Tabatinga

For the city in State of São Paulo, see Tabatinga, São Paulo.
Tabatinga
Municipality

Motorcycle taxi drivers on the streets of Tabatinga, Brazil's border with Colombia.

Flag

Location of the municipality inside Amazonas
Tabatinga

Location in Brazil

Coordinates: 4°15′9″S 69°56′17″W / 4.25250°S 69.93806°W / -4.25250; -69.93806Coordinates: 4°15′9″S 69°56′17″W / 4.25250°S 69.93806°W / -4.25250; -69.93806
Country  Brazil
Region North
State Amazonas
Time zone ACT (UTC–5)

Tabatinga, originally Forte de São Francisco Xavier de Tabatinga, is a municipality in the Três Fronteiras area of Northwestern Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 59,684 (2014)[1] and its area is 3,225 km²[1] Together with the neighbouring Colombian city of Leticia and the Peruvian city of Santa Rosa de Yavari, the urban area has more than 100,000 residents spread along the Amazon river. The first Portuguese settlement in the area was founded in the 18th century as a military outpost.[2] It became an autonomous municipality on February 1, 1983.[2] Formerly, it was part of the Municipality of Benjamin Constant.

It is considered the major point of entrance for cocaine in Brazil.[3]

The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alto Solimões.

History

It was established as a Portuguese military outpost Forte de São Francisco Xavier de Tabatinga in 1766.

References

  1. 1 2 Data for Tabatinga from IBGE (in Portuguese)
  2. 1 2 "Nossa Cidade" (in Portuguese). Portal Tabatinga. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  3. ↑ Tom Philips (4 January 2011). "Rio drug trade turns Amazon city into crime capital". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2011. Much of the cocaine sold in Rio is said to arrive through Tabatinga, a smuggling mecca lost on Brazil's tri-border with Peru and Colombia, around 700 miles upriver from Manaus.


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