Cavalcante is a town located in the northern state of Goiás, Brazil. It used to be a big gold producer during the colonial times, but today Cavalcante is more known by its natural beauties, rivers and waterfalls. It is home to a large number of quilombolas, communities of descendants of African-Brazilians who managed to escape from slavery. Geography It is located just north of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park and is connected by tarmacked road with Teresina de Goiás. It is part of the Chapada dos Veadeiros micro-region. The distance to the state capital of Goiânia is 510 km and most residents have greater contact with Brasília than with the state capital. Highway connections from Goiânia are made by BR-153 / Anápolis / Alexânia / BR-060 / Planaltina / GO-430 / GO-118 / BR-010 / São João da Aliança / Alto Paraíso de Goiás / Teresina de Goiás / GO-241. Neighboring municipalities and states are: north: Tocantins south: Alto Paraíso de Goiás west: Colinas do Sul and Minaçu east: Teresina de Goiás History The first settlers arrived in the region in 1736 looking for gold. Soon gold was discovered near the stream called Lava Pés and the village began to grow taking the name of Cavalcante, after Julião Cavalcante its founder. By 1806 the gold had run out and the population declined accordingly. In 1831 the town was elevated to the status of "vila". In 1953 it became a municipality. In 1957 the district of Colinas do Sul broke off to form its own municipality. Likewise, in 1988 the district of Teresina de Goiás was dismembered. Economy The economy is based on cattle raising (60,777 head in 2006) and agriculture. The main crops cultivated are rice and corn, although in modest production. There was one bank—Banco do Brasil S.A. (Agosto/2007) Agricultural data 2006 Farms: 1,228 Total area: 331,175 ha. Area of permanent crops: 10,681 ha. Area of perennial crops: 32,505 ha. Area of natural pasture: 186,001 ha. Area of woodland and forests: 72,521 ha. Persons dependent on farming: 4,000 Number of tractors: 703 Cattle herd: 60,777 Main crop: corn with 1,500 ha Tourism Founded in 1740 with the discovery of gold, Cavalcante still has traces of the colonial architecture of the gold period. Located 330 km. from Brasília it has waterfalls, streams and trails. Crossing the low mountains one can reach the springs of hot mineral water that gave