Botucatu

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Botucatu
Municipality
Metropolitan Cathedral of Santana
Flag Coat of arms
Location in São Paulo state
Botucatu Location in Brazil
Coordinates: 22°53′09″S 48°26′42″W / 22.88583°S 48.44500°W / -22.88583; -48.44500
Country	Brazil
Region	Southeast
State	São Paulo
Area
• Total	1,482.64 km2 (572.45 sq mi)
Population  (2010)
• Total	127,328
• Estimate  (2020)	148,130
• Rank	204th, Brazil
• Density	86/km2 (220/sq mi)
Demonym	botucatuense
Time zone	UTC-03:00 (BRT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-02:00 (BRST)

Botucatu is a city in the southeastern region of Brazil and is located 224.8 km (139.7 mi) from São Paulo, the capital of the state of São Paulo. It has an estimated population of 148,130 (as of 2020) in an area of 1,482.64 km² (572 sq mi).^[1] It lies on the top of a plateau (804 metres (2,638 feet) high).^{[citation needed]} Botucatu became a village in 1855, and a city in 1876.^[2]

The region has humid-subtropical weather, with dry, cold winters and hot, wet summers. During winter the temperature rarely falls below 2 °C (36 °F). During most of the year, mainly at night, a breeze blowing over São Paulo plateau, from which Botucatu elevates about 200 m (660 ft), cools the city and surroundings; this cold everyday wind from the high plateaus is where the city got its name from.^{[citation needed]}

Botucatu's biggest employer is UNESP, one of the three São Paulo state universities, one of the top universities in all of Latin America and part of several World Top Universities list,^{[citation needed]} making the city an important center for medical research and education. In particular, the city has two campuses, one centered on biomedical sciences, including a school of medicine, an Institute of Biosciences and school of veterinarian sciences, and the other centered on agricultural sciences. The leading industrial company is Embraer through a subsidiary, Neiva, that has a multipurpose plant there but primarily manufacture the EMB 202 "Ipanemão" crop spraying aircraft. Along with Rondonópolis and Ribeirão Preto, it is one of the centers of the large Brazilian airborne spraying industry. The city has also two bus bodyworks builders, the Brazilian CAIO Induscar [pt] and the Basque Irizar. Besides UNESP, there are other private colleges.

The city boasts a higher than usual elementary and mid-level educational network, including public and private institutions. It is also an important center for "organic" agriculture being the site of a recognized certification body.