São Romão


São Romão is a Brazilian municipality located in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. In 2007 the population was 9,080 in a total area of 2,432 km². It became a municipality in 1943.

History

Guaiba, an extinct Jê language, was once spoken on Guaiba Island in the São Francisco River near the city of São Romão.

Location and distances

São Romão is located on the left bank of the São Francisco River at an elevation of 480 meters. It is north of the nearest population center, Pirapora. Montes Claros is to the southeast. Neighboring municipalities are: Riachinho, Santa Fé de Minas, Pintópolis, and Icaraí de Minas. São Romão is part of the statistical microregion of Pirapora. It is located 595 km from the capital of the state.

Economic activities

The most important economic activities are cattle raising and agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$ 34,260,000. The most important agricultural crops are bananas, oranges, mangoes, rice, sugarcane, beans and corn. There were 233 automobiles. In the rural area there were 576 producers. The total area of agricultural land was 129,000 hectares in 2006, of which 5,800 ha. were planted in crops. As of 2006 there were 86 tractors. In the urban area there was one banking agency in 2006.

Health and education

This municipality is isolated from major population centers and suffers from drought and poor soils.
The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha with 0.568. Nationally the highest was São Caetano do Sul in São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha.