Patrocínio is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population is 91,449 (2020 est.) in an area of 2874 km<sup>2</sup>. The elevation is 965 m.
Geography
It is located in the north-center of the state near the rich industrial and agricultural region of the Triângulo Mineiro, on BR 365 between Patos de Minas and Uberlândia. It is home to the Edward Lane Bible Institute.
Patrocínio is surrounded by the following municipalities:
Coromandel to the north,
Guimarânia, Cruzeiro da Fortaleza and Serra do Salitre to the east,
Perdizes to the south and
Iraí de Minas and Monte Carmelo to the west.
Highway connections
Patrocínio is connected with Uberlândia by BR-365 (154 km) and with Patos de Minas, 72 kilometers to its northeast. Other distances are:
- Belo Horizonte: 405 km
- Araguari: 160 km
- Perdizes: 62 km
- Uberaba: 191 km
BR-365, a federal road, crosses through Patrocínio. It has an extension of 866 km. linking Montes Claros, a northern city in the state of Minas Gerais to the state of Goiás, passing through the city of Uberlândia, the largest and most important city in the western part of the state. Another important highway is BR-462, which connects Perdizes with Patrocínio and has a length of 76 km.
Statistical micro-region
Patrocínio is also a statistical micro-region with six municipalities: Abadia dos Dourados, Coromandel, Cruzeiro da Fortaleza, Douradoquara, Estrela do Sul, Grupiara, Iraí de Minas, Monte Carmelo, Patrocínio, Romaria, and Serra do Salitre.
In the year 2000, its population was 182,850 inhabitants in a total area of 12,017.00 km<sup>2</sup>. The population density (year 2000) was 5.22 inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>.
Hydrography
The river network of the municipality is extensive and belongs to the basin of the Paranaíba River. The main watercourses are the rivers: Quebranzol and Santo Antonio (tributaries of the Rio Araguari); Dourados and Perdizes and Rio Espírito Santo as well as the streams (ribeirões) Salitre, Pavões, Macaúbas and Córrego do Ouro. There are also waterfalls that are little known by tourists. One example is “Cachoeiras do Lemos”, on the Ribeirão de Rita Matos, which flows into the Rio Salitre and "Cachoeira dos Borges". Patrocínio has many small streams that allow for irrigation of the fields and for the raising of fish. The municipality has the greatest area of the region inundated by the Hydroelectric Reservoir of Nova Ponte, a total of 135.44 square kilometers. In 2006 the reservoir reached its maximum level, 815 meters above sea level.
The vegetation is cerrado, a landscape characterized by extensive savanna formations crossed by gallery forests and stream valleys. Traditionally this region was used for cattle raising, but in recent years the growing of soybeans has made encroachments causing the loss of most of the trees. Rainfall is abundant, between 1,100 and 1,600 millimeters per year, although this rainfall is concentrated in a six- to seven-month period between October and April.
Climate
The climate can be classified as Tropical of altitude, with yearly average temperature between 9 °C (48.2 °F) and 35 °C (95 °F). The Köppen climate classification of the region is Cwa (Tropical on high altitudes, humid/warm summer and a dry/cool winter). As a city located in the Southern Hemisphere, the spring starts in September, summer in December, autumn in March, and winter in June. There are just two seasons (a hot and humid one from October to March, and a colder and drier one from April to September). The coldest month is generally July and the hottest month is January. The climate is mild throughout the year with the high altitude reducing the heat and humidity so common at lower elevations.
Districts and villages
Patrocínio has four districts: Salitre de Minas, São João da Serra Negra, Silvano e Santa Luzia dos Barros. The main villages are São Benedito, Tejuco, Chapadão de Ferro, Dourados, Boa Vista, Santo Antônio do Quebra Anzol, Pedros and Macaúbas.
Economy
The region has an economy based on cattle raising and agriculture, with dairy cattle being the most important activity. It is also the third largest producer of hogs in the country. There are also many small industries and the commercial sector is very strong.
Patrocínio has a bovine herd raised mainly for milk. According to the IBGE, there are approximately 132,000 head, distributed among 2,166 producers, responsible for the production of approximately 130,000 liters a day, which is mainly sent to the Belo Horizonte market. Part of the milk is transformed into traditional cheese and candies.
In hog production there are 14 large producers, with thousands of sows. These large ranches, together with dozens of small producers, raise approximately 5,399 sows, with an average production of 22 piglets a year, with a total of more than 125,000 head. The production is commercialized in Uberlândia and Belo Horizonte.
One of the strongest economic sectors is its industry. There are industries of ceramics, cold meats, animal feed, textiles – Minas Silk, and various warehouses to process coffee.
Area of perennial crops
- Corn: 13,000 ha
- Soybeans: 10,000 ha
- Beans: 1,550 ha
- Sorghum: 760 ha
- Potatoes: 350 ha
- Tomatoes: 276 ha
- Manioc: 150 ha
- Rice: 100 ha
- Sugarcane: 100 ha
Tourism
Chapadão lake can be reached by BR-365 or by the Patrocínio/Cruzeiro da Fortaleza road. It is believed that Chapadão is the impact crater, which is clearly seen through Google Earth to the right of the city, being a small part of it a lake, and the large remainder farm land.