Varginha

Varginha
Varginha
; Flag	; Seal
	City location in Minas Gerais
	Varginha City location in Minas Gerais
	Coordinates: 21°33′06″S 45°25′48″W / 21.55167°S 45.43°W
Country	Brazil
Region	Southeast
State	Minas Gerais
	Government
• Mayor	Eduardo "Corujinha" (PT)
	Area
• Total	395.647 km2 (152.760 sq mi)
Elevation	900 m (3,000 ft)
	Population (2006)
• Total	124,502
• Density	314.7/km2 (815/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (UTC-2)
Website	Varginha

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Coordinates: 21°33′S 45°26′W / 21.55°S 45.433°W / -21.55; -45.433

Varginha is a city and municipality in southwest Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The estimated population is approximately 123,000 inhabitants and the area of the municipality is 396.39 km². The elevation is 950 mts.

Known throughout Brazil for the supposed appearance of alien creatures in 1996, an episode known as the "ET Varginha."

Varginha stands out as one of the major centers of commerce and coffee production in Brazil and the world, producing excellent quality coffee (Gourmet Coffee), the city is a center for export of coffee draining most of the production of the South mines, making the grain trade with several countries.

The city has a strategic location and, with the shores of Lake Furnas, while equidistant from the three main capitals of Brazil, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, was considered by Veja magazine in 2011 as one of the best medium-sized cities in Brazil to live and invest.

The city has an excellent and is nearby one of the country's most important and busiest highways, the BR-381, or Rodovia Fernão Dias, which has recently been widened to four lanes. The city is served by Maj. Brig. Trompowsky Airport.

Ranked among the top cities in the country in standard of living (life expectancy: 73.6; average years of study: 6.15) the city has fifteen health centers in the neighborhoods, three hospitals—one specializing in heart surgery—and two emergency units to attend the population. There is also a regional center for treatment of cancer, which serves a population of three million people in the south of Minas Gerais.

Varginha achieved a certain fame in UFO circles due to the so-called Varginha UFO incident in 1996 [1], in which two extraterrestrial beings were allegedly spotted by locals and later captured by Brazilian Army, along with the local police and fire department. Three girls who saw one of the creatures became quite famous all over Brazil. One of them later converted to an evangelical church. Brazilian UFO researchers fear she can deny having seen the creature because of her new faith.

After this episode known as the "visit from the ET", the city began to invest in "UFO tourism". Today there are bus stops with the shape of spaceships, a huge water tower downtown also in the shape of a spaceship; all with lights and considered quite attractive.^{[citation needed]} In August 2004, UFO researchers from all over Brazil came together at the I UFO Congress of Varginha, organized with the support of the City Hall.

Varginha is located by the Furnas lake where people can practice Aquatic sports, fishing and relaxing.