Sete Lagoas (meaning 'Seven Lagoons' in Portuguese) is a city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The municipal area is 537;km² while the population was 241,835 in 2020. Location Sete Lagoas is situated about 70 kilometres from Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais. The BR 040 motorway connects Sete Lagoas with Belo Horizonte and the national capital Brasília. The altitude is 761 metres above sea level. It is surrounded by the following municipalities: Araçaí, Funilândia, Prudente de Morais, Capim Branco, Esmeraldas, Inhaúma, Paraopeba, and Caetanópolis. Climate According to data from the meteorological station of the municipality, the average temperature of the city between the years 1961 to 1990 was 20.9 °C. The coldest month (July) had an average of 17.5 °C while the hottest month (February) had an average of 23.0 °C. The four lowest temperature records at the Sete Lagoas meteorological station were as follows: 0.8 °C on July 18, 1926; 1.3 °C on October 31, 1942; 1.5 °C on June 26, 1937 and also on May 8, 1942. Distances to other cities in Minas Gerais Montes Claros: 355 km. Uberaba: 521 km. Uberlândia: 582 km. Três Marias: 202 km. Governador Valadares: 383 km. Juiz de Fora: 331 km. Funilândia: 28 km. Statistical Micro-region of Sete Lagoas Sete Lagoas is also a statistical micro-region with 20 municipalities: Araçaí, Baldim, Cachoeira da Prata, Caetanópolis, Capim Branco, Cordisburgo, Fortuna de Minas, Funilândia, Inhaúma, Jaboticatubas, Jequitibá, Maravilhas, Matozinhos, Papagaios, Paraopeba, Pequi, Prudente de Morais, Santana de Pirapama, Santana do Riacho, and Sete Lagoas. In 2000 the population of this area was 341,568 inhabitants in a total area of 8,560.40;km². Economic activities The economy is based on services, industry and some agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$2 billion 800 million, with 1 billion 120 million from services, 1 billion 250 thousand from industry, and 17 million from agriculture. There were 824 transformation industries in 2005 with 15,000 workers. Heavy industry was important with 23 factories producing mainly pig iron. There is an Iveco-Fiat plant, which opened in 2001, that produces trucks and vans. Health and education In 2005 there were 51 public and 53 private health clinics. There were 5 hospitals with 315 beds. Educational needs were met by 86 primary schools (29 private), 30 middle schools (9 private), and 56 pre-primary schools (36 private). In higher education there was the private Centro Universitario de Sete Lagoas, the private Faculdade