Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is ane o the 26 states o Brazil, o which it is the seicont maist populous, the seicont richest, an the fowert lairgest in aurie. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state wi the lairgest number o Presidents o Brazil, maist notably, Dilma Rousseff, being ane o them. The caipital is the ceety o Belo Horizonte, locatit near the central aurie. The main producer o coffee an milk in the kintra, Minas Gerais is kent for its heritage o airchitectur an colonial art in historical ceeties such as Ouro Preto, Diamantina, Tiradentes an Mariana. In the sooth, the tourist points are the hydro mineral spas, such as Caxambu, São Lourenço, São Thomé das Letras, Monte Verde an the naitional pairks o Caparaó an Canastra. The landscape o the State is marked bi muntains, valleys, an lairge auries o fertile lands. In the Serra do Cipó, Sete Lagoas, Cordisburgo an Lagoa Santa, the caves an waterfaws are the attractions. Some o Brazil's maist famous caverns are locatit there.
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[edit] Etymology
There are twa interpretations for the oreegin o the name Minas Gerais. It comes frae "Minas dos Matos Gerais", the umwhile name o the colonial province, which means "Mines o the General Woods". So a first an mair common unnerstaundin affirms that the name simply means "General Mines", wi the wird Gerais servin as an adjective tae the mines, which wur thairsels spread in several spots aroond a lairger region. Anither explanation is that this ignores the twa lairge geographical spaces which conformed the state in its history: the region o the mines (Minas), an the region o the Gerais ("Matos Gerais" or "Campos Gerais", which means something close tae "General Fields"). These corresponded tae the auries o Sertão which wur farther an hard tae access (wi an economy based on fermin an agricultur) frae the minin spots (whose economic space wis urban frae its oreegin). The confusion comes frae the fact that the term "Gerais" is taken as an adjective tae "Minas" in the first version, although accordin tae this point o view it refers tae the region cried Gerais (as a noun). A further complication is that this is no a well defined aurie on the map o the state, but rather a designation tae these pairts ootside the minin spots, mair relatit tae the geography o Sertão, an mair isolatit frae the state's nucleus.
[edit] Location
Minas Gerais is in the wast o the sootheastren subdiveesion o Brasil, which an aa contains the states o São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro an Espírito Santo. It borders on Bahia an Goiás (north), Mato Grosso do Sul (far wast), the states o São Paulo an Rio de Janeiro (sooth) an the state o Espírito Santo (east). It also shares a short bundary wi the Brazilian Federal Destrict. Minas Gerais is situatit atween 14°13'58" an 22°54'00" S latitude an atween 39°51'32" an 51°02'35" W langitude.
[edit] Ceeties
- Main airticle: Leet o municipalities in Minas Gerais
In spite o no being the lairgest state o Brazil, Minas Gerais haes the lairgest number o ceeties. O the mair than 5,500 municipalities in the kintra, Minas haes 853 o them, a fact explained bi the number o inhabitants an bi the vast territory (lariger than Metropolitan Fraunce). The maist notable ceeties are: the caipital Belo Horizonte, Contagem, Betim, Juiz de Fora, Muriae, Montes Claros, Uberlândia, Governador Valadares, Ipatinga, Poços de Caldas, Sete Lagoas, Uberaba, Patos de Minas, Divinópolis, Cataguases an Ouro Preto.
[edit] Freemit airtins
