population was 12,378 in a total area of 536 km². The elevation is 729 metres. It is part of the Immediate Geographic Region of Teófilo O ...
with 0.568. Nationally the highest was
São Caetano do Sul São Caetano do Sul (; " Saint Cajetan of the South"), or simply São Caetano, is a city in São Paulo state in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 161,957 (2020 est.) in an area of 15.33 km2. It is ...
in São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha. In more recent statistics (considering 5,507 municipalities) Manari in the state of
Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...
has the lowest rating in the country—0,467—putting it in last place.Frigoletto
/ref>


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), located in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. Minas Gerais is divided into 853 Municipalities of Brazil, municipalities, ...


References

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