Belo Horizonte is a major city in Brazil. It is situated on the western slope of the Serra do Espinhaco, at an elevation of 830 metres in the south east of the country and has a population of close to 2 million people. It is the centre of a large agricultural region growing mainly sugarcane and cotton, and it is also the centre for extensive mining and livestock activity conducted throughout the sertao west of the city. It is the regional commercial centre. Industries include publishing, textiles, furniture, and food processing. Electrical generating facilities and plants manufacturing and working iron and steel and a large oil refinery and an automobile factory have been constructed in the outlying areas.