Cochabamba

Capital of Cercado province and Cochabamba department, central Bolivia, situated on the River Rocha, at an altitude of 2,550 m/8,370 ft on the slopes of the eastern Cordillera, 230 km/144 mi southeast of La Paz; population (2001 est) 558,500. It is the third-largest city in Bolivia. The Cochabamba valley is a rich agricultural region producing grain, beef, fruit, and timber for the towns of the Altiplano Plateau. The city is a commercial and communications centre with a railway terminus and an international airport, and distributes much of the agricultural produce of eastern Bolivia. It has food-processing and vehicle assembly plants, and there is an oil refinery, linked by pipeline with the Camiri oilfields. Manufacturing includes the production of shoes and furniture.

Cochabamba was founded in 1574 by the Spanish adventurer Sebastián Barba de Padilla. It has a 16th-century cathedral, a university, and several museums.