Araçuaí River

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Araçuaí River
Location
CountryBrazil
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationMinas Gerais state
Length319 kilometres (198 mi)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • left
Preto
 • rightGravatá, Setúbal, Itacarambi

The Araçuaí River (Portuguese: Rio Araçuaí) is a river of

Capivara River, Fanado River and the Itamarandiba River
.

River valley

According to the Fundação João Pinheiro (FJP) (João Pinheiro Foundation), an agency of the government of the state of Minas Gerais, which has the responsibility to provide technical support services to the State Secretariat for Planning and Management and other state operational systems, the Araçuaí River raises in the Senador Modestino Gonçalves district and joins the Jequitinhonha River in the Araçuai district near the Araçuai town, after traversing a distance of 319.2 kilometres (198.3 mi) from its source.[3] The river basin includes the 498 hectares (1,230 acres) Mata dos Ausentes Ecological Station, a fully protected conservation unit.[4]

The Araçuaí River valley is famous for the settlements that got established during the gold rush period in the early 18th century, in the region of Minas Novas when Sebastião Leme do Prado located gold veins.[5][6] The Berilo town, known then as Água Suja, got established at the confluence of the Araçuaí River and the Água Suja stream. As gold mines were fully exploited and exhausted in the valleys' by the 1730s, agricultural produce got a boost with cultivation of corn and cotton. Cattle breeding in ranches also evolved as a basic sustenance need of the people.[5][6] However, in the 19th century Araçuaí became one of the important cotton producing regions in northern region of Minas and was one of major supply bases for a number of cotton mills that got established by 1868 with the initiative of the Mascernhas brothers, not only in the Municipal district of Sete Lagoas but also in several other municipal districts close to the cotton producing regions.[7]

The Araçuaí River valley is part of one of the four districts in the northeast of Minas Gerais (considered as cradle of mineral resources, as it has the largest

aquamarine, one of the precious gemstone repository in Brazil, has been found. The area has been identified along the Araçuaí River course on the north and its southern tributaries on the south. Consequently, in the southern part of the river valley, the cities of Minas Novas, Turmalina, Capelinha, Malacacheta, Novo Cruzeiro and Lufa have been established. The primary and secondary deposits have been fully exploited in some of the well known mines that surround the small town of Araçuaí (in the middle of Minas Gerais province), such as the Coronel Murta (for aquamarine), the Rubelita (for tourmaline), Itinga and Taquaral. However, in spite of so many rich mines, the rural town of Araçuaí, in the upper Jequitinhonha Valley, has not developed and is considered the poorest part with "its social and economic similarities to the semi-arid northeast of Brazil".[8][9]

The Araçuaí River caused severe floods in 1928, which resulted in damages to most buildings and mansions along its river bank. However, the monuments that have survived the flood devastation are the Nossa Senhora do Rosário Church and the old mansions of Domingos de Abreu Vieira in Araçuaí town.[5]

Geology

The geological formation of the Araçuaí River valley has been categorized as the Araçuaí Belt or the Araçuaí

West Congo Belt, with the southern limit extending to the São Francisco Craton. Its formation is attributed to the Mesozoic age, as an Araçuaí-West Congo Orogen, a single belt of the Araçuaí-West Congo Orogen, also known as the Brasiliano-Pan-African orogen.[10] The world's largest pegmatite deposits, with gemstones such as emeralds, topaz, aquamarine and tourmaline are found in these geological formations.[9] The Pegmaties also have lithium-bearing strata in the Aricuai-Itinga region of the Jequithinhona valley in the province; 2500 tonnes of petalite was exported in the past, in addition to domestic consumption of 1600 tonnes. Other by-products produced included lepidolite, amblygonite (used for conversion to lithium chemicals) and spodumene.[11]

Water resources

A water management system is under implementation, which envisages to provide water supply and sanitation services to the Araçuaí and Carbonita cities. Under this plan, funded by the World Bank, with a loan of US$198 million with 20% matching funds shared by the concerned two city municipalities, reservoirs and distribution network have been proposed to benefit a population of 47,000 in the two cities with sanitation facilities. IGAM, the Minas Gerais state water management body facilitated this project on the river, from November 2002.[12]

Power development

In 1990, $50 million was reported to have been spent on two sets of generators for the Santa Rita Dam on the Araçuaí River, with the purpose of generating 75 megawatts.[13]

Aqua fauna

One of the rear fish species found in 1874 in the Araçuaí River is the

Oreochromis niloticus; and Synbranchus marmoratus.[15]

References

  1. ^ "ABOUT ARAÇUAI CITY". AGRL. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
  2. ISBN 978-1-4419-0292-4
    .
  3. ^ "Water Resources". Government of Brazil. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  4. ^ Estação Ecológica Mata dos Ausentes (in Portuguese), IEF Minas Gerais, archived from the original on 2019-01-01, retrieved 2016-04-27
  5. ^ a b c "Berilo". CEIG. Retrieved 2010-10-17.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-521-65266-9
    .
  7. ^ Bergad, p.76
  8. ^ K.Proctor. "Gem Pegmatities of Minas Gerais, Brazil: Exploration, occurrence and Aquamarine Deposits" (PDF). Gems and Gemology. p. 97. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  9. ^ a b "Mineral Tour 2009". Ourpreto Touristmo. Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  10. ^ "Northern segment: The Araçuaí Orogen". Virtual Explorer. Archived from the original on 2011-02-27. Retrieved 2010-10-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ISBN 0-12-276152-9
    . Retrieved 2010-10-19.
  12. ^ "IGAM prepares tenders for Aracuai river system upgrade – Brazil". Water and Waste. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
  13. ^ Gazeta mercantil, Issues 352-404, Gazeta Mercantil S.A. Editora Jornalistica (1990)
  14. ISBN 85-7430-361-5
    . Retrieved 2010-10-19.
  15. ^ "Evaluation Of Fish Fauna in Less Explored Aquatic Systems of Southern Bahia- Biobahia Project – Part II" (PDF). Southern Bahia- Biobahia Project. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
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