It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product GDP , and the fourth largest by area in the country. With an area of , square kilometres , sq mi βlarger than Metropolitan France βit is the fourth most extensive state in Brazil. The landscape of the state is marked by mountains, [6] valleys, and large areas of fertile lands. Some of Brazil's most famous caverns are located there. Two interpretations are given for the origin of the name Minas Gerais. So a first and more common understanding affirms that the name simply means "General Mines", with the word Gerais serving as an adjective to the mines, which were themselves spread in several spots around a larger region.
Another explanation is that this ignores the two large geographical spaces which conformed the state in its history: the region of the mines Minas , and the region of the Gerais "Matos Gerais" or "Campos Gerais", which means something close to "General Fields". The confusion comes from the fact that the term "Gerais" is taken as an adjective to "Minas" in the first version, although according to this point of view it refers to the region called Gerais as a noun.
It also shares a short boundary with the Distrito Federal northwest. It is larger in area than Metropolitan France or Spain. The state also holds many hydroelectric power plants, including Furnas. The state also has huge reserves of iron and sizeable reserves of gold and gemstones , including emerald , topaz and aquamarine mines. Emeralds found in this location are comparable to the best Colombia -origin emeralds, and are most often a bluish-green color.
Each region of the state has a distinct character, geographically and to a certain extent culturally. Serra da Mantiqueira. Serra da Canastra National Park. The discovery of the Maxakalisaurus topai Dinoprata fossils was a significant paleontological find. It was closely related to Saltasaurus , a sauropod considered unusual because it had evolved apparently defensive traits, including bony plates on its skin and vertical plates along its spine; such osteoderms have also been found for Maxakalisaurus.
The genus name is derived from the tribe of the Maxakali. The Maxakalisaurus fossils belonged to an animal about 13 meters It had a long neck and tail, ridged teeth unusual among sauropods and lived about 80 million years ago.
