Villavicencio

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Villavicencio

Villavicencio, Colombian city. The capital of Meta Department, located on the left bank of the Guatiquía River, east of the Cordillera Oriental. It is 1,542 feet above sea level and 76 miles from Bogotá. Villavicencio, which was earlier called Gramalote, was formally established in 1842. Called the "Gateway to the Llanos," it is, with approximately 361,058 inhabitants, the main urban center of the plains region and a distribution and shipment center for cattle and other plains foodstuffs. Villavicencio has a university known for its program in tropical zoology. The city is served by an airport and is a highway hub. It also is the main public health center for the region.

See alsoLlanos (Colombia) .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Enrique Ortega Ricaurte, comp., Villavicencio, 1842–1942 (1943).

Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi, Diccionario geográfico de Colombia, vol. 2 (1980), pp. 1778-1779.

Additional Bibliography

Espinel Riveros, Nancy. Villavicencio, dos siglos de historia comunera, 1740–1940. Villavicencio: s.n., 1997.

                                            J. LeÓn Helguera

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Villavicencio

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