Goiatuba

Goiatuba, Brazil
Municipality
Municipality of Goiatuba

Flag

Seal
Nickname(s): The Princess of the South

Location of Goiatuba
Goiatuba, Brazil

Location in Brazil

Coordinates: 18°0′40″S 49°21′25″W / 18.01111°S 49.35694°WCoordinates: 18°0′40″S 49°21′25″W / 18.01111°S 49.35694°W
Country  Brazil
Region Central-West
State Goiás
Founded January 21, 1931
Government
  Mayor Reinaldo Cândido da Silva (PSDB)
Area
  Municipality 2,475,107 km2 (955,644 sq mi)
  Metro 13,21 km2 (510 sq mi)
Elevation 720 m (2,360 ft)
Population (2012)
  Municipality 33,902 "(IBGE 2,014)"
  Density 13,21/km2 (3,420/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-3 (UTC-3)
  Summer (DST) UTC-2 (UTC-2)
Postal Code 75600-000
Area code(s) +55 64
Website Goiatuba, Goiás

Goiatuba is a municipality in south-central Goiás state, Brazil. The population was 32,698 (2012 IBGE) in a total area of 2,475.10 km² (10/10/2002). Goiatuba is a large producer of grains, especially soybeans and corn.

Climate and Location

The average elevation is 775 meters, with an annual temperature average of 22 °C. The climate is typically tropical, moist and hot, with well-defined dry and rainy seasons. Average temperatures vary between 19 °C and 30 °C.

Goiatuba is about 50 kilometers north of the Paranaíba River, which forms the boundary with the state of Minas Gerais. It is 10 kilometers from the important interstate highway BR-153, which links Itumbiara with the state capital, Goiânia. The distance to Goiânia is 176 kilometers.

Municipal boundaries are:

Demographics

Economy

The economy is based on agriculture and cattle raising, but Goiatuba has several large enterprises. The areas are diverse: poultry processing, automobile sales, dairy products, and agricultural equipment. There is an alcohol distillery—Goiasa (Goiatuba Álcool ltda.), a seed producer—Sementes Selecta, a bed clothing factory—Bouquet, a dairy—Laticínio Polenghi (which produces most of the ice cream sold by McDonald's in Brazil), and two fertilizer plants—Adubos Sul Goiano, Adubos Terra Verde.

Economic data

Main agricultural activities

Education and health

(Sepin/IBGE)

Political information

Mayor: Reinaldo Cândido da Silva (January 2013) City council: 9

Prosperity

The municipality is one of the most prosperous in the state. Goiatuba got a score of 0.812 on the UN Human Development Index, putting it in 4th place out of 242 municipalities in the state. Nationally it was ranked 350 out of 5,507 municipalities. For the complete list see Frigoletto

Origin of the name

Goiatuba became a city in 1931, and the origin of the name is curious: "Goia" comes from the Goia Indians and "Tuba" is a Tupi-Guarani word meaning "big". So, Goiatuba is the same as "big Goiás".

History

The settlement of the region took place in 1860 when ranchers from Minas Gerais settled to raise cattle and grow crops. In 1892 land was donated to establish a town. The first name was "Bananeiras" because of the abundance of this fruit in the region. With the building of the first chapel the town was called São Sebastião das Bananeiras. In 1900 it was elevated to a district and became a municipality in 1931.

References

See also