Araguapaz


Araguapaz is a municipality in northwestern Goiás state, Brazil. The population is 7,818 in a total area of 2,194 km2. It is a major producer of cattle.

Location and Municipal Boundaries

Araguapaz is located 268 kilometers northwest of the state capital, Goiânia, in the Rio Vermelho Microregion. Connections with Goiânia are made by highways GO-070 / Goianira / Itaberaí / Goiás / GO-164 / Faina. Highway GO-530 continues northwest for 53 kilometers to Aruanã on the Araguaia River.
Municipal boundaries:
It is in the mini-basin of the Rio do Peixe, a tributary of the Araguaia River. Another important river in the region is the Tesouras.

Demographic and Political Data

The economy is practically dependent on the raising of cattle, especially fattening for the urban market. More than ninety percent of the landowners are from large urban areas like Goiânia and São Paulo. There were 164,640 cows in 2006, of which 7,100 were milk cows.
The main agricultural products were bananas, coconut, hearts of palm, pineapple, rice, manioc, corn, and soybeans.
Until the 1960s the region was uninhabited. In 1961 Dolzane de Paulo Bastos, from Orizona, Goiás, entered the area with his companions and settled along the banks of the Córrego Cambuí, in a region called Cavalo Queimado. Dolzane and his group offered lots to anyone willing to build a house, and soon other pioneers arrived. By 1962 there were 11 huts made of palm fronds and a dirt road—really a cow path—to the capital Goiás, 120 kilometers away. By 1963 the settlement was raised to a district with the name Cavalo Queimado. Later the name was changed to São Joaquim do Araguaia, and later to Araguapaz, due to its proximity to the Rio Araguaia and the Córrego Isabel Paes. In 1970 the town began to grow with the construction of a road linking Goiás and São Miguel do Araguaia. This road was known as the Estrada dos Bois. Later a road was opened from Araguapaz to Aruanã, opening up possibilities of tourism. In 1982 Araguapaz was elevated to a municipality.