Grão Mogol

History

The settlement of Serra de Santo Antônio do Itacambiraçu, present-day Grão Mogol, had it origins in the discovery of diamonds at the end of the eighteenth century. In 1839 the place was called Arraial da Serra de Grão Mogol and soon began to attract people from all over the country including foreigners to search for diamonds. The site began to be noticed by the Portuguese crown for its commerce of diamonds and soon the government took over the mining and the commercialization. In 1840 what was only a "arraial" was made a "Vila Provincial" and in the same year it became a district. In 1858, Grão Mogol received the category of city. For decades, it was considered the most important city in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. When the diamonds ran out the city began to lose population, especially after 1960, coinciding with the loss of territory to form the municipalities of Itacambira, Cristália and Botumirim. Today the colonial buildings and the popular traditions make Grão Mogol an important touristic attraction.

Geography

Grão Mogol is located in an isolated area between Montes Claros and the Jequitinhonha River. The distance to the state capital, Belo Horizonte, is 551 km. Other distances are: Brasília, 930; Montes Claros, 157; Rio de Janeiro, 1,080; Salvador, 894; and São Paulo, 1,215. Grão Mogol is also an IBGE statistical microregion including the following municipalities: Botumirim, Cristália, Grão Mogol, Itacambira, Josenópolis, and Padre Carvalho. The population of this region was 39,406 in 2000 and the area was 9,108.00 km2.

Most-observed species

• Bananaquit

  Coereba flaveola (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27
• Pale-breasted Thrush

  Turdus leucomelas Vieillot, 1818 · Aves
  26
• Silvery-cheeked Antshrike

  Sakesphorus cristatus (Wied-Neuwied, 1831) · Aves
  25
• Pearly-vented Tody-Tyrant

  Hemitriccus margaritaceiventer (Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837) · Aves
  23
• cactus conure

  Aratinga cactorum (Kuhl, 1820) · Aves
  21
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21
• Plain-crested Elaenia

  Elaenia cristata Pelzeln, 1868 · Aves
  21
• Burnished-buff Tanager

  Stilpnia cayana (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  20