Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais

Governador Valadares is a Brazilian municipality in the countryside of Minas Gerais. In 2020, its population was 281,046 inhabitants, thus being the ninth most populated city in the state. It is an economical axis of the middle valley of the Doce River (Rio Doce, lit. "Sweet River"), having a significant influence on the east and northeast portion of Minas Gerais and local authorities of the state of Espírito Santo. Governador Valadares sits on the bank of the Doce River (Rio Doce), 324 km from Belo Horizonte, the state's capital. Governador Valadares has an area of about 2 342 km², of which only 58 km² is urban area.

The discovery of the city started at the beginning of the 16th century, that explored the Doce River searching for precious metals. The settlement began between the 18th and 19th centuries, constructing barracks destined to keep an eye at the Amerindians, who used to attack the settlers and merchants. With the construction of the EFVM (Vitória-Minas Railway), in 1907, the settlements were consolidated. The growth of the population and commercial development was improved due to the location of the city, that was near to coffee farms and wood extraction fields. The municipality was emancipated from Peçanha in the 1930s.

After the 1940s, the extraction of precious metals brought a notable population growth, along with livestock and commerce. However, with the decline of natural resources, the money could only be earned through the investment of immigrants, who would later go to other countries. Commerce is the most important source of income in the city, along with agribusiness and regional manufactured products.

According to the modern (2017) geographic classification by Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the city is the main municipality in the Intermediate Geographic Region of Governador Valadares.

Until 2017, Governador Valadares was a statistical micro-region including 25 municipalities: Alpercata, Campanário, Capitão Andrade, Coroaci, Divino das Laranjeiras, Engenheiro Caldas, Fernandes Tourinho, Frei Inocêncio, Galiléia, Governador Valadares, Itambacuri, Itanhomi, Jampruca, Marilac, Mathias Lobato, Nacip Raydan, Nova Módica, Pescador, São Geraldo da Piedade, São Geraldo do Baixio, São José da Safira, São José do Divino, Sobrália, Tumiritinga, and Virgolândia. Its population (2006) was estimated by the IBGE to be 407,815 inhabitants in a total area of 11, 327 km².

In general, the municipal territory is divided into two geomorphological units: 60% of the Valadares territory is undulating, 25% is rugged and 15% is flat. The areas to the south, where the urban perimeter is located, are located in the interplanal depression of the Rio Doce Valley, whose relief is the result of a river dissection that occurred in the Precambrian period and follows the course of the Doce River. This is a relatively flat region, with average altitudes ranging from 250 to 500 meters, with the presence of gentle hills, valleys, and excessive watercourses, and the highest altitudes are found in isolated steep elevations, in addition to the Pico da Ibituruna, which is 1,123 meters high and separated from the urban area by the Doce River. This unit is dominated by soils with schist, mica schist, biotite-gneiss, and quartz. The Uplifted Plateau/Mountainous Massif, in turn, corresponds to a region of rugged terrain to the north and northwest of the municipality. It is made up of steep valleys and crested hills that are on average 850 to 900 meters high, and soils with granite-gneiss, granites and biotite-gneiss can be found.

Temperature:

Average annual rainfall index: 1,350 mm