What is "charqueadas"

Charqueadas is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is located on the right side of the Jacuí River in the southern-central part of the state, in the region Carbonífera, about from Porto Alegre and belonging to the metropolitan area of the state capital. The area of the municipality is and a population of 33,808 (2006 estimate, IBGE), making it the largest municipality in area and population in the region. It borders to the south Arroio dos Ratos, to the north Triunfo, to the east Eldorado do Sul and to the west São Jerônimo.