the 19th century, and with the creation of roads, Três Pontas reach the international market through Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo ports. Coffee has maintained the city economy ever since. Two persons deserve special mention in the city's history: the Barão da Boa Esperança, influential politician who contributed to the development of the municipality, and Padre Victor, pastor of the city. Três Pontas also had a rail spur, the Trespontana Railroad, which was inaugurated in 1895, whose terminal was where today is located the City Hall. The railway was closed in 1964 due to, among other reasons, the flooding of part of the line by Furnas Dam. Geography The municipality is limited to the north with Campos Gerais and Santana da Vargem, on south with the municipality of Varginha, Elói Mendes and Paraguaçu, on east with Nepomuceno e Carmo da Cachoeira and west with Campos Gerais. It's located at about 290 kilometers away from Belo Horizonte, the state's capital. According to the map of urban hierarchy produced by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, Três Pontas is classified as a B zone center, that means the city has a restricted influence, only over the smaller cities around it. The city is under influence of Varginha that, on the other hand, is under influence of Belo Horizonte. Relief, soils and rocks The municipality has a wavy relief, with altitudes between 800 and 900 meters above sea level, with the city located at about 905 meters. However about twenty percent of the municipality is in mountainous regions, in which the height exceeds one thousand meters above sea level. One of these areas is the Serra de Três Pontas (Three Tips Hill), located nineteen kilometers away from the city, where is located the highest point of the municipality, at 1 234 meters above sea level. The lowest point is located on the margins of the Furnas reservoir, at about 770 meters above the sea level. Soils Red/yellow oxisols. According with Brazilian Systems of Soils Classification all (or almost all) oxisols are acidic and nutrient-poor. However, when adjusted and fertilized these soils become highly productive. Rocks According to the Geologic Map of Minas Gerais, the soils in the south portion of the municipality have kianite granulite rocks. In the north, it has rocks of the ortogneissics complexes (ortogneisses granitics, granulite, migmatite and anphibolite) and in the region of Três Pontas Mountain the