Ciudad Guayana

Not to be confused with Guayama, Puerto Rico.
Ciudad Guayana

Seal
Ciudad Guayana

Location in Venezuela

Coordinates: 8°22′N 62°39′W / 8.367°N 62.650°W / 8.367; -62.650Coordinates: 8°22′N 62°39′W / 8.367°N 62.650°W / 8.367; -62.650
Country  Venezuela
State Bolívar
Founded July 2, 1961
Government
 • Mayor José Ramón Lopéz
Population (2001)
 • Total 1,050,283
 • Demonym guayanés
Time zone VST (UTC-4:30)
 • Summer (DST) not observed (UTC-4:30)
Area code(s) 0286
Climate Aw

Ciudad Guayana (Spanish pronunciation: [sjuˈðað ɣwaˈʝana]) is a city in Bolívar State, Venezuela. It lies south of the Orinoco, where the river is joined by the Caroní River. The city, officially founded in 1961, is actually composed of the old town of San Félix at the east and the new town of Puerto Ordaz at the west, which lie on either banks of the Caroní and are connected by three bridges. The city stretches 40 kilometers along the south bank of the Orinoco. With approximately one million people, it is Venezuela's fastest-growing city due to its important iron industry.

Guayana City is one of Venezuela's five most important ports, since most goods produced in Bolívar are shipped through it, onto the Atlantic Ocean via the Orinoco river. The city is also the location of the Second Orinoco crossing.

Guayana City is served by Manuel Carlos Piar Guayana Airport.

History

The first explorations of Diego de Ordaz were organized in 1531. An expedition led by Juan González Sosa discovered previously unknown jungles and plains on the banks of the Orinoco River. In 1535, another expedition into the region was led by Lieutenant Alfonso Herrera. It was after the movements of conquest and colonization, when Antonio de Berrio Oruña founded Santo Tome de Guayana at the confluence of the Caroni and Orinoco, in the country of Carapana near the Indian village of Cachamay.

The city was founded multiple times in different places, due to the continuous attacks of pirates and conquerors which destroyed it as they went down the Orinoco River in search of El Dorado. In 1618, when he was near the old Guiana, an English expedition sent by Walter Raleigh sacked and destroyed the city entirely. In 1764, the residents were relocated to Angostura, now Ciudad Bolivar, due to the continuous attacks of English and Dutch pirates. The last foundation took place at its original site on July 2, 1961 and was called Ciudad Guayana. West of the city is the Matanzas Industrial Zone, the urban area of Puerto Ordaz in the middle east and San Felix.

For the design and city planning Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana requested the participation of the Center for Urban Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA). The large and extensive program of building highways and avenues, residential areas, schools, hospitals and recreational facilities, continues with the same intensity since its inception, ready to house 2.5 million people in 2020. Since 1961, the city has been known as the one of the fastest growing in the world.

Ciudad Guayana and the surrounding site have special interest to visitors. Within the city, the Caroni park consisting of parks Drizzle, Cachamay and Loefling, which are a representative sample of the majesty and beauty of the Rio Caroni. Other amusement park attractions include the Foundation and Paseo Malecon San Felix. For those interested in the basic industries of Venezuela some of these have a visitation schedule that could be found through their respective managements of Public Relations. Nearby, less than 100 kilometers away it is Ciudad Bolívar, the historic site of Bolivar state. On the other side of the river is the Mission of Caroni (Caroni ruins), the Castillos de Guayana and forest plantations.

The Puerto Ordaz area was built and planned by the Companies Orinoco Mining Company and the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana to the mid-twentieth century.

The November 13, 2006 the Orinoco bridge, the second largest in the country, which facilitates communications Ciudad Guayana with the opposite bank of the Orinoco River in Anzoategui and Monagas states opened.

See also

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