MONTES CLAROS

city, northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil, near the Rio Verde Grande in the Serra do Espinhao, at 2,093 ft (638 m) above sea level. It was made a seat of a municipality in 1831 and attained city rank in 1857. Livestock raising is the area's principal source of income, supplemented by the cultivation of cassava, corn (maize), feijo (beans), cotton, sugarcane, and other crops. The city, a trade and manufacturing centre, has a furniture and a textile factory. A teachers' university was founded there in 1962. The city is accessible by railway and highway from Belo Horizonte, the state capital, 219 mi (352 km) south. Montes Claros has a commercial airport. Pop. (1980 prelim.) 151,881.