Serra Negra is a name that refers to two distinct geographic entities in Brazil: a municipality in the state of São Paulo, and a small mountain range on the border of the states of Sergipe and Bahia.
Municipality of Serra Negra (São Paulo)
Serra Negra is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, belonging to the meso-region of Campinas. As of 2020, its population was 29,452 inhabitants, with a total area of 203.5 km². The name means "black mountain range" in Portuguese. It is located at an elevation of 925 m in the Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range.
History
Serra Negra was founded on September 23, 1828, though the region had been inhabited for at least a century prior as a passageway between São Paulo and Minas Gerais. It was elevated to city status on April 21, 1885. In the late 19th century, the region received a large influx of European immigrants, mostly Italians, who came to work on coffee farms. Mineral water sources were discovered by Luiz Rielli in 1928, and the city became a sought-after spa town, known as the "City of Health."
Geography and Climate
The municipality is located at coordinates 22°36′43″S 46°42′03″W, at an altitude of 927 meters. It has a mild climate and is a busy tourism spot, similar to its neighboring cities of Lindóia and Águas de Lindóia. The municipality is one of 11 in São Paulo state designated as "hydromineral spas" (estâncias hidrominerais), a status that guarantees additional state funding for regional tourism promotion.
Economy
The main economic activity is tourism, supported by an extensive hotel network, followed by agriculture and mineral water extraction. Serra Negra is one of Brazil's largest producers of bottled mineral water, with eleven companies operating in the sector. The municipality is part of the "Circuito das Águas Paulista" (Paulista Water Circuit), whose member municipalities together produce 55% of all mineral water consumed in Brazil. Agriculture focuses primarily on coffee cultivation.
Notable Historical Figure
In 1962, Nazi war criminal and physician Josef Mengele purchased a coffee and cattle farm in Serra Negra with two associates, owning a half interest in the property.
Serra Negra Mountain Range (Sergipe/Bahia)
Serra Negra is also the name of a small mountain range located on the border of the Brazilian states of Sergipe and Bahia. Its highest elevation is 742 m. The nearest town is Pedro Alexandre. The range was designated a priority area for conservation and sustainable use when the Caatinga Ecological Corridor was created in 2006.
