Fortaleza de Minas is a Brazilian municipality located in the southwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population was 4,437 people living in a total area of .IBGE 2020 The city belongs to the meso-region of Sul e Sudoeste de Minas and to the micro-region of Passos. It became a municipality in 1963.IBGE
Geography The city center of Fortaleza de Minas is located at an elevation of 856 meters just south of the regional center of Passos. Neighboring municipalities are: Pratápolis (N and NW), Itaú de Minas (N), Passos (NE and E), Jacuí and Bom Jesus da Penha (S and SE), São Sebastião do Paraíso (W).Citybrazil
Distances Belo Horizonte: taking MG-050 Jacuí: to the south Passos: to the north Ribeirão Preto: 145 km Brasília: 773 km São Paulo: 430 km The nearest airport with national flights is in Ribeirão Preto.DERMG
Tourism Despite the small area there is a varied landscape with rugged hills, streams, and waterfalls. There are three modest hotels and four restaurants. The São João River is the main river. It has waterfalls, and large rock formations and is used for canoeing and kayaking. Cachoeira do Val is a beautiful waterfall located from the town.City site See Galeria de fotos for photos.
Economic activities Mining, services, small industries, and agriculture are the main economic activities. The economy is based on mineral extraction (nickel) and the sulfuric acid industry. There is one large enterprise, Mineração Serra da Fortaleza, of the Votorantim group. In 2005 501 workers were employed in this industry. The GDP in 2005 was approximately R$112 million, with 5 million reais from taxes, 25 million reais from services, 72 million reais from industry, and 9 million reais from agriculture. There were 521 rural producers on 18,000 hectares of land. Approximately 1,800 persons were occupied in agriculture. The main crops are coffee, bananas, sugarcane, rice, beans, and corn. There were 11,000 head of cattle, of which 3,000 were milk cows (2006).IBGE City site
There is 1 bank (2007) In the vehicle fleet there were 616 automobiles, 48 trucks, 53 pickup trucks, 4 buses, and 212 motorcycles (2007).IBGE
Health and education In the health sector there were three health clinics (2005). Educational needs of 850 students were attended to by two primary schools, one middle school, and one pre-primary school.IBGE
Municipal Human Development Index: 0.765 (2000) State ranking: 191 out of 853 municipalities National ranking: 1,458 out of 5,138 municipalities Literacy rate: 85% Life expectancy: 74 (average of males and females)Frigoletto
In 2000 the per capita monthly income of R$192.00 was below the state average of R$276.00 and below the national average of R$297.00. Poços de Caldas had the highest per capita monthly income in 2000 with R$435.00. The lowest was Setubinha with R$73.00.
The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha with 0.568. Nationally the highest was São Caetano do Sul 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 has the lowest rating in the country—0,467—putting it in last place.Frigoletto
See also List of municipalities in Minas Gerais
References