Ipatinga

Ipatinga (postal code 35160-000) is a municipality located in eastern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The city was founded in April,29/1964 and covers a total area of 166.5 km². Its population is 240,338 (IBGE 2001). It is part of the Vale do Aço Metropolitan Area (population 430,700).

Ipatinga is located at the site where the Piracicaba River flows into the Doce River, 217 km. from the state capital of Belo Horizonte. It is served by highway and railroad connections (Minas-Vitória). There is also a medium-sized airport, Usiminas Airport in the area of the neighbor city Santana do Paraíso, that serves the Steel Valley and can receive small and medium-sized planes, including jets like the Boeing 737 and the Fokker 100.

Industry

It is the most important city of the Vale do Aço (Steel Valley) metropolitan area and it is the headquarters for one of the largest steel making complexes in Brazil, Usina Siderúrgica de Minas Gerais – Usiminas.

Environment

Despite the steel complex's presence, Ipatinga has 127 m² of green area per inhabitant, one of the highest averages in the country. Parque Ipanema, Ipatinga's main park, has about one million square meters of green space with 12 thousand trees planted, one of the largest in the country.