Cobija is a city in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, capital of the
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Pando, is located about 600 km (373 mi.) north of
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
in the
Amazon Basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...
on the
border with
Brazil. Cobija lies on the banks of the
Rio Acre across from the Brazilian city of
Brasiléia. Cobija lies at an elevation of ca. 280 m (920 ft.) above sea level and has a tropical and rainy climate.
Cobija has approximately 80,000 inhabitants, is the seat of a university and capital of the Bolivian
Pando Department. Cobija has two airports and is connected by one road to El Choro in the
Beni Department
Beni (), sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second-largest department in the country (after Santa Cruz), covering 213,564 square kilometers (82,458 sq mi), and it was cre ...
, which is not always passable during the rainy season. When the rain allows it, Cobija is connected to the rest of Bolivia also via road. Cobija is connected to Brazil by two bridges.
History
Cobija was founded in 1906 by Colonel Enrique Cornejo, originally under the name of ''Bahía'' and received its current name in 1908 in commemoration of the former Bolivian seaport
Cobija on the Pacific, which has been a part of
Chile since the
War of the Pacific. In the early 1900s, Cobija experienced a boom as an
India rubber industry center. When the industry collapsed, a major source of income being lost, Cobija became impoverished and its population fell. Nowadays, Cobija is developing again and its population is increasing. Currently, the region's primary industry is
Bolivia nuts, although tourism and commerce are growing. There is a
Free economic zone in the city, the largest in Bolivia.
Population
The inhabitants of Cobija has risen very strongly during the past two decades to more than five-fold. Currently the estimated population is as much as 80,000 inhabitants with a population growth of 6 to 8% per year.
Sports
The Estadio Roberto Jordán Cuellar is located in Cobija. The football stadium has a capacity of 24,000.
Climate
The city of Cobija sits on a sharp curve of the Acre river, at an altitude of above sea level and in the north-western Amazon region of Bolivia. Cobija is classified as a
tropical monsoon climate, ''Am'' in the Köppen classification system. Cobija has two distinct seasons, with a noticeable dry season and a wet rainy season fed by powerful thunderstorms, with hot temperatures year-round.
Gallery
File:COBIJA 149 Busto José Manuel Pando.JPG, Cobija, Bolivia
File:Cobija Parque Central por Richard Weiss.JPG, Central Park in Cobija
File:Riberalta to Cobija por Richard Weiss.JPG, View along the road towards Riberalta
File:Cobija Airport1.JPG, Old facade of Cobija airport, before the reformation.
File:COBIJA 135 Simón Bolívar.JPG, Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...
bust in Cobija
File:COBIJA 140 Pileta Plaza Potosí.JPG, Cobija, Pando, Bolivia
File:CBJA - 15Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Pilar.JPG, Nuestra Señora del Pilar Cathedral in Cobija and the city main square
File:Cobija (Bolívia).jpg, Cobija, 1930.
Transportation
Cobija is served by major Bolivian airlines at
Captain Aníbal Arab Airport and by buses to
Riberalta
Riberalta is a town in the Beni Department in northern Bolivia, situated where the Madre de Dios River joins the Beni River. Riberalta is on the south (south east) bank of the Beni River.
As the capital of the province of Vaca Diez, the city ...
. The
Interoceanic Highway passes through the city of Cobija.
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Pando Department
Populated places established in 1906
Bolivia–Brazil border crossings
1906 establishments in Bolivia