Qualla: Planaltina, Goiás

Planaltina, Goiás: Introduction

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Túllio F, CC BY-SA 4.0. When Brasília was drawn on a map in 1955, it swallowed most of Planaltina whole. The old municipality was cut cleanly in two - the historic core went into the new Federal District, the remaining territory stayed in Goiás. But a municipality cannot function without a seat. So on a farm called Brasília, owned by a man named Joaquim Gonçalves - "Joaquim Mineiro" to his neighbors - the cerrado was cleared, wooden shacks were raised, and a new city was built from nothing to serve the truncated half that Goiás had kept. The result so resembled the federal capital rising alongside it that people just called it Brasilinha: Little Brasília.

Read more: Planaltina, Goiás on Qualla

Image: Túllio F | CC BY-SA 4.0

Planaltina, Goiás: The Estrada Real

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Texugo, CC BY-SA 3.0. Before any of this, there was a stopping point. Around 1758, a small settlement called Mestre D'Armas took shape along the Estrada Real - the royal road that linked the gold-mining regions of Goiás and Mato Grosso to the coastal ports where the precious metal shipped out to Portu...

Read more: Planaltina, Goiás on Qualla

Image: Texugo | CC BY-SA 3.0

Planaltina, Goiás: Planaltina, "Heart of the Plateau"

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Túllio F, CC BY-SA 4.0. The early 20th century brought name changes. In 1910 the town became Altamir - a name that never took. On 14 July 1917 it took a new name, Planaltina, which means something like "Heart of the Plateau" or "of the high plains." The geography justified it: central Brazil at over 1,0...

Read more: Planaltina, Goiás on Qualla

Image: Túllio F | CC BY-SA 4.0

Planaltina, Goiás: A City from Scratch

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Claudemir Brundani from Loanda-Pr, Brasil, CC BY-SA 2.0. In 1960 the Federal District became real. The municipality of Planaltina ceded most of its territory, including its historic seat, to the new capital. The portion that remained in Goiás was legally a municipality but physically a municipality without a town - it had farmland, str...

Read more: Planaltina, Goiás on Qualla

Image: Claudemir Brundani from Loanda-Pr, Brasil | CC BY-SA 2.0

Planaltina, Goiás: The Commuter Economy

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Gabriela Varela, CC BY-SA 4.0. The construction of Brasília brought waves of migrant workers, and when the federal government restricted squatting in the planned capital, many of those families were pushed into satellite towns. Planaltina - newly built, just across the state line - absorbed far more than the 2...

Read more: Planaltina, Goiás on Qualla

Image: Gabriela Varela | CC BY-SA 4.0

Planaltina, Goiás: Lagoa Formosa and the Maranhão

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit This is a work (CG or photograph) by Danilo Prudêncio Silva. My Flickr., CC BY-SA 3.0. Beyond the commuter corridor, Planaltina opens onto some of central Brazil's most spectacular protected land. It is the gateway to Chapada dos Veadeiros, one of the country's most beautiful national parks, a few hours north. Within its own territory lies Lagoa Formosa - "beautifu...

Read more: Planaltina, Goiás on Qualla

Image: This is a work (CG or photograph) by Danilo Prudêncio Silva. My Flickr. | CC BY-SA 3.0