In order to get his cattle to market Figueira opened up roads to Tranqueiras in Bahia and to the São Francisco River Soon the Fazenda de Montes Claros became the greatest producer of cattle in the north of Minas Gerais, and a small village was formed.

The settlers moved north from the coast in search of diamonds and gold in the streams, and to conquer the region from the native Amerindians.

Montes Claros is also a statistical microregion (number 36) consisting of 22 municipalities: Brasília de Minas, Campo Azul, Capitão Enéas, Claro dos Poções, Coração de Jesus, Francisco Sá, Glaucilândia, Ibiracatu, Japonvar, Juramento, Lontra, Luislândia, Mirabela, Montes Claros, Patis, Ponto Chique, São João da Lagoa, São João da Ponte, São João do Pacuí, Ubaí, Varzelândia, and Verdelândia.

It is 418 km (260 mi) from the capital, Belo Horizonte, and is connected by the following highways: The climate is tropical with an annual average temperature of 24.2 °C (75.6 °F).

Producer of dairy and beef cattle, followed by agriculture: beans, corn, manioc, cotton, and irrigated rice.

According to CAGED (Cadastro Geral de Empregados e Desempregados), Montes Claros is ranked #3 on the list of the cities of the state of Minas Gerais in number of employed people, only behind Belo Horizonte and Uberlândia.

[citation needed] Mário Ribeiro Airport has a runway with capability to receive planes as large as Boeing 737.

Lapa Grande is located in the Serra da Vieira, 12 km (7.5 mi) from Montes Claros.

In the city itself there are several large parks, among which the most important are Parque Municipal Milton Prates, with a lake and zoo.