São Lourenço | |
Settlement Type: | Municipality |
Official Name: | Municipality of São Lourenço |
Motto: | Acqua Vitæ Ignis Fidei |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Type1: | Region |
Subdivision Type2: | State |
Subdivision Name: | Brazil |
Subdivision Name1: | Southeast |
Subdivision Type3: | Mesoregion |
Subdivision Name3: | South and Southwest of Minas Gerais |
Subdivision Type4: | Microregion |
Subdivision Name4: | São Lourenço |
Leader Title: | Mayor |
Leader Name: | Walter José Lessa (PTB) |
Established Title: | Incorporated |
Established Date: | April 1, 1927 |
Area Total Km2: | 57.2 |
Population As Of: | 2020 |
Population Footnotes: | [1] |
Population Total: | 46,202 |
Population Density Km2: | 583.3 |
Timezone: | BRT |
Utc Offset: | -3 |
Coordinates: | -22.1158°N -45.0539°W |
Elevation M: | 875 |
Postal Code Type: | Postal Code |
Postal Code: | 37470-000 |
Blank Name: | HDI (2010) |
Blank Info: | 0.759 – high[2] |
São Lourenço (Saint Lawrence) is a Brazilian municipality and spa town in the southern part of the state of Minas Gerais, in the Southeast of the country. It is one of the smallest Brazilian municipalities, with only 57.2 km2 (22.1 sq. mi), and is located at an equal distance - approximately 3.5h - from two major cities, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
São Lourenço has a yearly mean temperature of 18 °C. In the winter the lows can reach 0 °C, sometimes with heavy frost.
The region has occasionally been affected by flooding; the most severe occurred in 1940, 1986, 1990 and 2000. In January 2000, heavy storms caused the waters of Rio Verde to rise more than 4.5m, leaving parts of the city underwater, including the city centre and the municipal park where the mineral water fountains are located.
Tourism is the main economic activity of the city although it has also become the regional hub for shopping, medical care, and banking. The city is served by Comte. Luiz Carlos de Oliveira Airport.
Throughout the year, several events take place in Sao Lourenço. They include the International Choir Festival, Cachaça Festival - cachaça is a hard liquor distilled from sugar cane juice, Winter Festival, Street Carnaval, Orchid Exhibits, Megacycle (a motorcyclists gathering), Vintage/Classic Cars Expo, a Hot Air Balloonists gathering, as well as several conferences of large Brazilian organizations.
In the beginning of August, the city celebrates its patron saint, Saint Lawrence, with a ten-day festival that includes live music, traditional food, and fireworks.
São Lourenço has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa) with rainy summers and warm, dry winters.