Santa Cruz de la Sierra, commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the capital city of the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia. The municipality's population was 1,528,683 inhabitants in 2006 (official estimate) and the urban population is 1,545,161 in 2008 (official estimate)[3] which makes it the largest city in Bolivia.
The department of Santa Cruz de la Sierra is located in the eastern part of Bolivia (17°45', South, 63°14', West) at 416 m above sea level. It is part of the province of Andrés Ibáñez and the capital of the department of Santa Cruz
The first settlers of Santa Cruz were mainly Spaniards that accompanied Ñuflo de Chávez, as well as Guarani natives from Paraguay, and some Flemings, Portuguese, Germans and Italians working for the Spanish crown[4]. Among the first settlers there were also Sephardic Jews recently converted to Christianity who were persecuted in by the inquisition in Spain.
After the city was moved, it became an important staging point for Jesuit and other Christian missions to Chiquitos and Moxos for the next two centuries. Still, Santa Cruz saw little growth during that period of time. It was not until nearly a century after Bolivia gained its independence that the city started to take an important role in the nation's history. The Acre war with Brazil in the early 20th century, as well the Chaco war with Paraguay in the 1930s, forced the central government to turn its attention to the east, allocating more resources for regional governments and improving communication. The isolated town was connected by a road to Cochabamba in the 1950s, and subsequently to Brazil by railway, thus stimulating economic and demographic growth. Improvement in routes and pathways of communication, such as Viru Viru International Airport), as well as a continuous influx of immigrants, turned the city into one of the most industrialized and important trading centers of the country during the second half of the twentieth century.
Amboro National Park is in Santa Cruz.
Amboro National Park, covering and area of over 630,000 hectares, lies within three distinct ecosystems: the foothills of the Andes, the northern Chaco and the Amazon Basin. The park was originally established as the Reserva de Vida Silvestre German Busch in 1984 but, with the help of native biologist Noel Kempff, British zoologist Robin Clark and others, the park was expanded to its present size.
The park hosts an incredible variety of flora and fauna. Because of its unique geographical locations, both highland and lowland species are frequent visitors. One can find many trees valued for their fine wood such as the Mara (Swielenia), palms like the Chonta (Astrocaryum) a huge variety of bromeliads and orchids, and limited forests of giant fern and bamboo. Recent studies place the number of plant species at 638, though many species have, as of yet, not been clearly identified
Today Santa Cruz is not only the most populated city in Bolivia, but the department is also the richest, with over 30% of the national GDP. Santa Cruz is the center of the separatist movement in Bolivia. It is also the center of the cocaine drug trade as well as banking operations. There is also significant agriculture in the lowlands.
The department of Santa Cruz de la Sierra is located in the eastern part of Bolivia (17°45', South, 63°14', West) at 416 m above sea level. It is part of the province of Andrés Ibáñez and the capital of the department of Santa Cruz
The first settlers of Santa Cruz were mainly Spaniards that accompanied Ñuflo de Chávez, as well as Guarani natives from Paraguay, and some Flemings, Portuguese, Germans and Italians working for the Spanish crown[4]. Among the first settlers there were also Sephardic Jews recently converted to Christianity who were persecuted in by the inquisition in Spain.
After the city was moved, it became an important staging point for Jesuit and other Christian missions to Chiquitos and Moxos for the next two centuries. Still, Santa Cruz saw little growth during that period of time. It was not until nearly a century after Bolivia gained its independence that the city started to take an important role in the nation's history. The Acre war with Brazil in the early 20th century, as well the Chaco war with Paraguay in the 1930s, forced the central government to turn its attention to the east, allocating more resources for regional governments and improving communication. The isolated town was connected by a road to Cochabamba in the 1950s, and subsequently to Brazil by railway, thus stimulating economic and demographic growth. Improvement in routes and pathways of communication, such as Viru Viru International Airport), as well as a continuous influx of immigrants, turned the city into one of the most industrialized and important trading centers of the country during the second half of the twentieth century.
Amboro National Park is in Santa Cruz.
Amboro National Park, covering and area of over 630,000 hectares, lies within three distinct ecosystems: the foothills of the Andes, the northern Chaco and the Amazon Basin. The park was originally established as the Reserva de Vida Silvestre German Busch in 1984 but, with the help of native biologist Noel Kempff, British zoologist Robin Clark and others, the park was expanded to its present size.
The park hosts an incredible variety of flora and fauna. Because of its unique geographical locations, both highland and lowland species are frequent visitors. One can find many trees valued for their fine wood such as the Mara (Swielenia), palms like the Chonta (Astrocaryum) a huge variety of bromeliads and orchids, and limited forests of giant fern and bamboo. Recent studies place the number of plant species at 638, though many species have, as of yet, not been clearly identified
Today Santa Cruz is not only the most populated city in Bolivia, but the department is also the richest, with over 30% of the national GDP. Santa Cruz is the center of the separatist movement in Bolivia. It is also the center of the cocaine drug trade as well as banking operations. There is also significant agriculture in the lowlands.
