DELTA AMACURO

estado (state), northeastern Venezuela. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the northeast, Guyana on the southeast, and the Venezuelan states of Bolvar on the south and Monagas on the west. The state consists of the swampy delta through which the 26 distributaries of the Orinoco River empty into the sea. Long inhabited principally by Indians who collected gum, balata, divi-divi (a source of tannin), and mangrove bark, Delta Amacuro has experienced profound changes since the 1960s. Reclaimed land has been brought under cultivation and now produces bananas, cotton, peanuts (groundnuts), rice, sugarcane, and other crops. Petroleum found in the region near Tucupita, the capital. Travel is almost entirely by water, although a highway reaches Tucupita. Area 15,500 square miles (40,200 square km). Pop. (1990) 91,085.