Guarda-Mor


Guarda-Mor is a municipality in the north of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Its population in 2007 was 6,577 inhabitants in a total area of 2,066 km². It is a large producer of cattle and grains, especially soybeans.
Guarda-Mor belongs to the Paracatu statistical microregion. The elevation of the municipal seat is 616 meters. It became a municipality in 1962. This municipality is located to the southwest of Paracatu on paved MG-188. The distance is 70 km. The distance to the capital, Belo Horizonte is 551 km.
The climate is humid sub-tropical. The average annual temperature is 22.6 C; the average annual maximum is 29.1 C; and the average annual minimum is 17,3 C. The average annual rainfall is 1438.7 mm, with rains falling between October and April. There are several rivers and streams: Rio Verde, Rio Claro, Rio Arrenegado, Rio Januário, Ribeirão Correio, Ribeirão Samambaia, Ribeirão São José, and Ribeirão Pilões.
Neighboring municipalities are: Paracatu, Cormomandel, Vazante, and Catalão in the state of Goiás.
The main economic activities are cattle raising and farming. The GDP was R$109,762,000. There was 01 banking agency in 2006. In the rural area there were 758 farms with around 2,900 people involved in the agricultural sector. There were 547 tractors, a ratio of one tractor for every 1.5 farms. The main crops were coffee, garlic, peas, beans, soybeans, and corn. In the health sector there were 4 health clinics and 01 hospital with 15 beds.
The score on the Municipal Human Development Index was 0.744. This ranked Guarda-Mor 335 out of 853 municipalities in the state, with Poços de Caldas in first place with 0.841 and Setubinha in last place with 0.568.