Poços de Caldas

History

Poços was founded in 1872. The region had been inhabited by the Cataguases Indians, who were expelled from their lands by the Bandeiras Unidas Paulistas during their quest for gold. The place was first called Freguesia de Nossa Senhora da Saúde das Águas de Caldas ("Parish of Our Lady of Health of Caldas Waters"). In 1874 it became a district, then, in 1875, it was elevated to the category of city. It became famous after the discovery of the hot springs, and many important people began to visit the spa in search of cures provided by the water. The name comes from Caldas da Rainha, a spa town in central Portugal.

Geography

It lies on the boundary of the state of São Paulo at 1186 meters elevation and is the main socio-economic nucleus of its region, having an area of 547 km2 (85 km2 urban and 459 km2 rural) in the municipality. The physical area is made up for the most part of a high plateau formed by mountains, fields and valleys with an area of approximately 750 km2. The average elevation is 1200 m (3937 ft), with Cristo Redentor, the highest point, at 1686 m (5531 ft). The topography is highly suggestive of a volcanic crater and, given that the region's rocks are indeed igneous and there are hot springs, this gave rise to a common misconception that Poços de Caldas would be located inside the crater of a large extinct volcano. In reality, Poços de Caldas is inside a caldera that was formed by the collapse of a central portion of terrain amid elevated areas, and while the latter have volcanic origin, the process that formed the supposed "crater" had nothing to do with volcanic activity. Poços de Caldas occupies a highly strategic geographical location, due to its proximity to São Paulo (243 km), Belo Horizonte (460 km) and Rio de Janeiro (470 km), whose connections are made with good highways, and due to its integration into the routes of the hydro-mineral spas of Serra Negra, Águas de Lindóia, Socorro, Monte Alegre do Sul, Águas da Prata, Caldas (Pocinhos do Rio Verde), Cambuquira, Lambari, Caxambu and São Lourenço. Poços de Caldas is also close to the most developed regions of the interior of the state of São Paulo, such as Ribeirão Preto (240 km), Campinas (160 km) and São José dos Campos (315 km). The climate is characterized by dry winters and mild summers. The winter is from April to September and has an…

Most-observed species

• White-browed Warbler

  Myiothlypis leucoblephara (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  385
• Rufous-collared Sparrow

  Zonotrichia capensis (P.L.S.Müller, 1776) · Aves
  371
• Golden-crowned Warbler

  Basileuterus culicivorus (Deppe, 1830) · Aves
  331
• Green-winged Saltator

  Saltator similis d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837 · Aves
  280
• Rufous-bellied Thrush

  Turdus rufiventris Vieillot, 1818 · Aves
  269
• Picazuro Pigeon

  Patagioenas picazuro (Temminck, 1813) · Aves
  249
• Sayaca Tanager

  Thraupis sayaca (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  246
• Swallow-tailed Manakin

  Chiroxiphia caudata (Shaw, 1793) · Aves
  242