From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Porto Velho
Porto Velho and the Madeira River
Flag Seal
The State of Rondônia
Coordinates: 8°45′43″S 63°54′14″W / -8.76194, -63.90389
Country	Brazil
Region	North
State	Rondônia
Government
- Mayor	Roberto Sobrinho (PT)
Area
- Total	34,082 km² (13,159.1 sq mi)
Population (2005)[1]
- Total	373,917
- Density	10.9/km² (28.2/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-4 (UTC-4)
HDI (2000)	0.763 – medium
Website: Porto Velho, Rondônia

Porto Velho is the capital of the Brazilian state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin. The population is about 334,661 people. Located at the border of Rondônia and the state of Amazonas, the town is an important trade center of cassiterite, the mining of which represents the most important economic activity in the region, and a transportation and communication center. It is located on the eastern shore of the Madeira River, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon River. Officially founded on October 2, 1914, Porto Velho was started by pioneers around 1907, during the construction of the Madeira-Mamoré Railroad. After the railroad was completed, the local population was about one thousand inhabitants; its buildings were chiefly the railway's installations and the wooden houses of the Caribbean workers - hence the name of the town's largest district by then, "Barbadoes Town", nowadays called the "Alto do Bode". During the first sixty years, the city's development was directly connected to the railway's activities. The town prospered during the rubber boom, but then when low-cost Malaysian rubber made rubber from the Amazon uncompetitive, the region's economy ground to a halt. Cities like Santo Antônio do Madeira, which had a tram line and a weekly newspaper by the time of Porto Velho's foundation, are nothing but ruins nowadays. Porto Velho's survival is associated with the better conditions of the area where it was built, its easy access by the river, its harbor: these were all considerations in the choice of Porto Velho as the capital of the newly-formed Federal Territory of Guaporé, in 1943. Only with the beginning of World War II there was another cycle of progress in the region. When the Allied forces lost control over the Malaysian rubber, Amazon's was needed due to the war effort. This produced what is know in Brazil as the "second rubber boom". But when the war ended, the region's economy once again came to a halt. Porto Velho's modern history begins with the discovery of cassiterite around the city, and of gold on the Madeira River, by the end of the fifties. Also, the government's decision to allow large cattle farms in the territory began a trend of migration into the city. Almost one million people moved to Rondônia, and Porto Velho's population increased to three hundred thousand. This intense migration caused much trouble for the city. For example, the suburban boroughs are nothing but shanty towns, among many other problems.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Climate 1.2 Vegetation 2 Economy 3 Curiosity 4 Education 4.1 Colleges and universities 5 Culture 5.1 Festa Junina (Saint John Festival) 5.2 Carnival 5.3 Expovel 5.4 Museum 5.5 Theatre 6 Infrastructure 6.1 International Airport 6.2 Highways 7 External links

An equatorial climate is a type of tropical climate in which there is no dry season – all months have mean precipitation values of at least 60mm. It is usually found at latitudes within five degrees of the equator – which are dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The equatorial climate is denoted Af in the Köppen climate classification. Tropical rainforest is the natural vegetation in equatorial regions.

The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world. Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome, and tropical forests in the Americas are consistently more species rich than the wet forests in Africa and Asia.^[1] As the largest tract of tropical rainforest in the Americas, the Amazonian rainforests have unparalleled biodiversity.

More than 1/3 of all species in the world live in the Amazon Rainforest.^[2]

The GDP for the city was R$ 2.942.124.000 (2004).^[3]

The per capita income for the city was R$ 7.724 (2004).^[4]

Vehicles: 80.734 (jun./2006); Daily newspapers: 3 (jun./2006); Established: 10/02/1913.

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum.

• Universidade Federal de Rondônia (Unir);
• Escola Agrotécnica Federal de Colorado do Oeste (EAFCO);
• Instituto Luterano de Ensino Superior de Porto Velho (Iles-Ulbra);
• Faculdade de Ciências Administrativas e de Tecnologia (Fatec-RO);
• Faculdade de Ciências Biomédicas de Cacoal (Facimed);
• Faculdade de Ciências Humanas, Exatas e Letras de Rondônia (Faro);
• Faculdade da Amazônia (Iesa);
• and many others.

Festa Junina was introduced to Northeastern Brazil by the Portuguese for whom St John's day (also celebrated as Midsummer Day in several European countries), on the 24th of June, is one of the oldest and most popular celebrations of the year. Differently, of course, from what happens on the European Midsummer Day, the festivities in Brazil do not take place during the summer solstice but during the tropical winter solstice. The festivities traditionally begin after the 12th of June, on the eve of St Anthony's day, and last until the 29th, which is Saint Peter's day. During these fifteen days, there are bonfires, fireworks, and folk dancing in the streets (step names are in French, which shows the mutual influences between court life and peasant culture in the 17th, 18th, and 19th-century Europe). Once exclusively a rural festivity, today, in Brazil, it is largely a city festival during which people joyfully and theatrically mimic peasant stereotypes and cliches in a spirit of joke and good time. Typical refreshments and dishes are served. It should be noted that, like during Carnival, these festivities involve costumes-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles (fireworks display and folk dancing). Like what happens on Midsummer and St John's Day in Europe, bonfires are a central part of these festivities in Brazil.

The four-day period before Lent leading up to Ash Wednesday is carnival time in Brazil. Rich and poor alike forget their cares as they party in the streets.

Agricultural event in Porto Velho.

Museum of Estrada de Ferro Madeira-Mamoré.

Teatro Municipal, in Joaquim Nabuco Avenue (Downtown) and Teatro Uirassu Rodrigues, in José Bonifácio street.

Porto Velho International Airport, located seven kilometers from the city, has as its main access Av. Governador Jorge Teixeira de Oliveira, with two lanes. The average commute is ten minutes. Buses from downtown run to the airport every hour, and there is a fleet of taxis serving only the airport. The airport is served by 98 scheduled flights weekly, most going to other large Brazilian cities. Scheduled regional routes go to the municipalities of Costa Marques (RO), Lábrea (AM), Manicoré (AM), Cacoal (RO), Jí-Paraná (RO), Vilhena (RO) and Novo Aripuanã (RO). The scheduled airlines flying out of Porto Velho Airport are Vasp, Varig, TAM, Tavaj Rico and Cruiser, besides air taxi firms – Especial, Eucatur, Assis Aéreo Táxi, Tropical Táxi Aéreo, Rima Táxi and Aeronorte. There are also small aircraft owned by private individuals and public institutions (Rondônia state government). The presence of Porto Velho Air Base ensures considerable movement of military aircraft. The local people refer to Porto Velho International as Belmont Airport because it is located in this district. It became an international airport in 2002. It is located 88 meters (2.90 feet), at 084249 South latitude and 0635410 West longitude.

• BR-174;
• BR-317;
• BR-319;
• BR-364;
• BR-364;
• BR-421;
• BR-425;
• BR-429;
• RO-010;
• RO-101;
• RO-490.

• Porto Velho is at coordinates 8°45′37″S 63°54′18″W / -8.7603, -63.9051Coordinates: 8°45′37″S 63°54′18″W / -8.7603, -63.9051
  • Maps from MapQuest, Multimap and Yahoo! Maps
  • Satellite images and maps from Google Maps and Live Search
  • Other mapping from GlobalGuide and WikiMapia

v • d • e Capitals of Brazilian states
Brasília Federal Capital (DF)
North	Belém (PA) · Boa Vista (RR) · Macapá (AP) · Manaus (AM) · Palmas (TO) · Porto Velho (RO) · Rio Branco (AC)
Northeast	Aracaju (SE) · Fortaleza (CE) · João Pessoa (PB) · Maceió (AL) · Natal (RN) · Recife (PE) · Salvador (BA) · São Luís (MA) · Teresina (PI)
Center-West	Campo Grande (MS) · Cuiabá (MT) · Goiânia (GO)
Southeast	Belo Horizonte (MG) · Rio de Janeiro (RJ) · São Paulo (SP) · Vitória (ES)
South	Curitiba (PR) · Florianópolis (SC) · Porto Alegre (RS)