city, southern Ceará estado (state), northeastern Brazil. It lies in the Balança Mountains, at 1,384 feet (422 metres) above sea level, just southwest of Juazeiro do Norte. It was elevated to city status in 1853. Crato is a commercial centre for a region producing cattle, sugarcane, rice, cotton, and other crops that are processed and shipped by railroad and highway to coastal Fortaleza, the state capital, 248 miles (399 km) north-northeast, and to other urban centres in Ceará and Pernambuco states. Pop. (2005 est.) 91,000.