Country Brazil State Goiás Time zone BRT/BRST (UTC-3/-2) Area 2,142 km² | Region Central-West Region Elevation 520 m (1,710 ft) Postal code 76400-000 | |
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University Universidade Estadual de Goiás | ||
Uruaçu is a city and municipality in north Goiás state, Brazil.
Contents
- Map of UruaC3A7u State of GoiC3A1s Brazil
- Geography
- History
- Political Information and Demographics
- The economy
- Health and education
- References
Map of Urua%C3%A7u, State of Goi%C3%A1s, Brazil
Geography
Uruaçu is located north of Anápolis and Goiânia on the important interstate highway BR-153, which links Brasília to Belém. It is 269 km. from Goiânia and 244 km. from Brasília. It belongs to the Porangatu Microregion.
Municipal boundaries are with:
On the west the municipal boundary follows the Serra Dourada mountains, where the Passa Três river has its source and supplies the city with its drinking water. On the east the boundary is formed by the Serra da Mesa reservoir (43 meters deep and 1,784 km² in area).
The climate is moist tropical, with maximum temperatures of 38 °C, minimums of 18 °C and an average of 28 °C.
History
The origin of this town was the Passa Três ranch acquired by the Fernandes family in 1910 and located in the municipality of Pilar de Goiás along the route used by muleteers and merchants from the south. In 1913 Coronel Gaspar donated lands to build a chapel dedicated to Saint Anne and the settlement was called Sant'Ana. In 1924 the settlement was raised to a district and in 1931 it became a municipality. In 1943 the name was changed to Uruaçu, which in Tupi-Guaraní means "large bird". In 1948 Uruaçu lost the district of Porangatu, which became the municipality of Porangatu, now the most important city in the region. in 1953 it lost the district of Amaro Leite, which became the municipality of Amaro Leite, later changed to Mara Rosa.
Political Information and Demographics
In January 2013 the mayor was Solange Abadia Rodrigues Bertulino. The population density was 15.59 inhab/km² (2007). Urban population was 36.929 (2010) while rural population was 3,070 (2007). The town has lost about 1,000 people since 1980. There was a -0,11% growth rate for 1996/2007.
The economy
The economy is based on subsistence agriculture, cattle raising, services, public administration, and small transformation industries.
Health and education
In the educational sector there were 46 schools with 10,693 students in 2006. In higher education there was a campus of the UEG - Faculdade de Educação, Ciências e Letras de Uruaçu. The adult literacy rate was 85.7% (2000) (national average was 86.4%). The town was served by 2 hospitals with 113 beds in 2007. The infant mortality rate was 27.33 (2000) (national average was 33.0).