For other uses see Caçador (disambiguation).
| Official Name: | Caçador |
| Other Name: | Municipality of Caçador Município de Caçador |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Pushpin Map: | Brazil |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Brazil |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | South |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Santa Catarina |
| Subdivision Type3: | Mesoregion |
| Subdivision Name3: | Oeste Catarinense[1] |
| Subdivision Type4: | Microregion |
| Subdivision Name4: | Joaçaba |
| Subdivision Type5: | Metropolitan area |
| Subdivision Name5: | Contestado Metropolitan Area |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Saulo Sperotto (PSDB) |
| Established Date: | March 25, 1934 |
| Area Total Km2: | 984.285 |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Note: | IBGE/2017 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 [3] |
| Population Note: | IBGE |
| Population Total: | 79,313 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Utc Offset: | −3 |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -2 |
| Coordinates: | -26.775°N -51.015°W |
| Elevation M: | 920 |
| Elevation Max M: | 1390 |
| Elevation Min M: | 780 |
| Blank Name: | Demonym |
| Blank Info: | caçadorense |
Caçador (pronounced as /pt/) is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina in the South region of Brazil.[1] [2] [4] [5] [6] [7]
The banks of the Rio do Peixe (Fish River) were inhabited by ethnic native groups of Kaingangs and Xoklengs until 1881, when families of European origin settled here and, because of the abundance of hunting, dubbed the place "Rio do Caçador" (Hunter River).
Francisco Correa de Mello, who came from Campos Novos and settled on the banks of Rio do Peixe, in 1881, is considered the first resident of Portuguese origin; he was followed in 1887 by Pedro Ribeiro, and in 1891, Tomaz Gonçalves Padilha, who settled on November 15.
With the construction of the railroad from São Paulo to Rio Grande do Sul from 1908 to 1910, the colonization intensified with an influx of Italian, German, Polish and Syrian-Lebanese immigrants . In 1910 the tracks reached Rio Caçador and attracted large numbers of immigrants of Italian origin, mainly from Rio Grande do Sul. With the settlement of the core of Rio das Antas, many Teutonic-Brazilian settlers from the coast of Santa Catarina were established in the municipality by the Brazilian Railway Company.
The town of Caçador is in the heart of the region where, from 1912 to 1916, there was the so-called Contestado War.
In 1918, the first post office was built, and there was already a state revenues post. The construction of the Road from Caçador to Curitibanos in 1933 spurred the development of the region. Rio Caçador, which was founded in 1923, came under the auspices of the municipal district of Campos Novos. In the administrative division report for the year 1933, Rio Caçador district was included in the municipality of Curitibanos.
Population growth and the lumber industry led to the creation of the municipality, established on March 25, 1934 and dis-enchartered the cities of Curitibanos, Campos Novos, Cruzeiro and Porto União.
Caçador's economy has been developed through the harvesting and processing of timber and reforestation. Agriculture emerged as a new option for generating foreign exchange, especially for fresh produce where Caçador is considered the largest producer of tomatoes in southern Brazil.
The name "Caçador" is derived from "Caçadores", a variety of Portuguese infantry created during the 17th century. "Caçadores" means "hunters" in Portuguese.
The city has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), with an average annual temperature of 16.0 °C (60.8 degree Fahrenheit), it has hot and humid summers with cold and dry winters. It is known for its below freezing temperatures during winter.
Caçador holds the record minimum temperature in Brazil; -14.0 °C (6.8 degree Fahrenheit) on June 11, 1952.[8] Another record, which is unofficial, of -17.8 °C (-0.04 degree Fahrenheit) in 1996 in Morro da Igreja, Urubici, also in Santa Catarina, would be the record minimum for Brazil.[9]
During the months of May to September, frosts and occasional snowfalls may occur.