CUBATO

city, eastern So Paulo estado (state), southeastern Brazil. It is situated on the Atlantic coastal lowlands 16 miles (26 km) northwest of the port of Santos. Created in 1948 from several municipalities of Santos, Cubato has become one of the state's principal banana producers as well as an important industrial centre. One of the largest petroleum refineries in the country is located in Cubato, producing oil, asphalt, plastic, synthetic rubber, and propane and butane gas, in addition to petroleum fuels. Cubato also has a large steel plant and two major hydroelectric generating facilities. The negative result was initially one of industrial pollution, earning the area the name of Valley of Death; but pollution controls and other environmental efforts cleaned up the city in the late 1980s and '90s. The city is linked to Santos by highway, and both a highway and a railroad extend northward from Cubato to So Paulo city, the state capital. Pop. (1985 est.) 98,322.