Niquelândia

History

Niquelândia is one of the oldest towns in the state of Goiás. It was settled shortly after the arrival of the Portuguese bandeirantes, with the news of the discovery of gold. Niquelândia is one of the oldest municipalities in Goiás. The town was founded in 1735 as São José do Tocantins. In 1938, the German miner Freimund Brockes was panhandling in the region for gold and discovered the second largest nickel deposit in the world. This discovery attracted miners from all over Brazil and the little town grew rapidly. In 1943 the city changed its name to Niquelândia.

Geography

Niquelândia is 370 km from the state capital, Goiânia, and has an elevation of 650 meters above sea level. The average annual temperature is 32 °C, and the climate is tropical humid. The municipality is crossed by highways BR-414 and GO-080, GO-237 e GO-327, besides the various municipal roads that make up a total of 12,000 kilometers. Highway connections with Goiânia are made by GO-080 / Nerópolis / São Francisco de Goiás / BR-153 / Jaraguá / GO-080 / Goianésia / Barro Alto / GO-342 / BR-080 / BR-153 / Uruaçu / GO-237. Municipal boundaries are with Água Fria de Goiás, Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Barro Alto, Campinaçu, Colinas do Sul, Mimoso de Goiás, Santa Rita do Novo Destino, São João d'Aliança, Uruaçu and Vila Propício. The size of the municipal area compared to countries ranks it below Lebanon and above Cyprus.

Most-observed species

• Yellow-chevroned Parakeet

  Brotogeris chiriri (Vieillot, 1818) · Aves
  5
• Saffron Finch

  Sicalis flaveola (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5
• Picazuro Pigeon

  Patagioenas picazuro (Temminck, 1813) · Aves
  5
• white-eyed conure

  Aratinga leucophthalma (Statius Muller, 1776) · Aves
  4
• Swallow Tanager

  Tersina viridis (Illiger, 1811) · Aves
  4
• Toco Toucan

  Ramphastos toco P.L.S.Müller, 1776 · Aves
  3
• peach-fronted conure

  Aratinga aurea (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  3
• Masked Gnatcatcher

  Polioptila dumicola (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  3