Caravelas | |
---|---|
Municipality | |
Location in Bahia |
|
Location of Caravelas in Brazil | |
Coordinates: 17°43′55″S 39°15′58″W / 17.732°S 39.266°WCoordinates: 17°43′55″S 39°15′58″W / 17.732°S 39.266°W | |
Country | Brazil |
State | Bahia |
Area | |
• Total | 2,396.608 km2 (925.336 sq mi) |
Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 21,437 |
• Density | 8.9/km2 (23/sq mi) |
Caravelas is a fishing village of about 20,000 inhabitants in southern Bahia, Brazil, a few miles above the mouth of the Caravelas River.
Caravelas was founded in 1581 by Portuguese settlers. It was once the centre of a flourishing whale fishery. It is the port of the Bahia & Minas railway. Caravelas is the nearest town to the uninhabited Abrolhos Archipelago. The municipality contains part of the Cassurubá Extractive Reserve, a 100,768 hectares (249,000 acres) sustainable use conservation unit that protects an area of mangroves, river and sea where shellfish are harvested.
The city is served by Caravelas Airport.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.