Caála | |
---|---|
Municipality and town | |
Location in Angola | |
Coordinates: 12°51′09″S 15°33′38″E / 12.85250°S 15.56056°E | |
Country | Angola |
Province | Huambo |
Area | |
• Municipality and town | 1,420 sq mi (3,680 km2) |
Population (2014) | |
• Municipality and town | 259.483 |
• Density | 0.18/sq mi (0.071/km2) |
• Metro | 373,035 |
Time zone | WAT (UTC+1) |
Climate | Cwb |
Caála is a town located 23Km west of the city of Huambo, in the namesake province in Angola. It was known as Vila Robert Williams while Angola was a Portuguese colony, after the famous railroad developer and mining magnate, Sir Robert Williams. The town's last known population count was 259,483.
Vila Robert Williams was the former name of Caála, in the then Portuguese Angola (before 1975). The town of Robert Williams was just west of Nova Lisboa (now Huambo) and was remarkable for huge outcroppings of boulders that jutted from the fields just outside the town. In those outcroppings researchers could find pottery shards, primitive metal smelting pits, and other archeological detritus.
Caála is home to local popular soccer club Clube Recreativo da Caála who plays in Angola's top league, the Girabola.
Caala is served by a station on the Benguela Railway and is also the junction for a branch railway to Cuima.
Coordinates: 12°51′09″S 15°33′38″E / 12.85250°S 15.56056°E