| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| Ciudad Bolívar |
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(sy thäth´ b l ´vär) (KEY) , city (1990 pop. 225,340), capital of Bolívar state, E Venezuela, an inland port on the Orinoco River. It is the commercial center of the eastern llanos, the Orinoco basin, and the Guiana Highlands. Wood products and leather are produced, and hides, cattle, and gold are exported. The city was founded in 1764 and called Angostura. The congress of Angostura (1819) made Simon Bolívar president of Venezuela and later in the same year decreed the formation of the republic of Gran Colombia, also with Bolívar as president. The city was renamed after him in 1846. The Angostura suspension bridge (2,336 ft/712 m long; completed 1967) is one of the longest in South America. |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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