Porto Velho
| Porto Velho | |||
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| Municipality | |||
| The Municipality of Porto Velho | |||
Top left:Rondonia State Government Office, Top right:Port of Porto Velho, Middle left:Porto Velho Cultural House, Middle right:Sunset in Madeira River, Bottom:Panorama view of downtown from Pedrinhas area
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 Location of Porto Velho in the State of Rondônia |
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 Porto Velho
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| Coordinates: 8°45′43″S 63°54′14″W / 8.76194°S 63.90389°WCoordinates: 8°45′43″S 63°54′14″W / 8.76194°S 63.90389°W | |||
| Country |
 Brazil
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| Region | North | ||
| State |
 Rondônia
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| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Hildon Chaves (PSDB) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 34,082.37 km2 (13,159.28 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 83 m (272 ft) | ||
| Population (2010 census) | |||
| • Total | 426,558 | ||
| Time zone | UTC-4 (UTC-4) | ||
| Postal Code | 76800-000 | ||
| Area code(s) | (+55) 69 | ||
| Website | Porto Velho, Rondônia | ||
Porto Velho (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpoʁtu ˈvɛʎu], Old Port) is the capital of the Brazilian state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin, and a Catholic Metropolitan Archbishopric. The population is 426,558 people (as of the IBGE 2010 census). Located on the border of Rondônia and the state of Amazonas, the town is an important trading center for cassiterite, the mining of which represents the most important economic activity in the region, as well as a transportation and communication center. It is on the eastern shore of the Madeira River, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon River. It is also Rondônia's largest city, and the largest state capital of Brazil by area.
The municipality occupies most of the border between Amazonas and Rondônia, and is both the westernmost and northernmost city in the state.
Officially founded on October 2, 1914, Porto Velho was founded 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 Arthur Oliveira were chiefly the railway's installations and the wooden houses of the Caribbean (mainly Barbadian) workers - hence the name of the town's largest district by then, "Bajan Hill" or "Barbados 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.
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