The occupation of the place where the city is today began with a dam, built by a Portuguese named Novato, who wanted mills and monjolos.

When he died, the farm was acquired by his nephew Colonel Carlos José Bernardes Sobrinho, who transferred it to the vicinity of the aforementioned lake, dedicating himself to the commercialization of coffee and oxen.

An excerpt from the book: História de Lagoa da Prata, by Acácio Mendes, tells the story of the origin of the name of what would then be the municipality: “One day some Franciscan Friars who were preaching Missions came to the edge of this dam and who, naturally to have a snack and rest for a few hours, on a calm day, the sun at its height and when the waters of the dam, serene and gentle, they were shaken by the breath of the breeze that calmly made a reflection on the surface of the water.

The downtown region of Lagoa da Prata is situated on hilly terrain, and at the end of the high road is a church which overlooks the city.

Usina Luciânia was a residential neighbourhood situated approximately 6 km away from downtown, but nowadays it is an industrial site owned by Louis Dreyfus Group.

Lagoa da Prata is located in the Midwest of Minas Gerais, in Alto São Francisco, with an area of 439,984 km², 211 km from Belo Horizonte, the state capital.

The municipality of Lagoa da Prata is located at 658 meters of altitude and its predominant climate is the Tropical with dry season (Aw).

The city has two well-defined seasons: a hot and rainy summer between the months of October and March, and a cold and dry winter between May and September.

It is also remarkable the presence of descendants of European peoples who have recently migrated to the city, most of whom are Italian and to a lesser extent, German, Dutch, Spanish, Russian and French.

According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in 2010 the population of Lagoa da Prata was 37,627 Roman Catholics (81.83%), 7.165 Protestants (15.58%), 330 Jehovah's Witnesses ( 0.72%), 237 Spiritists (0.52%), 47 Indigenous Traditions (0.1%) and 1.258 no-religious (2.73%).