PUERTO MALDONADO

capital of Tambopata provincia and of Madre de Dios departamento, southeastern Peru. It lies at the confluence of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios rivers, at 840 feet (256 m) above sea level in the hot, humid rain forest known as the selva. It was named for Dom Pedro Maldonado, an 18th-century Spanish explorer, but was not mentioned in official documents until 1902. The smallest of all Peruvian departmental capitals (excepting Chachapoyas), the community serves as the administrative and commercial centre for an area producing Brazil nuts, rubber, rice, sugarcane, cassava, and other tropical crops. There is gold washing in the vicinity. Local travel is mainly by river craft, but Puerto Maldonado is accessible by air and by a 162-mile (261-kilometre) road from Cuzco. Pop. (1990 est.) 21,200.