Puerto Ordaz
| Ciudad Guayana | ||
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 Ciudad Guayana
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| Coordinates: 8°22′N 62°39′W / 8.367°N 62.650°WCoordinates: 8°22′N 62°39′W / 8.367°N 62.650°W | ||
| Country |
 Venezuela
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| State | Bolívar | |
| Founded | July 2, 1961 | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | José Ramón Lopéz | |
| Population (2001) | ||
| • Total | 1,050,283 | |
| • Demonym | guayanés | |
| Time zone | VST (UTC-4:30) | |
| • Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC-4:30) | |
| Area code(s) | 0286 | |
| Climate | Aw | |
Ciudad Guayana (Spanish pronunciation: [sjuˈðað ɣwaˈʝana]) is a city in Bolívar State, Venezuela. It lies south of the Orinoco, where the river is joined by the Caroní River. The city, officially founded in 1961, is actually composed of the old town of San Félix at the east and the new town of Puerto Ordaz (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpwerto orˈðas]) at the west, which lies on the confluence of the Caroní and Orinoco Rivers and is the site of the Llovizna Falls. There are bridges across the Caroni and a new bridge across the Orinoco (Second Orinoco crossing). The city stretches 40 kilometers along the south bank of the Orinoco. With approximately one million people, it is Venezuela's fastest-growing city due to its important iron and steelworks and aluminium industries. The city has a large hydroelectric power plant, Macagua Dam. Guayana City is one of Venezuela's five most important ports, since most goods produced in Bolívar are shipped through it, onto the Atlantic Ocean via the Orinoco river.
Due to its planned nature, the city has a drastically different feel to it than many other South American cities. The towers of the Alta Vista district recall New York City, and many of the residential neighborhoods have architecture and landscaping that are similar to suburbs in the United States in the 1950s, including 'cookie cutter' homes, sidewalks, and patterned lawns. This is an artifact due to the presence in the 1960s and early 1970s of US Steel, an American company with iron mining operations in the region. US Steel built housing for hundreds of its American expatriate workers and families, who lived in Puerto Ordaz and other communities until the nationalization of the Venezuelan steel industry forced the company and its workers to leave.
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