Puerto Maldonado

Puerto Maldonado
Central Plaza in Puerto Maldonado
Central Plaza in Puerto Maldonado
Flag of Puerto Maldonado
Puerto Maldonado is located in Peru
Puerto Maldonado
Puerto Maldonado
Location in Peru
Puerto Maldonado is located in South America
Puerto Maldonado
Puerto Maldonado
Puerto Maldonado (South America)
Coordinates: 12°36′0″S 69°11′0″W / 12.60000°S 69.18333°W / -12.60000; -69.18333
CountryPeru
DepartmentMadre de Dios
ProvinceTambopata
FoundedJuly 10, 1902
Government
 • MayorKeler Rengifo
Area
 • Total85,183 km2 (32,889 sq mi)
Elevation
183 m (600 ft)
Population
 (2017)
 • Total85,024
 • Estimate 
(2015)[1]
74,494
 • Density1.00/km2 (2.6/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-5

Puerto Maldonado (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpweɾto maldoˈnaðo] ) is a city in southeastern Peru in the Amazon rainforest 55 kilometres (34 mi) west of the Bolivian border, located at the confluence of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers. The latter river joins the Madeira River as a tributary of the Amazon. This city is the capital of the Department of Madre de Dios.

Nearby are the Manu National Park, Tambopata National Reserve, and Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, which have been established to protect natural resources. These are some of the most pristine primary rain forests in the world. They include several oxbow lakes and clay licks, where hundreds of birds, including macaws, feed on clay. Among the indigenous peoples in this area are the Machiguenga.

  1. ^ Perú: Población estimada al 30 de junio y tasa de crecimiento de las ciudades capitales, por departamento, 2011 y 2015. Perú: Estimaciones y proyecciones de población total por sexo de las principales ciudades, 2012-2015 (Report). Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática. March 2012. Retrieved 2015-06-03.