Alexânia

Alexânia
Municipality

Location in Goiás state
Alexânia

Location in Brazil

Coordinates: 16°04′43″S 48°30′03″W / 16.07861°S 48.50083°W / -16.07861; -48.50083Coordinates: 16°04′43″S 48°30′03″W / 16.07861°S 48.50083°W / -16.07861; -48.50083
Country  Brazil
Region Central-West Region
State Goiás
Microregion Entorno do Distrito Federal
Area
 • Total 847.891 km2 (327.373 sq mi)
Elevation 1,057 m (3,468 ft)
Population (2007)
 • Total 20,033
 • Density 24/km2 (61/sq mi)
Time zone BRT/BRST (UTC-3/-2)
Postal code 72820-000
Website www.alexania.go.gov.br

Alexânia is a town and municipality in central Goiás state, Brazil. Alexânia is known for its alleged extraterrestrial sightings in the late sixties and early seventies. The Areias River passes through the municipality.

Location

It is located on the main Brasília–Goiânia highway, GO-060, which has been recently widened to four lanes. The distance to Brasília is 130 km and 118 km to Goiânia. It is part of the Entorno do Distrito Federal statistical micro-region. Municipal boundaries are with:

Districts, Villages, and Hamlets

Economy

The city relies on agriculture and livestock raising, with ranches producing both meat and dairy cattle. There is a substantial poultry industry with 755,000 birds counted in 2006. There is also an intense commercial activity because of the highway traffic. Alexânia is also an important cluster of ‘Cachaça de alambique’ (artisanal sugar cane rum). The major ones are: Cambeba, Cachaça do Ministro, Cana Brava, Cachaça do Piloto. There were two bank branches in 2007.

The municipality still has a relatively unspoilt nature with some forest growth along the rivers. In recent years several rural hotels (‘hotéis-fazendas’) have opened up near the town offering what is known as eco-tourism to the urban inhabitants of Brasília. This activity supports more than 200 families.

Recently a beer brewery was established in the municipality providing needed jobs and giving the region the possibility of finally developing and benefiting from a higher standard of living. In the Seplan list of municipal development, which ranked 58 municipalities in the state based on dynamism, economic wealth, quality of life and other factors, Alexânia went from 51st place in 2003 to 18th place in 2004. Motor vehicles

Agricultural data 2006

Main crops in hectares

Health and education

History

The establishment of Alexânia is connected to the construction of Brasília and the Federal District. In 1957 Alex Abdallah, the owner of the land, created the first lots on the edge of Highway 101, between Anápolis and the new capital. These lots were distributed to the population without cost. From the beginning the settlement was officially called Alexânia, honoring its founder.

At first Alexânia was only a "povoado" belonging to the municipality of Corumbá de Goiás. In 1959 it became part of a new municipality called Olhos d'Água, which had been created in 1956. In 1961 the growth of the new settlement caused the municipal seat to be moved to Alexânia, with the name remaining Olhos d'Água. In 1963 Olhos d'Água was renamed Alexânia.

Extraterrestrial contacts

Alexânia's main claim to fame is that there was supposedly an important UFO sighting nearby. According to witnesses, including a general in the Brazilian army, Moacir Uchoa, who had been professor of Mechanical engineering at the Brazilian military academy and went on to found a private university in Brasília called CEUB, investigators maintained contact with the extraterrestrial beings for ten months during 1969. General Uchoa died on March 5, 1996, six weeks before his ninetieth birthday.

See also

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ "IDH GO", Geo Econ, BR: Frigoletto.

    External links

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.