Franca

History

The history of Franca begins with the bandeiras of Bartolomeu Bueno da Silva (The Anhanguera) in the 18th century. During the opening of the route known as "Caminho de Goiás" (route to Goiás), new settlements were established along the route to serve as resting / stopping points for the entourages travelling along the way from São Paulo to Goiás, in search of gold. The settlement where the city is now located was formerly known as Pouso dos Bagres (stop of the catfishes). In 1819, Franca was visited by French naturalist Auguste de Saint-Hilaire who dedicated the following message: "The village of Franca, where I landed, is pleasantly in the midst of vast pastures, in an uncovered region, sown by bushes and cut by deep valleys. This charming village occupies the center of a path of land, wide and rounded, on each side. bathed by a small stream. At the time of my voyage, there were only about fifty houses there, but the sites for the construction of a large number of them were already marked, and it was easy to see that Franca would not take long to acquire greatness. The parish of Franca was founded on December 03, 1805, being part of the territory of Vila de Mogi Mirim until 1824, when it was emancipated by João VI and named Vila Franca do Imperador in honor of the Emperor Pedro I of Brazil. It received the status of city on April 24, 1856. Around 1890, Franca was served by the Estrada de Ferro Mogiana, however, the railroad branch was deactivated after the construction of a new branch connecting Ribeirão Preto to Uberaba. Due to the expansion of coffee production between the XIX and XX centuries, many italian immigrants settled in Franca, and the first shoe factory emerged in the late 1920s. Franca took part in the Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932,…

Geography

Franca is located in the northeastern region of the state of São Paulo, standing as the fifth highest municipality in the state at an altitude of 1,040 m above the sea level. The territory of Franca is covered by sandy soils dominated by the sandstones of Bauru, and Botucatu. Vegetation is dominated by grasses, and the forests are restricted to mountainous slopes. The municipality shares borders with its neighbors Batatais, Cristais Paulista, Patrocínio Paulista, Ibiraci and Claraval. The basin of Rio Canoas provide water for the city and the surrounding area. The municipality is traversed by various waterways, including the Rio das Canoas, Rio Pouso Alegre, Rio São João, and Ribeirão Salgado. Franca has a tropical savanna climate (Aw), with milder temperatures due to its elevation. The city experiences dry winters, rainy summers, and moderate temperatures year-round. Prior to the current climate classification (1961-1990), it was classified as having a humid subtropical climate (Cwa). The lowest recorded temperature was 0 °C on July 5, 1953, and the highest temperature was 37.8 °C on October 15, 2014. Occurrence of rain is high and it is one of the rainiest cities in the State of São Paulo. The highest recorded rainfall reached 146 millimeters on March 28, 1931, and recently, 133.7 millimeters was recorded on November 21, 2018.

Most-observed species

• Picazuro Pigeon

  Patagioenas picazuro (Temminck, 1813) · Aves
  339
• Eared Dove

  Zenaida auriculata (Des Murs, 1847) · Aves
  289
• Great Kiskadee

  Pitangus sulphuratus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  274
• blue-and-white swallow

  Notiochelidon cyanoleuca (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  250
• Saffron Finch

  Sicalis flaveola (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  224
• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  184
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  170
• white-eyed conure

  Aratinga leucophthalma (Statius Muller, 1776) · Aves
  168